What have I been doing?

Well to answer that question, a lot! Well it feels like a lot to me, but maybe not to anyone else.  I have been cutting fabric, ironing fabric of course, looking through books and trying to make a plan. I can't seem to stay focused unless I write it down, and then not lose the the sticky note.

I mostly have been knitting. I started some socks when I went to stay with Daddy, for something to occupy my mind while sitting and listening to the oxygen machine.

The sock on the right has the gusset and ready to make the heel. The one on the left is ready to start the gusset. I'm pretty excited about these. I have made the first pair of socks months ago but they were from a worsted weight yarn and only for around the house socks. These will actually fit inside shoes.  :)  I have started and ripped out probably 8 different socks. I couldn't get the toes right, the yarn was too thick, the needles were too small, yada ,yada. These seem to be working out. Fingers crossed!

 My MIL used to be a "fluffy" woman, now she is a pencil thin woman. She gets cold now and also thinks her neck and collar area is "too bony". Seriously, I will NEVER have that problem! Anyway I thought I would make her a couple of scarfs to wear to church. This one I started  to practice on while I waited for some ultra soft cashmere yarn to arrive in the mail.

These are some pot holders I crocheted for a sweet young woman. She is always so happy and laughing and loves purple. This girl even found purple pots and pans! So I made her a couple of these. I want to make some coasters but who knows if I will.

Anyway, the husband will be back home this afternoon from a week long trip so I suspect my stitching time will go back to almost nothing for a while. Gotta pay attention to the man. :)

So what have you been doing?

Diane

Daddy

Memories with Daddy

From my childhood it was a long row of rabbit hutches in the back yard.  I could hold the babies while Daddy tended to the moma rabbits.

Daddy working on a car in the driveway,  late at night while listening to any and all LSU  ball games on the radio  LOUDLY.

Having every TV in the house turned to game,  race or boxing match  so he wouldn't miss a thing as he went from room to room.

Saturday morning cartoons... Foghorn Leghorn , Road Runner and Bugs Bunny kept us laughing,  but his favorite was the Pink Panther. 

The best Bar-B-Q in the world was served every Saturday at our house and made by my Daddy.

Christmas lights all over and the speakers Daddy put all around the outside of the house.  The neighbors heard every Christmas album we owned. 

The years at the lake.  Fishing and boat riding all day and boiled peanuts and Coke at night.

The secret driving lessons that started at about the age of twelve. Always in the evenings when the roads at the lake were empty.  His only directions were "Keep it between the ditches"  and "Don't tell your Moma".

A thousand "Hey, Baby!"  and smiles when my family would pile out of the car when we visited. 


The smile on his face when I called his name last Friday.


We buried Daddy last week. I am fortunate that I was able to see one last smile.



Dian

On the needles

I think this is called the Wavy Cowl, a free pattern on Ravelry but I will have to check that name again.
I first saw this on Denise Russart's blog and fell in love with it. There was a learning curve as I had to learn what a short row was and how to do it neatly but that only took a few inches if knitting to do.

Abandonded in place

I have been away a while...
I have been struggling...

I have been sewing a wee bit.

Pile of 4 patch halves and some pinned

It's been coming in fits and spurts but I have cut and pieced some units for a scrappy Irish Chain quilt. A dear sweet girl that I have loved for years is getting married in June and I want so terribly to get her a quilt made. Some quilts you work on and you don't worry about not finishing on time. This one I WANT to finish and give to her on time. This is important to me.

Doesn't this look like I'm scatter brained?

My ever present pups. :)

I have lost a scrap of fabric I saved for years waiting for the perfect project. It is a Mickey Mouse fabric and this quilt is that perfect one. The sweet girl I am making the quilt for is a former Walt Disney Ranger ( I probably got that title wrong) but she worked/ interned at Walt Disney World during college and has wonderful stories and memories and friends from that time in her life. I want to put Mickey in the quilt so she can search for him.  Can I find the fabric? NO!
Crud!


