Okay, Here's the Deal... WINNER

What a morning. I have a 4:00 appointment with the on-call emergency dentist because two of these so-called temporary teeth have broken. I'm not at all pleased right now, and that's saying it as kindly as I can.

I let the random number generator thing pick the winner.

The winner of the $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop is ........

LuAnn of Loose Threads blog.

Congrats, LuAnn. I see that you're now in Paducah enjoying the quilt show. Please contact me with your email address so I can get that gift certificate ordered for you.

Thank you to everyone for delurking. However, there is absolutely no need to ever leave a comment if you don't want to. I'm really not concerned about that at all. I just thought this would be fun way to have a give-away!!! And it was -- wasn't it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I just checked some stats on my blog and 562 folks have viewed it in the last 24 hours. Thirteen people have left comments.

So this week is the LA Quilter DeLurking Party!

The rules are simple: Leave a comment and be eligible for the drawing.

The drawing will be held on Sat. 4/30/11 at around noon California time. The prize will be a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. Tell us what you'd buy with that gift certificate. Just remember to leave an identifier, either email or blog, so I can contact the winner.

It's a great way to end this awful, tax-filled, dentist-filled, car-trouble-filled month!

Good luck!

And the Journey Begins

It'll be a long one, but fun!

A HUGE thank you to Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts for the inspiration and encouragement!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 17

I was a cutting machine yesterday! I cut 25.33 yards of Civil War fabrics for myself and to share. It felt good to hold the rotary cutter.

Incoming was five yards. I'll get those busted next week.

A little piddling was involved yesterday, so I didn't get as much prepped as I intended, but here are a few drunkard's paths. I decided to quickly hand baste them as my thread was hanging up on the pins I used. This only takes a minute and it'll be easier to needleturn them.



I also need to hold off prepping too many more until I can pull in some other colors. Need to toss some cheddar in there. Too bad that bolt of cheddar in the stash room is a solid. ;)

The car is running good. I hopped on the freeway yesterday for a couple of miles, and, by George, I think they've fixed it.

Happy Easter to all. I wish you joy today.

Year to Date:

Busted: 194.45 yards
Purchased: 212.69 yards
Net YTD: (28.74) yards busted :(

P.S.: There's a 20% off coupon good through 4/27 at the Fat Quarter Shop. Just don't forget to put "taxes" in the code box like I did!! :< Sheesh.....

A Wasted Sewing Month

Note to self: Do not send your car to the shop for three weeks with your applique project on the back seat!

I didn't have "access" to my little baskets so, of course, I started another teeny project. Not teeny as in small quilt, but teeny as in small blocks.

Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts - it's all her fault. Yes, it is. We chatted about what she was working on, and I jumped on the bandwagon.



Well, I didn't exactly jump. I kind of just gently stepped on it. I made one. ONE. I'll only need about 8,209,561 more. :) This is an appliqued drunkard's path. ONE of them. ROFLOL. I'm going to remake my template this morning because, as you can see, mine isn't perfect. Then prep a ton of these to be ready to stitch on a moment's notice!

I also thought I wanted to do the little 3" 9-patches that she's doing. Wait! I remember something! Years and years ago I participated in a swap where we exchanged 3"9Ps. I found them! There are a couple of hundred. Some are rejects ... either they're not Civil War fabrics or they're sewed incorrectly, but there are a ton of them that are usable. All right!!!!!!!





So here's what I'll be futzing with this morning. I'm going to figure out how I can make one cut from a fat quarter, and out of that one cut get one basket block, one drunkard's path, and one nine-patch. Or more.

I'm on a mission!

Now, this means that, once again, I'm ignoring all of the various and sundry UFOs, BOMs, XYZs that are sitting around here. But it's okay. I'm inspired and that's all that's important at this point!!

So I'll be scouring the Market pictures for new Civil War fabrics. And this weekend I'll be digging through two huge wire baskets of Civil War fabrics for ones I want to use in these projects.

Update on the car saga: I picked it up last night from the dealership. Three weeks it's been there. The good news is that everything seems to be running well and there are no strange noises coming from under the hood. The bad news is that it has to go back next Wednesday. It seems they somehow damaged the driver's inside door panel and have ordered a replacement. I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday in the same town, so I'll swing by there after to get that replaced. She told me it would take 30 minutes tops. I'm probably being naive, but I'm choosing to believe her at this point. LOL.

That will give me a week to drive this one to see if it is truly fixed. If I'm not comfortable with it, then I will definitely be car shopping next weekend.

Meanwhile, if you need me, I'll be rooting around in the stash room!

Continuing Saga

Okay. So I picked my car up last night from the dealership. They assured me it was "good to go." I drove home and parked it in the garage.

