What a wonderful day!

  One of the quilt shops I visited was Quilts on Plum Lane in Dade City FL. I love that shop and I will be going back! They were having a whole store sale. I can't believe I was so lucky to wander into the shop on the day everything was 30% off! I found these wonderful scissors that I have wanted ever since I saw them on Karen Kay Buckley's website.

 












The two Fig Tree patterns I bought to make my niece some summer dresses and a floppy hat to match.

We went to Disney after 5 quilt shops and 4 gun shops. We didn't get home until 2am and I was wiped out! I have some pictures, but once again Blogger is acting up. Maybe later.

I have spent over 3 hours trying to get this post made and have lost several pictures in the process. I sure hope Blogger gets it all working right soon.
Gonna go play in the sewing room!

Later
Diane

hopping, pretty, a camera and a challenge

Tomorrow the plans are to go quilt shop hopping.
My husband wants to go to a few gun shops and look at things I don't necessarily love to look at and in return I get to go to some new quilt shops I haven't visited before. I think that sounds like a fair trade off.
I'm sure he feels the same way about quilt shops that I feel about gun stores. Once you have seen one Glock you've pretty much seen them all. They are all black or OD green, they all hold bullets, and they all are not interesting to me. There, pretty much described it all!
I on the other hand am going to go to quilt shops that have fabric in every color and style. I will be able to fondle it and maybe even find a bargain.

Today I went to Ikea and did some research on a new cutting/ironing table. Right now I am using some tables that I had left over from my business. They are adjustable to cabinet height and they make cutting and ironing enjoyable. They server the purpose, but they are VERY ugly and they squeak. I guess I would be ugly and scarred up and squeak if I was loaded in the back of a truck and driven across the country, loaded with heavy fabric and had the process repeated umpteen times a year for several years. Oh that's right! I was, and I do! Scarred and squeak that is!  Anyway my sewing room is not very pretty, but it is functional. I would like pretty too. I had a picture to show of the cabinet I am thinking about but Blogger is being contrary.
For Christmas I received a camera. Perfect timing, since my 14 year old Sony is just barely limping along. Ray bought me a pink Canon PowerShot and I love it so far! I hope to learn more so I can take better pictures. I will post a picture tomorrow since I can't tonight.


Today in the mail I received a package I have been nervously looking for. I joined in a group challenge with some ladies I have never met. I am going to make a quilt that resembles a portion of a picture. The picture was cut into 16 pieces and I got piece 14. I have never done such a thing before so I am nervous, but I know ladies who did this and they had so much fun I wished I had joined in. Now is my chance.


I'm not very intelligent when it comes to vegetables so I'm assuming this is some type of potato. It doesn't really matter, I am suppose to make a quilt that looks like the picture. Hmmm, interesting.

Have to get in bed, Ray is driving tomorrow and he likes to leave early.

Diane

UFOs and challenges

I have UFOs picked for the coming year's challenge with Judy at Patchwork Times. I have 13 laid out so far but there might be one or three more before it's over with.

In no particular order here they are.



Scrappy Trip Around the World



Tail Mix

Aussie Table Topper



Hexagon Log Cabin



30's Table Cloth




Friends in the Woods




Hand Dyes Mini Trips




Crab Apple Cove




Nancy's Irish Chain




One Fabric Penguin top




4-patch Star



Texas Star



Christmas blocks



I still need to figure out just what I want to accomplish on them. Some I will want to complete all the way to quilted and bound and some I just want to get the top completed.

If I get these done this year I will be proud of myself. I have major QADD (quilter's attention deficit disorder). That is part of the reason I have so many of these UFOs sitting in the cut out stage with only one block made. I will plan it, get it all cut out and something will happen to distract me, usually a new magazine, a trip to the quilt shop or maybe even a two week trip with my husband. When I wake up from what ever I just experienced I have completely forgotten everything that I am suppose to be doing. I won't tell you how many times I have cut a project out and then misplaced the pattern and so I box the fabric up and put it away. Then three weeks later I find the pattern and can't lay my hands on the fabric! UGH! And everything is in my one small room!