Now about the title of this post.
Abandoned in place is a term I hear a lot lately.  It is when a pipeline or section of pipeline is no longer monitored or even used.  They cut all communication lines and leave it in the open or working condition and walk away. They no longer monitor, calibrate or communicate with it.  That is how I have felt for a while. My Mom has been gone for a year now. My father no longer talks. He will answer questions in one word answers but doesn't talk just to talk. It feels like that the first years of my life is forgotten. I have no one who knows me when I was a baby, learning to walk, learning my ABCs, lost my first tooth, etc.
This is why I am having trouble coming to the blog. I tend to have too many depressing conversations in my head and don't want to do that here, although a blog/diary is where you write your feelings and accomplishments.

Ok, off of that and back to the scraps!

Diane

All over the place with little accomplished

I have been a complete mess since returning home.  :^/

I have still not got back to sleeping all night. I'm averaging about 3.5 a night. Makes me a not so nice person to be around after dark. I'm refusing to nap in the day time just in case that will cause me to nit sleep at night, but I'm ready to chuck that idea and sleep whenever and wherever possible.
I told Ray the other day I was going to get him to do for me what we have done in the past for the kids when they were babies and they felt bad or was teething. I want him to put me in the truck and drive me around and sing to me. I am out light a light! He does that when we travel and I am unable to keep my eyes open for any price. LOL He wasn't too excited at first but after the last couple of nights he said he was ready to try come tomorrow nit. Why tomorrow? He doesn't normally work on Friday so he can drive me all night, then sleep when we get home in the morning. LOL I have this all thought out!

Question:
What is the deal with credit scores?
I have not worked (and made a pay check) in over 30 years. Ray is the bacon bringer homer dude and my credit score is over 40 points better than his. LOL! CRAZY!  But the crazier thing is...his is in the GOOD level and mine is in the EXCELLENT level.  HAHA!!!! I find that so funny, and just a bit scary. That is probably why our financial world is in such a state we allow people who don't even have an income to have excellent credit scores and those who do work and pay all the bills get lower ones. WEIRD.

I have sewn  N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Not one stitch has been taken. I have sat in here and stared at my machine but that is all. What a loser.

I have knitted a little. Mostly I have ripped out and grumbled under my breath...and not so under my breath.

 You see this little dishcloth? I have tried 4 times to make this. I can get more than half way (once I got 3/4) finished and lose my way and can't figure what I'm doing or supposed to do and end up ripping it out. I finally called it quits. Yep I'm a quitter. That pattern is not even hard, but I keep getting lost. :^(

baby socks A & B

Good instructions

I am trying to learn to knit two socks at a time. I keep hearing about SSS or Second Sock Syndrome, and everyone who knows me knows I have no problem getting quilts to the top and calling them done, just imagine me and making socks. I would have a drawer full of unmatched socks. That may not be such a big deal, now that I think of it, but I'm not sure I'm THAT crazy lady yet. I always tell my friend I want to grow up and be the crazy lady on the block that has plastic pink flamingos in the front yard, 23 cats and sings loudly while gardening. I'm not sure I'm there yet. Give me just a bit more time. A few more weeks of no sleep and you never know!

Speaking of singing loudly...while in Houma last time I found the BEST country radio station.   Gumbo 94.9 plays all the best songs from I would say the 70's through the 90's maybe some into the early 2000's. They are all in the top 100 so tons of great music from my younger years. I'm streaming live and listening to Sawyer Brown right now. Loving it! Although my son and husband have taken to wearing noise cancelling headphones. I think that is rude!. Just sayin'.

I have been digging through my bag patterns and think I am going to make a couple if I can concentrate long enough. I need some new ones for travelling. My daughter made fun of me carrying so much stuff in zip lock bags. 


Purse-Nickities. Lazy Girl
The top one with the handle I made and use it daily.

Perfect Pouches, Lazy Girl
I know, I don't need a pattern for this, but I did when I bought it.

Lazy Girl Designs, hands down had the easiest to follow patterns, (IMHO). I have made several of her bags, purses and totes and each one was a total success. Well, one was bad, but it was the fabric choice that caused that. I also like Atkinson Designs, but I have to concentrate to follow her instructions. I think it's me. I find the way the instructions are laid out hard to follow.


Cute!

I wonder if this is something I would use?

Ok, I guess that is enough rambling. I want to try and get something accomplished before I have to fix dinner. Tonight is fajitas! I made steaks Monday and grilled an extra ribeye, so easy peasy dinner night.  "Sigh" ( that was for you L) :) Thought you might like a laugh.