This morning I got in it and started driving on the freeway to work. Almost to my exit -- yep, you guessed it. All the lights came on, it started shaking, the same problem it was in the shop for for over two weeks.

I managed to get off the freeway on the correct exit, and limped to the office. I backed it in my parking space and called the dealership to send a wrecker. That conversation .... well, how should I put this? I think I might have gone a bit Cajun on them.

Later they called and said they had to keep it -- no kidding! -- and they would arrange for a rental. This was 1:00. It went all downhill from there. The rental company didn't come get me from work until 6:20, and I had to take the guy back to his office, which was in the other direction from where I needed to be. I was over an hour late to my dinner meeting.

Tomorrow it gets serious with these folks. I'll call the attorney and find out my options. I'm thinking lemon law here.

I had the car a whole 12 hours, 11 of which it was parked in my garage.

I hate this vehicle. It's no longer the QuiltMobile. It's just a vehicle.

Inspiration

I'm not naming names, but *someone* has stuck me all the way to the bone with a big old inspiration needle. I'm on a mission now! And it involves stashbusting some long neglected fabrics! How cool is that!

I prepped applique yesterday but didn't finish up. Got the templates drawn, and now need to iron fabric. Will work on that more this week. There is a LOT of applique in my future. My new project, plus the baskets, and Anne Sutton's patterns. I also need to dig out Dutch Treats. I'm closing in on three-fourths of those done. Miss Bernina will get a tiny workout, too, for another project.

The UFOs will just have to wait. I really don't think they're seasoned quite enough just yet. Besides, no one is keeping score on those except me.

I was up all night thinking about this stuff. It's going to be a long day today! No late meetings tonight. Just getting the car back. I can crash early.

Can you see me smiling? Wow, I feel like a million bucks! :)

Stash Report 2011 - Week 16

Needless to say, I didn't get any sewing done to speak of this week. But the hard work at work is all done! That must count for something!

I worked with a customer at the local quilt shop on her applique Friday night. We're going to make together Anne Sutton's Bunnyhill pattern, The Night Before Christmas. I'm going to prep the first block today but will not stitch on it until I meet with that lady this coming Friday night. Mine is in BOM form from Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop. I don't count the monthly BOM packages in at all, and only count the finishing kit in and out. Complicated ... I know, but it results in a lot of stitching for me with no busts. I just don't want to try to figure out how much is in each of those packages!

I'm also going to prep another one of Anne's patterns, Henrietta Whiskers. Finally decided on my fabric! Seeing as I'm four months behind the rest of the world, I might get all four of those prepped today. If I do, then I'm committed to that fabric and I'll go ahead and bust the whole amount for the quilt.

That incoming last week that was for a friend did go out this week, so that was 12.75 yards out. Of course, 8.5 yards came in. Sorta on the good side of neutral. Hey, I'll take it!

I'm so tired, worn out. I kept falling asleep yesterday. I did manage an early morning haircut but that's about all.

No, I don't have my car back yet. They called yesterday to say that all the guts are back in it, but want to keep it until Monday to make sure nothing is leaking. Okay. You've had it 16 days. What's three days more? Unfortunately, trying to get to the dealership and the rental car place on Monday before they both close might be kind of difficult. I won't get my hopes up that it'll be ready by noon. Might have to leave work an hour early to get all accomplished. Do you think it'll feel the same to drive? Probably not. I already want to get rid of it, but I'm having trouble finding what I want in the color I want. Since the '12s are almost out, maybe I'll just cross my fingers and wait. I just hope I don't get stranded again.

Penny is still sleeping. I had the A/C on last night and she's buried under quilts in her doggy bed. She didn't like her bed at first, but now that's where I find her in the morning. She's so cute. She just melts my heart when I see her all cuddled up sleeping.

Year to Date:

Busted: 169.12 yards
Purchased: 217.69 yards
Net YTD: (48.57) yards busted :(

Camera batteries are charging. Might post again later with updates on applique prep.

Whew!

Last tax returns went out today.

Car will be ready to pick up on Saturday barring any further problems.

My Blackberry wasn't lost.

Things might be looking up here!

Cross your fingers!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 15

Penny's new favorite treat - Jell-O! Silly dog! Got plumb teary-eyed over it! LOL.



In - Sherbet Pips and something else I can't say right now because it's for someone else. It'll be out of here next week.

Out - Nothing. This is crunch time for me at work, but I am going to sew tomorrow. Does that count?

I'm thinking about putting together something for the blog, but all I can do is think about it for the next month. My life has its priorities right now.....

