Just a few minutes

I have been working at cleaning this dump of a house today. UGH!
Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, etc.You know the drill.
All I wanted to do today was go into the sewing room and lock myself away, but I knew I had to get some work done.
I did take a few minutes to play with one of my new books. This block was really easy! I know I will be making more too.

I'm trying to post from my phone so I'm not real sure how this will work. Fingers crossed!

Diane

OMG!

As Rosanna Rosanna Danna used to say..."It's always something!"

I was going to blog about the wonderful speed in which Amazon got my amazing new books to me, but before I could, I got an ugly message on my computer that said I didn't have enough disk space to do anything. I needed to delete some items to carry on. UGH! I don't know enough about computers to do that!!! If I did I would have a long time ago! (That is what I was thinking).

After begging my son to come help me "fix it", he click, click, click, got me to the place I needed to go and told me to click, delete, click to my heart's content. I deleted over 25 GIGS! That was just pictures too. If I did a real house cleaning and got rid of files I no longer needed or wanted I could probably do at least that much more.

Anyway, back to the original reason for my post. I got this today!! I was excited to hear it had been released finally after waiting for months. Judy's blog is one of the three that I look at everyday with only the occasional miss. I loved her previous books and didn't think anything could top them, until now.

If you need fresh ideas for borders, this is the book for you. Her instructions are clear and concise. Plus there are 15 quilt designs, how cool is that? She tells you how to make any border fit any top. I know where I will be after I post this!!

Another book by Judy that arrived today is one I have owned for a while. I had to replace it after loaning it out and like a lost sheep never came home.

This is a great book with great quilt designs. The instructions are divided into one hour increments. That way if you tend to have just a small amount of time to work you can still get a lot accomplished. Like the old saying, slow and steady wins the race. It is amazing what you can get done in an hour at a time.

 

The last book that came in the box is:

 

I have been interested in this one for a while, but never remembered to order it. This is going to be great! I want to make some quilts for family members and I want them to actually use them so I don't want to invest tons of time. Great quilts, just not time consuming. This will fit the bill!

 

Ok, I popped the top on a cold Coke, have my comfy chair with two chihuahuas in it and I am going to read for a bit.

 

Oh, I almost forgot, Amazon was super speedy on this order. I paid for 3-5 day shipping and got it in 2!! Maybe I should be praising the Post Office...Who ever got them to me so fast, thank you!

 

Later,

Diane

Returned

Airline security, family, friends, more family, responsibilities, hugs, exhaustion, stress, tears, laughter, TSA clearance, long noisy flights. That just about sums up last week.

Laundry, grocery shopping, meat market, baking and menu writing. That is the goal for tomorrow.
I HOPE to go into my sewing room after that.

While away my MIL gave me some blocks her mother put together. I brought a few home and hope to carefully put them together into a wall quilt for her sister and a small sofa quilt for my MIL. She was surprised that I would want to do that for her, I don't know why.

Pictures coming as soon as I find where the camera landed after unpacking.

Diane

Another check mark!

Another UFO bites the dust!
This feels great! Looking around at all of the "kits" I have ready to go I could do this a lot more, but I know I will not keep going at this rate. As a matter of fact next week I will get nothing done as I will be back checking on my parents. No sewing gets done when I am visiting so I have stopped even taking it with me. I used to take my Featherweight and something to work on just to schlep it all back home untouched. Now I don't even pack it.
But I am so pleased with all I have accomplished son far. Yeah me!

Today I have been hanging rulers near my cutting table. Tired of always searching through stacks of rulers to find the one I want I have hung them within reach. Hopefully this will help with the chips on the corners from dropping them off the cutting table while looking through them. Rulers are too expensive to ruin with being so unorganized.

Also I have been going through stacks of blocks. I don't know about anyone else, but I always, no matter how well I count, make one or two blocks too many. Probably has to do with my chaotic and spastic sewing attitude. :) Anyway I have a stack that has accumulated and I am trying to see if I can make a scrappy block top out of them. The jury is out but I am trying. Pictures to come later.