Later,
Diane

I really need to stay home

Once again Ray and I are back home from two weeks of travel. We spent a week near Mobile then a week in Houma LA. I have had a sore throat, itchy ears, watery eyes and a headache for over a week. It's just allergies from being in areas with more moisture (mold) and trees (pollen). It is already looking like Spring in south Louisiana. Tulip trees all pretty and purple were everywhere, and trees with new leaves. The only problem was I forgot that mold and pollen from that area of the world hates me.
Since I have a pounding head and my rear refuses to get back inside of a vehicle just yet, I have become a slug to beat all slugs. I have created a nest here in my chair. I have my computer, iPhone on silent, Coke, knitting, new quilt books (to me) all around me. My dogs and I are under my quilt and I am staring daggers at anyone who speaks louder than a whisper.

I had a sock knitted about 4 inches and decided it would only fit a 3 year old or a very small 5 year old boy I know. Since I was making them to fit me, I had no choice. I hate ripping out that much. :(
Now I can't figure out just how many stitches I need to cast on.

Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up to no more headache and everyone off to work.

I have been working on a special quilt design for a special person. Maybe I will be able to post a picture.

Later,

Lighting and a visitor

I was over at Sister's Choice blog and Nichole was asking about lighting. I told her I had the same issues with lighting. There are days in my life that there just isn't enough. No matter how bright and sunny or how many lights are on. Times like these you sure could use a friend. Ikea is your friend!
As you can see in the picture on the right of my machine I have not one but TWO Ikea lights. Some days it is just a two light day. One is a goose neck lamp and one is a clip on goose neck lamp.
 On the left attached to the top of my machine is one of those bright bendy lights. I have heard friends say they don't love their bendy lights because they bounce up and down when they sew. I don't normally have that problem. Maybe I sew slower than they do. I do know if I am doing something I hate (hemming pants for a child) I can get the speed up on my machine where it's kind of bouncy, but
not very often. That bendy light is very bright and I can really see my needle so I love it.
What you don't see is the large OTT light. I removed it. The OTT light was an old large weighted desk ones with one of the long arms that only had a join in the middle so it didn't adjust easily but once you did get it adjusted, it was good.  I noticed I was having lots of issues with my Rosacea when I spent a lot of time in my sewing room. I would come out with two huge red cheeks that were hot to the touch and tender. I decided to try the Ikea light instead for a while to see if the light was causing this. As soon as the lights were switched my face cleared up.  Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I put the OTT light back and back came the red face. So my unscientific results are...out goes the OTT light.






I had a visitor. Can you see him?



Can you see him now?

He sat there for a very long time just watching me. He didn't even move when I removed the stuff in
the window to get a better picture.

Diane

My first sock!!

I finished my very first sock last night!! I was so excited. It fits and everything! Ray even tried it on.  This was made from worsted weight yarn and they say it knits up quickly but when you are learning... not so much. It took many nights to complete. I cast on the second sock last night but was so sleepy I messed it up and said I would start over in the morning. I will do that just as soon as I finish this post.

 

Thank you Judy. This was the whole reason I wanted to learn to knit. I wanted to make socks.

 

New items, old items and chocolate

Hob-E-Lube Premium Lite Oil HL662 by Woodland Scenics

While at retreat (am I ever going to stop talking about the retreat?) my friend Lynn G had a really nifty tube of machine oil with a precision tip on it. I thought I needed to own it so I Googled it immediately and found it on Amazon and ordered it. Isn't technology great? Remind me I said that the next time I'm ranting about this stupid computer or cell phone acting all crazy. Anyway I order it and it arrived today. Ok sing with me "I love technology...." Quick name the movie that little ditty is from!**



Crazy cool tip!

 

You can get right into the tight spots on the vintage machines. I have one of those squeeze bottles of oil with the zoom tip on it, but sometimes I squeeze out too much oil then I have to clean it out. Too much oil is as bad or worse than not enough oil. 

 

While browsing on Amazon I found this book. I am a big fan of all of the quilt books from the states and own several. I shop the used book section and have found many for anywhere between $.01 to $12.

 

 

Some of the ones I have marked in the book already. Do you notice a pattern here? Maybe a Bazillion pieces? I have lost my mind. Although the first one isn't nearly as bad as the last one.