You know they say a sign of  ADD is never being able to stay organized...hello! :)

How do I know so much about ADD you ask? My youngest was diagnosed when he was young and we have had many sessions with counselors and teachers. Some of the stuff we learned was basic, but if you (the parent) stand on the edge of the same disorder it is not common knowledge. So it helped both of us. Some of it I probably could go back and read over again. :)

Husband just called and said DISNEY! So I am off to dress for a visit and to see all of the beautiful decorations and lights.

Have a great day!

Diane

It is like this every year

Every year at this same time I realize just how close Christmas is. We don't do much decorating. As a matter of fact I usually only put a couple of snow people on the porch and my Precious Moments nativity set on the mantle. We used to put up a tree, but it really was only for the kids. Now that all of my kids are grown and  two live far away we don't even put up a tree. I hope when/if we have grandchildren that changes. I'm pretty sure it will since Ray and I both become rather crazy when we have a child to buy for.
We buy for our two year old niece, but we gave her presents to her when we got to see her at Thanksgiving. We still have a few more for her, but we are shipping those.

I have always had a hard time at Christmas. I have never been able to get a good balance in my head about the whole celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with a tree and presents and tons of stress and debt and all the stuff that comes with the way everyone celebrates the season. I'm not judging, not in the least. I am glad most can really enjoy the season and the gift giving and the time spent together. We have always only spent the money we had set aside for gifts, so never a debt there. We usually sing in the church choir musical but not this year.

I will spend this time of the year inside my head and heart mostly. I will buy a few gifts. I will send money. I will cook. Mostly I will  try to think about His birth, His life, and His gift.

Just thinking,
Diane

Do I?

Judy Laquidara over at Patchwork Times is doing a UFO challenge next year. Everyone knows I have a ton of UFOs. I want to finish the UFOs, at least most of them. My only problem is, I have commitment issues. Well besides my 29 year marriage and my friendship with Linda that is about that same length of time I hate to commit myself. I KNOW myself. I always lose stuff, or forget things, or get sidetracked and lost. So I don't commit so no one really knows I'm a total ditz, except that I just told everyone.
Oh well.
The question remains.
I have more than enough to choose from. The best part about doing Judy's challenge is there is so little pressure. Judy's rules are easy to follow. There are no UFO police if I fall off the wagon. She won't plaster my picture on her blog for all to see if I quit.
Ok so I have just about convinced myself...then I realized I started this entry last night and got sidetracked with the dogs and went to bed with the computer still running. I had to wake up the computer this morning and read the entry to remember what I was typing about.
I may be setting myself up for failure.

I think I will!
What is the worst that could happen? I work on some UFOs but don't finish them. Big whoop!

I will choose the UFOs and post pictures later today if I can get my old decrepit camera to work again. I have so many to choose from this may take a while.

Diane

Another top!

Linus top

 I don't know why but this is my least favorite Linus top I have made so far. I think it was the fabric choices. Since I didn't pick the fabric I will say that is the reason. :^)


For those who wondered what I was talking about on the strip pieced blanket, here is how I covered the seam allowances on the back.

Take a 2.5" strip and fold in half and press with iron.

Unfold and bring raw edges to the center fold line

Do the same with the other raw edge and press

I laid the strips along the pressed open seam allowances on the back of the blanket and stitched them down. The first ones I stitched  with four stitching lines but soon thought that was over kill and the last ones I just stitched with two lines.



I'm home

I went to a retreat with many ladies from my quilt guild in Mobile and had a fantastic time. I stayed a few extra days with my friend Nancy. I love Nancy. We have great talks and lots of fun in the sewing room. She is a really good cook so I had good food too.

When I got home I spent lots of time with Ray since he said he missed me so much. We went shopping and bought a television console (finally!) and then spent yesterday untangling wires and cords to move everything. Honestly I didn't do much of that since I don't know one cord or wire from another and don't care to learn. I did the Diet DP runs and the cheering. Whew, exhausting! :)

Last night was the first time in the sewing room since returning home. Nancy sent me home with some sewing for Linus and I managed to get some blocks sewn together.

