LA Quilter

Celebrations Winner

2012-02-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

It rained. I cut a couple of inches off my hair. Penny snored out loud for quite a while. I fiddled with fabric and came up with a quilt I hope to cut tomorrow.

All in all, a good day.

And I spent a long time reading all of the comments, laughing, checking your blogs, following links -- and came away inspired!

Penny actually cooperated tonight and pulled a winner. Of course, I had to chase her down and pry the slip of paper out of her mouth. She was quite put out by that! Brat!

The winner of the $60 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop is ....

Lynne in Hawaii!

.... who said:

WOW! The blog is 6 and Miss Penny is 3 already! Time flies! I understand the 60 very well but that changes on the 14th to 61 for me. Puts me in the old as dirt category...lol. You are so generous! Thanks for the chance.

Congrats, Lynne. I'll order up your gift certificate tomorrow. Have fun shopping!

Thanks to everyone for entering and sending Penny birthday wishes. She appreciates it, and so do I!

Celebrations

2012-02-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again!

Saturday, 2/11, is my sixth blogging anniversary - but more importantly, it's Penny's THIRD birthday! Hard to believe "Slick" is three already. Yep, that's her nickname - along with "Punk" and whatever else seems to fit at the moment.

No pictures this morning. She would have none of that!

This will be a quick give-away. Drawing will be held at 6:00'ish p.m. California time tomorrow night, Saturday 2/11.

Just leave a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.

Oh, yeah -- I almost forgot!

The give-away will be $60 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop! Yep, you read that right. 6-0. Cuz that's how old I am....... I didn't think anyone would want a $3 gift certificate to celebrate Penny's age!

Valentiney Box

2012-02-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

This box has been sitting here all week, and I just got around to opening it.

I know, I know, I vowed I wasn't going to show purchases any more, but I couldn't help snapping a picture of this box.

Doesn't it conjure up images of Valentine's Day? All that luscious Rouenneries Deux - red and cream with just a touch of gray in it!

Something about French General is so romantic. Maybe it's because it's French inspired. After all, Paris is THE city for lovers.

That bolt in the back -- I couldn't resist getting a whole bolt. I can back two or three French General quilts with it.

Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop helped me shop for this box of goodies! I was determined to order it one day but got too busy to get my shopping done. One quick email to her and she hopped right in and did the deed for me! Thanks, Kimberly!

I love the packaging by the Fat Quarter Shop. Everything is folded so neatly and tucked into plastic bags. I recently ordered a piece of yardage from another online store, and was dismayed when it came practically wadded up in a box. I guess I've been spoiled by Kimberly and her staff!!

Opening this box this morning made me feel much better!

Crashed and Burned

2012-02-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well, that might be a bit dramatic, but that's kind of how I feel right now.

I took a tumble yesterday. One of those instances where you have your hands full and miss the bottom step. I really banged my head and my hands got tangled in the tub I was carrying.

Today I'm sore all over. My head is okay, but I have two or three fingers that are sore and aching. My shoulder was wrenched. It's not damaged but just sore. My left knee is sore. My right hip is sore.

Frankly, I'm surprised there wasn't seismic activity recorded when I hit the ground!

A very busy week this week, but I did manage to get one binding hand stitched and started another.

Baby steps.

But right now I'm baby stepping back to bed. Too bad they don't make full body heating pads!

Ruminations

2012-01-29T08:11:00.002-08:00

I've been ruminating this morning. Just trying to get my mind around all the things I want to do .... after I finish The Grand Organization.

Remember all those boxes that were piled up and that I opened a couple of weeks ago? Well, I saved the best for last!

Anew 2011 by Lecein. Brenda Riddle of Little Acorns blog is the designer of this gorgeous fabric. I love Brenda. I call her a gentle soul. I had the pleasure of meeting Brenda in person at the Long Beach quilt show a couple of years ago. Definitely the highlight of my year! And her puppy, Bailey, is Penny's secret love! But, sssshhhhhh, don't tell Speck and Skippy!