 

 

 

One last retreat item. OMG! Have you had these? Since I quit eating chocolate for the most part a while back I never look on the candy aisle. One of the retreaters got his as their candy gift and I traded her for the ultra dark chocolate I got as my gift. We both were happy. I thought I would bring it home for Ray and Joseph. I opened it on the drive home as I was getting a bit sleepy and wanted a pick me up. Just suffice it to say, Ray and Joseph never saw that bag and the one pictured above was not the first bag purchased since getting home. I will have to put the brakes on this though. I really shouldn't be eating it. No more candy aisle for me. I promise. But I do have this whole bag. :)

Diane

**Answer to the question above:
Napoleon Dynamite   Go ahead click it...you know you want to. :)

Carrying on with the tote idea

Yesterday was a whole day of appointments at Dr.'s offices, medical tests and waiting on these things.  Fortunately every visit and test came back good so I am happy.  Unfortunately the very first visit was with the Opthamologist. At 9am. In the fog. So instead of being able to leave my house at 8:30, I had to leave at 8:10 and pray and white knuckle it all the way and just made it with less than 10 minutes to spare. There I had a full field of vision test that I have annually. Not a problem except my eyes are dilated. So Once again I white knuckle it just down the street about a mile (straight shot, no turns and several lights so I only got up to 30mph) to a shopping center so I can walk around and shop until I can see well enough to drive to the yarn store down the freeway. 

While in this shopping center I was able to go into Joann. They had all kinds of cute fabric on sale between 30% and 50% off.  I didn't go crazy, but I did buy a few pieces to make some zip bags for toiletries or sewing/knitting notions or whatever I need them for. I will make my daughter a couple since she has had a habit for the past 10 years to basically live out of her car. She can never find what she needs unless she tunnels through the trunk or back seat. I thought if she had some bright bags she could find the smaller items easier.

Valentine fabric 50% off

Cute girlie fabrics 30% off

Cute monster and dino fabrics 30% off

Then I went into the quilt shop. Remember the tote bag I was discussing the last time? Well I found this pattern and thought this might be something that would work. I think it would also be nice for my daughter. She is in a band and they travel all over in a bus. She could fill it with all sorts of stuff and it would still fit inside of her huge suitcase of a purse.  Or it might be good for college. Lots of possibilities.

$10 @ quilt shop

I guess this time they gave me larger dose of eye dilate because I was still at the shopping center at 3:30pm and I was just starting to see well enough that I felt comfortable driving on the freeway. But...I had my next appointment in less than an hour. GRR! No time to go to the yarn store.

So I came home and knitted after dinner. Is it starting to look like a sock? It's going to be a short house sock. The cuff is on top. The heel is on the right side with my fingers inside the gusset part. I tell you, working with 4 needles is a challenge.

Diane

Last day and a rant

***EDIT*** This post is from a long time back. I have no idea why Blogger moved it and put it back in play but here it is.*** Weird Blogger!



This is hopefully the last full day of Ray being gone. I have enjoyed the free time to play as I wish, but I'm ready for him to be home. I need sleep!
Last night once again, no sleep until after 4am. Grrr!

I didn't get to play in the sewing room until after 9:30 last night as the daughter came over or some Mommy time. She does that occasionally. It makes me happy.

I have started another stack of pineapples. The hardest and most annoying part is the first round as it has such tiny pieces and I can't do it if my hand are stiff. Normally on good days I will make a stack of them so I can just mindlessly piece rounds. So last night after Kari left I made a small stack. Today since I am bleary eyed but my hands are working I have added to the stack. I have about 30 and want to make about 50 before I quit. I think I can do that tonight.

I need to fuss for a minute so if you're in no mood for it stop here.