The back looks like this. In the south there are more days we would like to lay under a light blanket or sheet than a quilt so this has no batting.
Today I want to get the strips applied to the seam allowances.

Ok, off to do a bit of house straightening so I won't feel guilty going to the sewing room.

Later,
Diane

My bags are packed...

It's retreatin' time again, I'm gonna leave you...
You can see that far away look, in my eyes...
You can tell by the way I'm packing, darlin'
That it won't be long before it's quiltin' time...
(squeaked to the tune of "It's crying' time Again" by Buck Owens)

I'm headed out to my retreat. I know I know, I just got back from a whirl wind tour last weekend but that was family and THIS is quilting!!! BIG difference! :^)

I hope to have pictures when I return, but you never know if I will shut my mouth long enough to take a picture!

Later,
Diane

How time flies...

Names have finally been picked.

Boo Radley



Little Girl





 
After 137 pictures I had exactly 7 to choose from to post! Getting them to sit still and get a focused picture was like trying to hold water in your hands!
When we first brought them home he was rather active and she was shy and quiet. Boy after seven weeks their personalities have sure changed.  Boo is still active, but he is much calmer and very attached to me. Little Girl on the other hand is FAR from shy.
At the last weigh in two weeks ago she weighed 2.7 pounds and he weighed 2.8 pounds. I'm sure they have grown. I can look at his long legs and see he has.

Now I have to get in the sewing room and pack for the retreat!!!

Diane

What a ride and finally a picture

I bet you thought I forgot I had a blog!
I remembered, I just was not in range of an internet that would let my computer work properly.
Once again we did the whole Thanksgiving loop. Our house to Papa's, then to Grandma's then home again. You know that song Over the Rver and through the Woods? Well we had many many rivers and huge woods plus a few aunts, uncle and cousins to add to the song. This was a bittersweet loop this time. There were lots of tears, some frustrations, lots of hugs and kisses and prayers.
It is hard to realize just how old our parents are and that we will not have them forever. My husband's father is over 80 and just starting have memory issues. He has always had a really amazing memory. Seriously amazing. Almost maddening. Now, not so much. He couldn't find his truck last week in the Wal Mart parking lot. Not that, that is a such a horrific thing, but his age is starting to show.

My father is at the stage of his life with is dementia and Parkinson's and stroke and ... he is becoming almost like a child again. Only a child with great strength. I have arthritis and he squeezed my hand so hard I cried. Man, he has always been so strong and still is, he just can't walk very well and he can't remember if he took his medicine or if he ate or took a bath.
I took my new doggies to see my daddy. he has always been a lover of Chihuahua's so I knew he would love a visit. Sure enough, he did! But the problem is he wants one of his own. Moma is not pleased with me. I really didn't intend for that to happen. He is pretty adamant about it too. He IS gonna have a dog! Oh I am so glad I live 17 hours away!

I'm home for a few days. I hope to get some sewing done with pictures to post.
I do have the red border on the Shepherd's quilt top. Do you think the red border should have been wider?

design floor used instead of wall

Later,
Diane

Meeting the surgeon

What a stressful day. Not only is EVERY street in Florida named with a number, but whoever the city planner was at the time , had a wicked sense of humor. they names ALL the streets around the hospital the SAME TEN NUMBERS!
At one point I was on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street. Of course Google maps nor my GPS differentiated between the two just called both 3rd.  After I drove around looking for the office at 200 3rd St, I discovered there was no 200. I found some nice nurses who were out taking a smoke break and asked them where I needed to go. The answer was...
Go down the street, around the curve to the other side of the hospital and you will find ...wait for it...wait for it...3rd Blvd! Grrr!
So I do this...grumbling the whole way.
Next I call the Dr's office because I still can't find the building. The answer was, "We are in the new building."
Me: "I'm new to the area I don't know new from old, what does it look like."
Her:" It is the new terra cotta building on the left."
Me:" Uh, Mam, ALL the buildings are terra cotta colored."
Her:" Yes, but we are the new one."
GRRRR! Honestly that was the conversation. My confidence of ever finding this doctor was going way down, along with his abilities to cut on my child if he couldn't hire staff who gave better information than that.