Busted: 156.37 yards
Purchased: 209.19 yards
Net YTD: (52.82) yards busted :(

All Day Saturday

I'm off today -- all day. This week was so intense. That's about the best word I can find to describe it. At the beginning of the week I was wishing I could clone myself into at least triplets to get everything done. But, you know, I decided to roll up my sleeves and just do it. And I did! Wow, what a feeling of accomplishment when I walked out of there last night. Next week shouldn't be as bad because all the hard stuff is done. Now, why can't I just do that on a quilt? :)

My car is still in the shop and will be for another week. My female service writer called me yesterday and gave me the bad news. I mention that she is female because she told me they had to do a hysterectomy on it! ROFLOL. Why did the motor blow? All I can say is thank goodness it happened at 47K miles instead of at 60K, and that it was in for its regularly scheduled maintenance just three weeks before. The whole thing is covered under warranty. Well, everything except the inconvenience factor. I almost asked her if I could come by and get that fabric off the back seat ... you know, priorities and all! I probably shouldn't say this, but I've lost all confidence in that vehicle. Will I ever feel safe in it again? I'm just so thankful that didn't happen at night on the freeway. It's a nice vehicle; still has the new-car smell. I'm going to drive it a bit when I get it back, but I feel now that I'm probably going to go ahead and get something else. My late boss talked me into getting this one. After driving high performance cars for most of my life, I found I never really loved this one, but at least I figured it would be a reliable car to drive for five or six years. I figured wrong... the story of my life!

Okay, on to the important things.



I was reading Minick & Simpson's blog this week and saw the wonderful "Flying Free" quilt that is in the June 2011 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. I rushed right over to the market, and the magazine guy was just putting it up on the rack! Isn't it wonderful?!!! Definitely on my to-do-soon list!

And Sherbet Pips! Why do I love this line so much? It's so different from what I would normally get. I think it's the clear, cool colors. Anyway, I forgot that I had ordered this Winter Sherbet kit from the Fat Quarter Shop, but I smiled big time when I got home last night. It's the adorable Camille's Thimble Blossoms pattern, "Piece of Cake (2)." This is at the tippy-top of my to-do-soon list! It'll be easy to make, and will let me play with that gorgeous fabric.

Last night at Ginger's, two ladies were talking about needle turn applique and asked if I could show them how to do it. One loves Anne Sutton's Bunnyhill Designs patterns, and has collected all of them! She's a gal after my own heart! So I told her I'd check through my stash of Bunnyhill patterns and pull out a couple. Then in two weeks, we'd decide which one we would work on and do it together. Although we'll only get together on Friday evenings, this is going to be fun!! I can't wait to start!

And finally, I just want to say how much I appreciate Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop. I had a "disappointment" this week trying to finalize an order from another shop, which I ended up just canceling. It REALLY made me appreciate the FQS and how wonderful they are about everything. Kimberly, you rock, my friend! xoxox from a very satisfied customer!!

Design Wall Monday - 4/4/11

66.5 basket blocks done. 224.5 more to go.

I'm a glutton for punishment.

I need to lose that dark block.

I love working on these little things.

I need to dust the baseboards and vacuum carpet.

I need a life - and a maid!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 14

Thank you all for your nice comments on yesterday's post. I'm still in awe every time I open that case of Aurifil!

I posted a lot this week when I didn't think I'd post at all. The sad fact is I'm waiting on others to finish up some things before my marathon work begins with a mad dash to the finish line. I think I'll be going in today - if I get the call that they're ready for me. I'm positive Penny won't be seeing too much of me next week.

The QuiltMobile is really sick. She'll be at the dealership repair shop for at least a week. They have to tear apart the engine to try to find out what's wrong. I advised them that I want guarantees that it won't conk out and leave me stranded again, and that they must give me at minimum a one-year warranty on the work. This is a 2008 model. I really hope it's fixable because I was planning on driving her a couple of more years. Good thing she's still under warranty because this would have been expensive!! If I'm not comfortable with it, then I'll go back to my previous make. I know that brand is reliable!

The stash report -- ewww. I'm up and down here. If I knew I wasn't going to have to work yesterday, I would have started cutting out the Brrr Park quilt by Minick & Simpson that I want on my bed for Christmas. That would have put me almost in the positive. Oh, well....

Incoming - a jelly roll of Lily & Will by Anne Sutton of Bunnyhill Designs. Yes, I know I bought a lot of it a few weeks ago, but I forgot to get an aqua jelly roll. I discovered that when I was putting it all away.



Incoming - the first shipment of the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle club from the Fat Quarter Shop! All I can say is WOW! Gorgeous fabrics!