I have a Brother Innov'-is QC-1000. I got it about a year before leaving Alabama. I HATE it!! Every time I have to clean out the bobbin area it is a fight to get it back to sewing. I am in the habit of cleaning after each bobbin. I have done that on all of my machines. I also give them one drop of oil in the bobbin area after dusting. The Brother machine takes between 20 and 30 minutes each time because I have to play around and keep adjusting everything so it will sew again. There is something about the way it fits together, which in my opinion, isn't a good tight fit, that makes it temperamental. I know a lady who as the same machine bought just a few months before mine that has the same issues. It s aggravating!
I have taken it to be serviced and spoke to them bout it, thinking it was something I was doing wrong. Nope, I'm told it is a finicky machine. HOGWASH!  Why didn't anyone tell me this before I paid too much money for it?
So now this expensive machine is left for paper piecing and machine quilting. Because beside the fact the bobbin area is a pain I can't get a good 1/4" seam without cuss words. For a very long time I left it in the box. I felt guilty so I pulled it out, but it sure makes me crazy...er.

Ok rant over...back to my regularly sunny disposition. Ha ha! :)

I'm typing on my iPad so the pictures are at the bottom.
Doesn't that look like a mess? You should see the floor!

See Boo? He has a thread on his chin. He was helping me again. :)

What a find

While I was at the retreat and having so much fun I had the chance to watch Bonnie Hunter demo her hexie project. She makes it look so fun and easy! :) I on the other hand don't find it fun or easy; but I want to. I really do!
Anyway as she was demoing it the second time to the second group of ladies I was noticing her tote bag for her travelling hexie's. (Is that correct? Do I put an apostrophe there? Does the tote bag belong to the hexies? I don't know.)  The tote is from Timeless Totes and it looks to be the perfect tote for travelling and keeping everything together in tight spaces such as planes and buses. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the price. Not that it isn't totally worth the price, but if I am not going to LOVE making hexies or any other hand work for that matter it is too expensive. I just need to make sure I love the hexies or other hand work first. I'm just trying to be responsible...it's not easy.

closed tote...CUTE!

opened up...very useful!

I thought and thought the whole 9 hour drive home from Mobile what I could use in the interim. That is when the light bulb lit. Bass Pro Shops! Worm bag to be precise. My husband used to fish ALOT. We have old worm bags that would be perfect except they now smell like old worms. Not the wriggly kind, but the purple with fuchsia tail, or green with the white curly tail.  I waited to go to BPS until Ray finally came home so he could go with me. I'm nice like that. Really I wanted him to drive so I could knit, but I didn't tell him that. Shh.

They no longer make the worm bags as well as they used to. :( Now they make them with what looks like expensive, but not better, zip top bags that you store leftovers in. The refills were $5.99 for something like 20 bags. They weren't even as thick mil wise as freezer type zip top bags. No way. I was looking for better priced bag,  not a cheaply made bag. 

I was kind of sad that my great idea was not panning out. I thought I would just check out and treat myself to a hot fudge sundae at Culver's to help me deal with my grief.  Good idea. Then I rounded a corner and there they were.

 TADA!

 They fit perfect!

They have tons of grip/stick/hold on area.

These will be perfect for machine quilting. 

They are pink.

How cute!

The best part??

 $4.99!!

And they are a sponsor of American Breast Cancer Foundation. How cool is that?

 

That made the trip so worth it! But I did still go get the hot fudge sundae. Hey it was Culver's. No way am I passing up Culver's.

 

Diane



Thank you Bonnie Hunter, I had fun

Me and Bonnie holding my Pineapple Crazy top

I was one of the retreaters in Mobile, AL that got to spend time with Bonnie Hunter and learn from her.
I was also one of the ones that said to myself and out loud (but not rudely) that I wasn't sure I would learn much from her. I've been piecing quilts for well over 20 years. I am pretty accurate with my points and 1/4" seams. My tops lay pretty flat and square. What could she teach me since her designs are traditional and not curved piecing.
Well let me tell you some of what I learned.
1. Just because someone told you that you can cut 8,10, or 12 layers of fabric with a good rotary blade (and you can) doesn't mean you should. You will lose accuracy with larger numbers.  Bonnie recommended 4 layer max, and with the rulers she uses I totally agree. There is no way you can get a tiny nub of a point cut off at the same depth if you have lots of layers. The Tri Rec ruler and the Easy Angle ruler both all for cutting off tiny nubs. I have always had trouble with the Tri Rec ruler, but not any more.   Thanks Bonnie!

2. Stop flip flopping those rulers! Read the instructions that came with them and do what it says. Imagine hinges, it really works. Thanks Bonnie!