I've had this half yard bundle sitting right by my computer this week. I'd love to bathe my whole bedroom in this fabric. It just conjures up peaceful thoughts, doesn't it?

Over the next week or two I'm going to go through patterns and come up with how to use this gorgeous bundle. I'd like a pieced quilt without applique. My reasoning for that is I want to make a long bolster pillow to go across the top of the bed with applique on it. I hope this all makes sense. I can perfectly envision it in my feeble brain.

I have more of Brenda's Lecien fabric from earlier lines, including some yardage. They all go together so wonderfully. I'm positive I can make a quilt for my tall mattress bed without having to shop for more fabric.

Sigh ... guess I'd better get finished up on organizing so I can sew. I'm SO ready to sew!!

Leftovers

2012-01-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

I had leftover four patches from this quilt.

So I made this.

No waste quilting!

Metal Stars

2012-01-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Jane "pushed" me into this booth at Road and told me she'd see me later! LOL. I can't remember the name of the shop, but it was maybe "Blocks on the Barn" or something like that. I'll find the name and amend this post.

EDIT: It's Classic Metal Company. He told me they do ship. There are two sizes. The ones I got are the larger ones.

Anyway, they are metal quilt blocks. They had all sizes and different stars - even a mariner's compass - but these two were the ones that caught my eye.

One is going in my breakfast room, can't decide which one but probably the blue, and the other will go somewhere. Or maybe I'll just tuck it away until I get a proper studio.

But they sure match my favorite Minick & Simpson fabrics perfectly!

Kinda wish now I had gotten a small one, too .........

Road to California 2012

2012-01-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

Yep, we went. I was feeling a little better but still not well. And it was pouring down rain. But Jane and I went.

The show opened at 8:30 today because they didn't want folks standing out in the rain. Of course, this wasn't announced until yesterday afternoon so hardly anyone knew. We got to the doors and the guy told us we couldn't come into the lobby until 8:30 and told us to wait in the tent just a few steps away. We were in that huge tent by ourselves. He must have had a change of heart because five minutes later, he came and got us and told us to come on in and get a cup of coffee to warm up! What a sweet man!

Because it wasn't crowded at all, we headed straight over to the Primitive Gatherings booth. It was wonderful! We were the only two people in the booth besides Lisa and Nick. It was really nice getting to chat with them and shop at our leisure. Two hours later we went by again and it was totally packed.

The patterns are not sorted by vendor in the pictures ... and I also picked up a few of those cute little 2" charm packs they have in the Civil War fabrics. Love those things!

With our main objective accomplished, we visited all of the other booths. I had a nice chat with Sandy Klop of Moda's American Jane fabrics. I also spent a very pleasant fifteen minutes chatting with Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool. I had never had the pleasure of meeting her before. She is so sweet.

More patterns .......

And a couple of pieces of wool in colors I couldn't resist.

I did my annual kit shopping at Stars & Scraps. I love that store located in Corona CA, but I don't get there but a couple of times a year. I'm sure glad they're at Road! Just two small kits.

We left about 12:30 or 1:00 after spending some time viewing the quilts. The winners were gorgeous, but some of my favorites had no ribbons on them. I definitely thought there were quite a few that were ribbon-worthy! I didn't bring my camera, but will purchase the CD when it comes out so I can look more closely at the ones I fell in love with.

All in all, a nice day. I'm glad I went.

Sick Weekend

2012-01-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

I had two posts that I was working on. Then I got sick and have been in bed most of the weekend.

Will be back later this week. Hope everyone had a grand time sewing this weekend.

Two Words Today

2012-01-10T08:48:00.001-08:00

ROLL TIDE!

A Picture .. a Thousand Words

2012-01-09T17:28:00.001-08:00

Organizing! Yikes!

2012-01-08T08:56:00.001-08:00

Why is it that things get so messy before they get better?

I can't believe I'm going to post this picture...

Okay, don't laugh. I'm serious. I have a plan and it's working. Except that I thought I would get done with it by next weekend. That ain't happening. But, hey, at least I can get to my sewing machine! Kinda-sorta-maybe.