I know, it really was my fault I should have made sure I knew where I was going before I left home, but I just figured with a GPS, Google maps, and a cell phone I would be fine. Apparently I was wrong.

Finally we found the office. Joseph meets the doctor and is examined and told he will not need surgery...yet.
He has pulled or strained the groin muscle and pulled one in his back. The doctor said since he has had a hernia in the past, and now he has a strain he could possibly get another hernia but at this moment in time it was not a hernia and he couldn't fix something that wasn't broke.
Praise the LORD! I am thankful my son does not have to have surgery. That he doesn't have to be put under.

Anyway, I am thanking everyone for their prayers and emails. Thank you , thank you!!!

I may, now that he isn't going into the hospital, go to Houston. Ray said he needs to stay home and work as there are tons of things he needs to finish before the end of the year and no time to do it. He said if I would go away he could work 20 hours a day and not feel guilty.
Let me think about it...this was just told to me about 15 minutes ago...

Design Wall Monday

No work done at all!
Surprised?

I will remedy that today I hope. I found some border fabric that I think will work so hopefully I can get dinner in the slow cooker and sneak in the sewing room.
Tomorrow Joseph has a consult with the surgeon.
Wednesday Ray starts two weeks of vacation.
I may not get another chance to visit my sewing room so I had better hop to it!

Later,
Diane

Joseph update

Joseph is feeling much better today. Praise the Lord!
He had managed to pull a muscle in his back at work when he was trying to not bend or move wrong, protecting his hernia. Poor baby!
In the ER they assessed him and decided to try something. The doctor said if it was his hernia or a kidney stone (due to the location of the back pain) this wouldn't affect him, but if it wasn't the two and was a possible pulled muscle he would feel relief in minutes. They gave him a shot of something, and in 5 minutes he was felling relief. In 15 minutes he was relaxing and in 30 minutes he was asleep on the ER bed.
The doctor talked with Ray and after watching him and examining the hernia again released him to come home and rest.
Ray said he slept the whole way home. He slept for 6 hour on the couch with hardly a movement. Ray and I both found spots and slept too.

This morning Joseph is feeling human again!
Thank you for the comments and emails.

Diane

If one more thing...

Anyone who knows me knows I don't handle change well. I like a solid schedule. I like knowing I get up at the same time each day, eat at the same time, etc. Sounds boring to most people but I do better that way.
Since bringing the puppies home my schedule has been more like when I brought my babies home. Total chaos!
I'm starting to get a schedule going for them, finally! Two nights in a row Joseph wakes me up in the middle of the night. He is having pain in is lower right abdomen. No fever, no nausea, just pain. "Do you want to go to the hospital"?
"NO"!
"Ok, so what do you want me to do".
"I don't know, make it quit"!?
Thursday he got to feeling better and went on to work and said it never hurt again. Ok, this is good. Friday when he wakes me up at 3am hurting we all started trying to figure this out. Pulled muscle? Appendicitis? Gas?
I called the doctor as soon as she opened and was told to bring him on in.

He has a hernia. :^(

That was Friday. We have a surgery consult on Tuesday but Ray has just taken Joseph to the ER. He is in a lot of pain and hasn't slept well in days. He just can't stand the pain any more. I hope and pray someone can help him. It is so hard to watch him in pain and not be able to help.
later,
Diane

It wasn't so bad

I don't want to do it again, but I took off the brown staff and replaced it. I managed it but I grumbled the whole time. Now you watch, the original brown will show up tomorrow in plain sight!
No matter, I like the new brown better I think. I went ahead and appliqued the staff curl before I misplaced this one. The star came out a bit more curved than the pattern called for, but I never claimed to be good at applique. LOL I would love to be, but that is not my talent.

Now off to bed!