2011 Totals:

Busted: 156.37 yards
Purchased: 177.405 yards
Net YTD: (21.05) yards busted :(

I guess it could have been a lot worse. We could be counting thread, too! :)

Admission

I wasn't going to blog about this, or even admit this out loud to anyone, but when I pondered it some more, I figured it might be an inspiration to others like me.

I applique a lot. I buy a lot of thread. I'm *always* looking for perfect colors to have handy for those nights when I get home late and sit down to applique and unwind for a few minutes before bedtime. A couple of weeks ago, I spent an hour searching through tons of thread here looking for a particular color. I ended up using a spool I had on hand, but it wasn't perfect. I had to be really careful to hide those stitches, and the block took longer to needle turn than it would have with the perfect color thread.

Perfect. I used that word several times in the paragraph above. No, I'm not perfect. But when I get a color stuck in my head, then I'm on a quest to find it. I've even put aside an applique project until I could accomplish said goal. I've changed fabrics because I couldn't find the perfect thread. I'm stubborn about certain things. If you don't know me, you're laughing. If you do know me, you've just said, "Yep, she is." It's okay. You can say it. You won't hurt my feelings. I admit it!

My first go-to place for anything quilt related is the Fat Quarter Shop. Everyone who knows me knows that. Kimberly and her staff are most accommodating in my quests. If it's out there, they'll find it for me. That's only one of the reasons why I love them so much. Their whole business is based on customer service and satisfaction. Being as busy as I am with little time to actually get out to 3D stores, I truly appreciate having the FQS only a button poke away!

But I digress....

I was getting very sleepy but still was scrolling through pages and pages of thread on the FQS site when (gasp) THIS popped up! I literally almost fell out of my chair. An extremely dear friend had just discussed this a week or so before, and I sort of decided then that I would think about getting myself one for my 60th birthday later this summer.

O.M.G. - do you realize how hard it was to type "60th birthday"? Surely, that must be incorrect! Let's see. 2011 minus 1951 equals - sheesh, my calculator must be wrong. That can't possibly be right!

But I digress again....

Wait, let me stop for a moment to quit hyperventilating.

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, better now.

Anyway, I thought about it for several days. And then I thought about it some more. Then I put it in my cart. Then I took it out.

Then I finally poked the button.

Then I had a panic attack for about a nanosecond, and then started smiling. I went to bed smiling. I woke up smiling. And when I checked my emails the next day, there was a notification that it had shipped.

I never track shipping. Never. But on this order, I watched that puppy slowly move halfway across the country. A couple of days later when I saw it had been dropped on my doorstep, I got hung up at work and had to make a few stops on the way home, all the while just biting at the bit to get my hands on that package!

It was worth the wait. When I opened that box, I gasped out loud again!



I sat there for a few minutes just taking it all in.

Then I opened the case. And my mouth fell open.



And I just sat there for the longest time just looking. Then I took that picture to capture it all in pristine condition.

Honestly, I sat there for a good hour just looking and smiling and smiling.

And you know what? That perfect thread I was looking for? It was right there!

An awfully long post, but I'll sum it up this way.

1. If you're an appliquer, try this Aurifil Mako 50 wt. cotton. Trust me. You won't know it's not silk when you're stitching.

2. If you buy a lot of thread like I do, this is perfect. There I've used that word again.

3. If you're constantly looking for thread at quilt shows, stop. You now have nearly every color you'll ever need again in your whole life.

4. If Kimberly runs out of these cases, she'll get one for you. She's perfect like that!

Good thing thread doesn't have to go on Judy's stash reports!!

April Fool's Day

I could have sworn it was yesterday. Honest to Pete, everything turned to mud all day long. The big dentist appointment turned out bigger than expected. The dash on the QuiltMobile lit up like a Christmas tree when I started it in the morning. That thing was in the shop just three weeks ago for a full, regularly scheduled maintenance checkup! And I'm going to have to work both days this weekend.

Anyone planning to attend my pity party, please bring wine!!!!

UPDATE:

No, it's today, definitely today!

Five blocks from the house, the car pooped out. Called AAA, turned on the emergency flashers, and waited. I was in a turn lane. Cars were pulling up behind me and honking their horns. When they'd finally figure out there was a problem (no, I was just sitting there for the fun of it), they'd go around me, and there were a lot of *birds* flying at me during that process. Finally after half an hour, a nice young man stopped and asked if I needed help. I told him AAA was on the way, but thanked him profusely and told him he was the only one who stopped to ask! Then shortly after that, a young lady stopped and asked. She even offered to stay with me until the tow truck came! Two nice people out of about fifty. Anyway, a ride in the tow truck to the dealership, checking it in, then waiting for the rental to pick me up, I'm finally at work.

If anyone is planning to attend my pity party, please bring wine - and your checkbook!!!