I didn't realize this until I started unstacking boxes, but the majority of them had never been opened. When a box arrived, I said, "Oh, that's that fabulous fabric for this/that project." Since I knew what it was, I just put the box aside.

I've never been this unorganized before. I know it's due to the fact that I spent more time at work than at home the last year. I was thinking about that last night. I'd often go into the office on Saturday for all or part of the day. That left Sunday to get a manicure, go to the market, get the car washed, scrub toilets, etc. I hardly even turned the TV on. Of course, that might be a good thing, except that TV time was when I did hand work. Penny would get some attention at night after her walk, I'd eat whatever was handy, I'd crash for the night, and start all over again the next day. Looking back, I'm surprised I made it without being committed! Now I have empty boxes flowing out into the kitchen!

2012 will see a LOT more sewing. I want to know where everything is in the sewing room and my stash room. I unearthed a lot of neat projects, so I'm itching to start stitching!

I might put a few things up here on the blog for sale. I have some towers, kits and the like that I know I'll never get to. Need to think on this a bit more.

One thing that will be fun this year is a Saturday sewing group that's been organized with local friends. We're going to work on Merry Merry Snowmen by Bunnyhill Designs. I think I'm going to be the only one needle turning. Everyone else will be doing machine applique. I might do that, too. Have a month to think about it - but I'm SO set in my ways. You can say it. I admit it!

I also want to start on the Cotton Club project that the Fat Quarter Shop had last year. I found it all neatly bagged. I love these fabrics and it'll be a fun one to make. Kimberly puts together the neatest projects for us. I check every single day to see what new, enticing thing she's put up on the site!

And I'll have two baby quilts to make this year. One will be a Bunny Hill's Park Lane. I have the fabrics and am ready to go on that one. The other one I hope is a boy so I can make the Row, Row, Row Your Boat kit I have stashed away. Of course, I really don't need to have a baby coming to make it, do I? :)

Well, back to organizing. All of that stuff will be out of my sewing room before the day's end! I need to dash over to the market to get gumbo makings at some point today because ......

...... tomorrow night -- LSU-Alabama BCS Championship Game! Be there or be square!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!

Quiet on the Western Front

2012-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

This new year is shaping up to be quiet and, frankly, boring. Yes, last year I was wanting boring - and I have it.

I've been taking a few stitches every night on a binding. I have three more lined up after this one so I'll be doing this for a while. That's okay, though. At least I'm making forward movement.

And I've been playing with the iPad that someone suggested I really needed. It's nice. It's portable. I like having it upstairs with me at night. I've been looking around for apps and it's overwhelming. Just trying to find a nice cookbook app totally blew me away. I gave up on quilting apps; too many to sort through. Same with decorating and organizing. Maybe you all could recommend some of your favorites.

Just don't go suggesting I need any more "i" things until I figure this one out!!

And while you're at that someone's site above, did you notice the new project ... I'm in, I think. Positive I can find something around here that will work!

How many of you took advantage of that fabulous sale that the Fat Quarter Shop had going on at the end of the year? I didn't .... can you believe that? I was too busy sewing up a storm with friends. I did place a small order at some point over the holidays. At least I think it was small. Yep, I'm positive it was.

The 2012 Designer Mystery quilt looks awesome! I love Camille's bright colors. I already have in mind someone for whom I know this will make the perfect gift!

Love that I'm thinking about quilting again. It's been a long dry spell!

1/2/12

2012-01-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I stood outside looking for the B-2, and it didn't fly over this year. I mean, it's flown over for six years. What's up with this? I'm gonna have to give the General in charge of the flight path a little bit of Cajun over this omission! I think I saw it way off in the distance, but my picture was only a big patch of bright blue sky. And it certainly wasn't close enough to hear. That's usually the first clue that it's getting near.

So, General, don't be surprised if you get a call from me before next New Year's Day! Priorities, sir!!!

Whatever you do on New Year's Day ...