Later,
Diane

Word of advice

No matter how bad your sewing room looks, no matter what shape your cutting table is, don't ever, let me repeat that, DON'T EVER clean up your room/area in the middle of a project!
I have lost a piece of brown fabric that I need to finish the shepherd's staff! UGH! I have looked everywhere...well not everywhere apparently because I can't locate that stupid piece of brown fabric! But I have searched and searched and can't seem to find it.
I could rip the border off and then rip the brown out and start with a new one but I really don't want to do that.
Please learn from my mistake, don't clean an area until you are finished with the project.

I'm going back in. If you don't hear from me in an hour send the search dogs as there has probably been an avalanche and I am on the bottom.

Wish me luck,
Diane

Ta Da!

I got busy today and while chatting with my friend Linda on the phone I got all of my sheep made. :)

I'm having so much fun!

Now to decide about the borders. Since I am using only my stash fabrics I am having just a bit of an issue...of the fabrics I like I don't have enough...the fabrics that are just a bit off  I have plenty. Isn't that how it always works? Ok so I found a green for the first border. The pattern calls for another lighter green for the next border but I don't have one that looks good so I am looking at a gold piece that looks promising. Then the red is a whole other issue. I have three reds that I have plenty to do the last border and binding but each one is either too pink, or grey or wrong style. That is the problem with buying for your stash and only buying a yard. I have learned if I like it and have no plans for it buy 2 yards, that way I can do most anything with it.

What do you think so far?

More later,
Diane

Superior

Have you heard of what Kelly at I have a Notion is doing?  She is offering a needle exchange program. No not that kind of needle exchange! She and Superior Threads partnered up and are offering to exchange one of your old sewing machine needles in exchange for one of the new Superior Needles. What an great way to get to try it out before you buy! Head over there before the promotion ends and give one a try! I received mine in the mail Saturday and I'm putting it in the machine as soon as I finish this post. Sadly this is the first chance to get to sew. I tried to do some last night and today I am ripping every seam I sewed. :^( Pitiful!

Off to sew!
Diane

Design Wall Monday

Can you believe? I actually have something for this Monday! I never make Christmas specific items, choosing to make winter items instead so they can be out longer. I love this quilt though so I decided to make one and choose colors that make it more "everyday" and not so Christmasy.

The yellow and orange to the right is a Linus quilt I have not finished putting together.

This is from the Star of Wonder book from Heart to Art by Nancy Halvorsen. I just love her designs...so much so that twice I have bought duplicates of her books. DUH!

What's on your design wall?
Diane

My cup runneth over

I have tons of 2 1/2" strips. Every time I get down to the last little bit of a fabric I go ahead and strip it. Apparently I use a lot of 1 1/2" and 2" but very few 2 1/2" strips. My smaller strip drawers have some strips but not even 1/2 of the drawer is full. The 2 1/2" strip drawer is full to the top. 

 I was trying to find a fabric I knew I had cut up but was having a hard time since there were so many and they were not sorted by color.

 I looked and searched and made a big mess on my table... There it is!! Woo Hoo I knew I had it!

Then I decided to sort the strips by colors. I hope this will aid in using the drawer more since I now know what I have.

Much better, don't you think? Now that it is sorted I see I have a lot of light strips so I think I need to get busy. I am going to try and finish up a few projects that I have started and then decide what my goals for next year are.

Normally I am not a goal kinda gal in the sewing room. I enjoy piecing so much I figure any time spent sewing is good enough, but...You knew there was a but coming didn't you?

I feel like I need to get a bit (just a small bit) organized in what I have and how I would like to use it. I have enough projects and fabric to last me well into the next millennium. I don't have a real problem with that and I only feel guilty occasionally. I just need to use what I have so my husband and or children won't send it all to the dump if I die before the Lord comes back.

Later,

Diane

What in the world?

Does it look like I'm busy?

Or does it just look like a mess?

How about this?

This is what I do when I don't know what to do.



I make piles!

 Lots of piles!

Trying to get my mind on a project.

Sorting through boxes from the move...still.

I put this on my design wall a week ago...that's it, not more work on it. That is what I do when I am under stress. I don't function well. So there it sits. Maybe I will get to it today. It is a Linus quilt for Mobile's group. I have had it since August! Boy I am slow!