3. Take the time to check out your machine for proper settings.  Bonnie was brought a Singer 301 to sew with. (That is a blog post in itself! LOL) She sat down and started sewing and it had beautiful, straight, even stitches. After a short but she said, "this machine sounds dry, it needs oil". She oils the machine (all the while a crew is over her shoulders getting instructions on how to properly oil these old beauties). She puts the machine back together and starts to sew, but all she got was thread nests on the underside of the fabric. She rethreaded, pulled out the bobbin and replaced, looked for a loose thread in the bobbin area, rethreaded again, checked the bobbin again. After a good bit of time passed we heard her hooraying. She had touched the tension while oiling and showing everyone about how it worked and didn't realize it. Once she readjusted the tension it was back to perfect. Lesson: Recheck everything!!  Thanks Bonnie!

4. Use your machines! I have several. Eight to be exact. Eight working machines and one that my Moma wore smooth out; it's just for memories. I do play on three of my machines pretty regularly, but that leaves five that are being snubbed.  I don't mean to, I'm just lazy I guess.  Well today I decided I wanted to play on my Singer treadle. It worked perfectly the last time I used it, but today the belt snapped. I remembered that Bonnie was talking at the retreat about her treadle and she kept telling us to check out her block that she had tons of info there (you could spend a whole day there learning from her!) under Tips and Techniques. So I went looking about where she bought her treadle belts. She uses a clear tubing and a connector. I looked up the website and was about to place the order but couldn't get the shipping charges to show. I emailed them and asked. The response was , "we don't know the shipping charges until you place the order and UPS picks it up, but we estimate between $7 and $15,  WHAT? No way am I not going to know the price of shipping before I click buy and no way am I paying $15 for shipping me something that would take up no more room that a 4"x4x1" box on a bad day. I understand that is still less than me getting in my car and buying it from them....or is it?
Ace Hardware...My hero! 6ft tubing $1.14 + Tubing Fastener $.89 = $2.16 with tax
And Ace is only 2 miles down the road. Happy Happy Happy!  I am now playing on my 1928 Treadle.  Thanks Bonnie!

Ace Hardware tubing and connector

I really need to put everything back in place in my sewing room, but I just keep stepping over it.

Diane

I think I can, I think I can...

center of the top going together

pile of border units

If I keep my nose to the grindstone I will be able to get the Pineapple top complete. Fingers crossed!
 Then I can concentrate on packing for the retreat. :)

Back to sewing!!
Diane

360 degrees and lots of yammering

what is that saying? When the cat's away ...

Well I have been playing, in the "studio" as I am having to call it since I have moved ALL of my quilting/knitting/beading/and everything else into one room. Beading and kitting are recent loves but I decided I didn't really want to see them all over the house all of the time. When I am actually working on them while Ray is home is enough.
I already got off topic...surprised? Not me. :)

I took a couple of pictures to show off the new shelves and a drawer unit which I hope keep me more tidy and organized.

This wall of shelves and drawer cabinet is wonderful so far. I have all of my patterns in the red drawers divided by subject; paper piecing, applique, hand piecing, embroidery, etc. The fabrics (not all organized and pretty yet) are sorted by colors except the far right side which is baby/children fabrics.

The white cabinet of drawers holds all of my beading/jewelry stuff and misc. stuff I couldn't decide where to put.

The Great Wall  :)

Paper piecing above, companions below

 While Ray is gone I have been piecing again on my Pineapple Crazy. It is such a mess maker I will be glad when I am finally finished.  I have loved working on it. It is really good for stressful days or insomniac nights, but man at the mess! I didn't take a picture of the trash can and around it, the floor of strings after digging again, the front of my clothes at night before leaving the room. I am covered with threads...covered!

Paper piecing machine and stuff

 I'm not sure how much I love my computer being in here, but I am trying it. I thought I would like watching Netflix or DVDs in here, but I find myself watching the screen instead of sewing.  Music may be my best bet.

Finally all of the pineapples!! Some knitting

 Look! See all of those blocks? That is all of them! So exciting! Of course I thought I had them all finished and then I counted and saw I was one pineapple short. :^/ But I remedied that!