2012-01-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

... you do for the rest of the year!

Uh oh, I'm in b-i-g trouble.

I was watching TV waiting for the announcement of when the Stealth was going to fly over the Rose Parade. It flies over my house on the way home about two to three minutes after that. I got my coffee, my camera, a light jacket, and I went outside to wait. And wait. And wait.

The Rose Parade is tomorrow. January 2nd? Whose bright idea was that? And why didn't anyone consult ME about it?

But it's absolutely gorgeous outside. Well worth the effort to stroll around out there a day early.

Okay, so does this mean I'm going to be a doofus for all of 2012?

But while walking around on the outside of my patio, I discovered what was making the tapping noise for the past four hours. I mean, serious tapping.

This is an awful picture, but I was trying to zoom and crop and get the little thing to show up.

It's a little wren who fell in love with its reflection in that trash can sitting out there. Poor darling. It didn't even ease up on the tapping while I was around. I finally tossed a gumball at it and it flew away. I hope it doesn't have a bruised beak or something. Persistent little love-struck birdie!

The gray thing is the cover to my barbecue that blew off in the winds last week and nestled amongst all the leaves that were blown in that corner. Time to get out the broom and some garbage bags and clean up the patio, and a beautiful day to do it.

Okay. On to quilting news -- Friday I went to Ginger's Quilt Shop and spent all day sewing! Can you believe it?!! It felt SO good. I just grabbed a bunch of things that were sitting in a corner of my sewing room, and my Tutto bag with the smaller Bernina that had been sitting in the garage all summer, and off I went. I was so thankful the machine still worked!

I squared four quilts, made four bindings, and attached them all to their respective quilts!! Plenty of handwork to do in the coming week or two. And today, of course! Have to make some stitches today! Hooray!

I left my machine at the shop and went back yesterday and finished up the things I had hauled over there. I put the borders on a quilt. I was still wanting to sew, so I went out into the shop and purchased three yards of fabric to make the backing. Got that pieced and left it with Ginger to quilt for me. Hooray again!

Then I pulled out the little mini quilts that were in the pile and cut the backings for most of them. Two I didn't have back fabric, but had some leftover from the backing of the quilt I left with Ginger. It was the perfect amount!

So I bought three yards of fabric there and used it all up in the same day!

A really funny thing happened. A friend was there and was going over a small kit that she had purchased at a quilt show two or three years ago. She pulled out the fabric and saw that they had shorted her on the border fabric. She was so peeved as it was an older fabric and she said she would never be able to find it. I asked her how much she needed. You should have seen the look at her face when I whipped out a huge hunk of it and cut off a half yard for her. What were the odds that I would have that exact Prairie Paisley fabric with me on that day? I wish I had had a camera. She was absolutely speechless! A great moment! (This was the same fabric as the borders I had just put on my quilt. And since it was Minick & Simpson, you can bet I'll always have some of that with me!)

Now I'm off to unload the QuiltMobile, get the blackeye peas and cabbage going, get the ham in the oven, and then do a LOT of organizing in the sewing room.

I figure if I do that organizing today, I'll do it for the rest of the year!!!

Besides, I've gotten in enough trouble for one day, and it's only 9:30 a.m.!

Happy New Year!

Winner

2011-12-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry for an all-day delay. My server is out again, so I purchased an iPad and just got home with it.

The winner of the gift certificate to the Fat quarter Shop is .....

DONNA

I was going to cut and paste her comment but I have no clue how to do that. Donna did say she worked in accounting, too -- that Donna!

Congrats, Donna! Email me and I'll get your gift certificate ordered for you. Again, sorry this is so late!

More tomorrow about what I've done for the last two days!

New Year's Resolutions

2011-12-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

Does anyone still make New Year's Resolutions? I try to make them, even going so far as writing them down sometimes, but by the end of the first week I've totally forgotten that list.

I'd like to hear your resolutions this year. Maybe you will spur me on to do something differently. I hope to have some quilty time this year and I plan to make the most of it.