Diane

I figured it out!

Have you ever been completely flummoxed by something and nothing you do will work right?

At the last retreat I went to with my Mobile friends I was trying to work on my star top. I got all of it ready to go together, but for the life of me couldn't make the math work. I couldn't see the answer. I was so confused by it I even confused a couple of gals who were trying to help me, (Karen and Lynn).

Last night as I was working on a Linus UFO I glanced up at the design wall where I had put the said top and instantly I knew what had to be done. it was a plain as day.
Today i tried all day to get in here and put my answer to work but the phone kept ringing and it was fires I had to put out. No way around it!

Tonight, I did it! I still need to trim it up to put the borders on but the math issue is DONE! WOO HOO!

Design Wall Monday

I think the name of this one might be Ballybucklebo in my Heart. While sewing on this top I have been listening to a book on tape and have fallen in love with the town and it's citizens. If you love a good book without murder, mystery, sex or too much harsh language then try An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. If you love to hear the Irish language spoken try the books on CD.
Diane

Think like it's an elephant

I finished the top last night!! I am so pleased! I just sat staring at it for a long time. I tell you the truth I have loved this design since I first saw it on Keryn's blog. Now to decide how I want to quilt it. I am pretty sure I won't hand quilt it, but I would love it if I did. Who knows, I have surprised myself before.
Now what do to. Do I rush right in and work on something else or do I stew? I'm thinking I will go through my UFOs and find one I am still in love with and work on it. Wouldn't it be great if I did that? I know I would be very pleased if I completed something. I know my husband would be amazed if I completed something.

I was reading a blog today, that lead me to another blog, that lead me to Amazon, and to "Look Inside" of a Scrap Therapy book. Talk about surfing! Anyway, the book said something along these lines...She was going along happily buying fabric, making quilts and sorting her scraps when all of a sudden one day she was almost paralyzed by her stash. Not just her yardage, but her scraps. She had stored her scraps in a whole separate place from her stash and was shocked by how much she had when she focused on it.
I kind of think that is where I was for a bit. Paralyzed by the abundance. No longer sure of just what I had. Patterns and fabric both were just too much for me to put my head around. I used to think, no biggie! If I died with a large stash my SIL would take it all and use it. That may not be the answer either. She is not sure she can find her quilting joy either.
The answer...just like eating an elephant...one bite at a time! I will try to focus on one thing at a time. Not plan my future projects, just look at the one before me.

Now to go through my UFOs...I'll post what I find.

Later,
Diane

New year, new frame of mind...

It has been silent here too long.
I have not been in the right frame of mind to do any sewing or blogging. I sincerely hope that is over with and along with a new year I will have a new drive to sew, quilt and create.

I went into my sewing room for the first time in many moons and didn't know what to do so I just sat and looked around and thought. That was enough for that day, I left.
The next day I decided it was too crowded and messy so I put away the machine I use for quilting and folded the fabric that has landed in the floor. During the straightening I spotted a plastic box with a UFO that I started at least two years ago. I opened the lid and remembered how much I loved the design. I wonder if I could get some of these little blocks made? Four patches and HST that finish 2". How cute!
I stayed up until 3 am. I was lost in the cotton.
The next morning Ray let me sleep in. I woke late and headed straight to the sewing machine. I sewed ALL day and until 3am again. Was I back in the saddle? I don't know but I was having fun. I dared not question too much or think too much I might jinx it, even though I don't believe in jinxes, but why chance it! LOL
Day three...I woke at 11am...went straight to the sewing room and played! At 4am I thought I might need to go to bed before I burnt another finger or dropped the rotary cutter one more time.

So far it looks like this:

I saw the original design on Keryn's blog back in 2008. I fell in love instantly. She made hers to be a table cloth and I thought I wanted to do the same thing. Needless to say over the past few days I made mine much larger. The components are small, so tons of piecing, tons of civil war scraps, just the way I like it.
So what do you think?

Diane