Scrap digging...and a mess

I'm so ADD! Look at that mess. Very far left is three different block/quilt designs I have been working on. Then a pile of light scraps on top of a tray with PP.  The books are some I have been looking through for some new quilt designs then more scraps.  What you can't see is a stack of books and magazines and quilt drawings, two huge plastic boxes of leftovers from fabric cuttings. When I took out my cutting table I lost the area to have my drop box. The drop box is where I put the scraps that are too large to strip into 1", 1.5" or 2" strips, but too small to put back on the shelves.  Right now they are being stored under my cabinet the Bernina sits in.



My constant companions and helpers in all needlework

It us going to take some more thought to get the room clean and organized properly. If you know me you know I will change it three more times before it feels right. But then that would mean I would have to stay home to do this. Fat chance! Ray keep saying he wants to retire so we can travel. I want him to retire so I can stay home! We travel enough! Too much sometimes.

Later!

Diane

Thoughts for this year

I know, I know most people do this after Christmas and before New Years Day so they are ready for their NY resolution announcement on the first. This is me though and I am never on time...unless my husband is driving!

I will not make resolutions because once again, this is me... but I will write down things I would like to do this year. Goals.

Personal Goals:

 Be more organized.
 Not just in my sewing room or kitchen, but everywhere. We travel so much now that it seems like all we do is search for items because we can't remember where we put something that we unpacked from the previous trip.  Case in point. Ray looked for 45 seriously stressful minutes at 2am this morning for our video camera. Not fun! He thought he might have left it in the rental car. That is another problem with owning black cases on everything and renting a car with black interior. When and if I ever buy another car I promise it will not have black interior.

 Move more.
Fibromyalgia and RA causes lots of discomfort and I tend to give in too often and say to myself "I don't feel good, or this or that hurts" so I don't go for a walk or work in the flower beds.  I give in way too often.  I really want to get more exercise. I don't want to lose any more mobility.

Cook more healthy delicious meals.
Again, with travel and pain I can go a long time in between home cooked meals. NOT GOOD! I want to get organized (see #1) so I can write up menus and grocery lists so life is easier and the meals are better.

 Go shopping and buy a couple of nice outfits.
I seriously hate clothes shopping. I hate it so much that I have to put it on the calendar and make myself go.

Craft wise:

Get more serious with machine quilting. 
I need to become a quilter and not just a topper. I have promised quilts that need to be finished.
 
Bead at least one really pretty necklace and bracelet.
I always forget that we have a couple of company functions that I need to get dressed up for and I never have anything pretty to wear.

Knit a pair of socks.
Or two!

Home goals
 
Paint the formal rooms
Get bookcases for Formal Living room
Buy a small table for the breakfast area
Get some bar stools
Rework the flowerbeds
Put more rocks around lanai
Get floors done!
New ceiling fan for sewing room
Blinds for front door, front windows and back door.

Now I'm printing this out and posting it on the fridge, on my bathroom mirror and  in my sewing room so I can stay focused! Hopefully!


Diane

Working for more fun

I haven't been lost or gone away. I haven't quit the blog or quilting. I have been redoing the whole sewing room.
UGH!
Along with redoing the sewing room I have ha to rely upon the help of those stronger than me for this work, namely my husband. His work schedule is way different than mine.
Also I have managed to injure myself during the process so deep restorative sleep has been traded for drug induced, knee jerking sleep that keeps me in a fog. 😡

I tell you though when it is finished it is going to be great! I have one whole 130" wall that is Ikea shelves. I am so excited! After many months of living with the furniture arrangement I have decided that the "U" shaped sewing area needs to shift 90 degrees. The wall that did house my fabric shelves traded places with the design wall. 

The reason for the whole change up was this. While quilting the cousin quilt and working on the quilting for a baby quilt I discovered that I really couldn't use the back part of the sewing cabinet that lifts to give you a large support area for your quilt. If I lifted the table with much struggle from lack of room to get behind it, I could no longer get into my fabric closet due to the same lack of room. One could say that would be incentive to get the quilting finished quickly so I could move on to the next project, but really? Does that sound like me? Didn't think so.

You would think with the husband being home for two full weeks we would have this done by now, but...anyway...

122 inches of wonderful storage!

I promise pictures as soon as it no longer looks like the previous post pictures. Believe it or not it looks worse now than then.

Take care,

Diane