So with that, I've made my list. It's short. It's concise. It's do-able.

1. Make a quilt!!

Seriously, though -- wait, I WAS serious! -- blogging weekly is also on my to-do list for 2012. It's been a crazy year with all that's gone on in my little world. I need to get out of my box and go back to doing fun things! I figure if I commit to blogging more, then I'll have to sew more to have something to blog about!!!!!

But back to the purpose of this post:

Leave your comment to be entered in the drawing for a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.

Let's have the drawing on Saturday 12/31/11 at 8:00 a.m. If you're the winner, you can place your order before January 1st and not mess up your resolution to buy less fabric in 2012!! (I have a devious mind, don't I?) And if you're stash building, what a great way to start off the year!!

Good luck to everyone.

Oh, one more thing. I repeat every year what Mom used to tell me every New Year's Eve --------

What you do on New Year's Day, you do for the rest of the year!

I plan on stitching!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2011-12-25T06:32:00.001-08:00

We hope Santa left you lots of goodies this year!

Pre-Christmas Activity

2011-12-17T06:12:00.000-08:00

That sounds like I've got a whole bunch of stuff going on, doesn't it?

Nope.

All is quiet here at the Quilting Condo. Penny is carefully inspecting packages as they arrive. She sniffed and pushed around a couple of boxes, and then finally decided there was one she loved more than the others. When I opened the box, it was a tin full of fabulous sugar cookies and petite pecan pies made by a very dear friend. That Penny! She sure knows how to pick them! She won't get any sweets, but there was something special just for her in the package.

A couple of more wonderful presents have arrived:

This is the "open immediately" part of the secret elf exchange with my online quilting group. There was also an angel ornament that I love. Penny thought the towel and potholder were hers!

There was also a toy just for Penny. It's a bird that chirps when you press the button. I have it on a shelf - and when she's snoozing, I press the button! I love screwing with her head! It's too funny!

This teacup ornament came without a card. That always happens to me! I decided to post pictures in a couple of places and finally someone 'fessed up to sending it! Isn't this the most adorable little thing?!!

Yep, doxies abound at our house!

We're having two four-day weekends to celebrate the holidays. I have several projects that I want to accomplish over those two weekends. There are some pretty significant renovations that will take place shortly, and I'd like to be a step-up on getting things out of the way for those.

Only one dinner to attend next week. I need to scour through my closet this weekend to find something suitable to wear. I'll have to change at work... hate doing that!

What's up with this wind? I've been kept awake for two nights straight because of the howling and things going bump in the night. It's been a bit rainy and very cool. I love the cool part but old Santa can keep his winds, thank you very much! Sounded like hurricane forces last night and it's still blowing! It needs to calm down so Rudolph can find his way without being blown off course!

I hope everyone has a dry, warm, productive weekend. Me? I think a nap is in order!

A Belated Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

No, still haven't gotten batteries for the camera.

Penny and I had a great Thanksgiving with Jane and her sweet DH! There were four dogs there - the biggest, a mastiff, down to the smallest, Penny. It sure was funny watching them romp. I wondered how Penny would fare around Teeny, Jane's doxie whom she has never met, but she turned out to be exactly like the weenie I knew she was. When she walked in and saw the other three dogs, she rolled over on her back! She's totally submissive .... need to have a talk with her about that!

Friday I vegged, and today I pretended to clean house. Mostly I thought about cleaning house. That counts, doesn't it? I guess tomorrow I need to just do it. Oh, and watched the football game Friday. Geaux Tigers!

I did poke a couple of buttons at the Fat Quarter Shop. Just a couple. I'm being so good. I got in this Row Row Row Your Boat kit because there's a baby on the way. This is in case it's a boy. I love the It's Sew Emma patterns. I had previously gotten an Anne Sutton pattern and fabric in case it's a girl. I'm all set. I don't suspect I'll get it made by the time the baby is born but it doesn't have to be. As soon as I know the flavor, I'll start cutting.

Today I ordered The Spirit of Sacagawea pattern by Minick & Simpson. I fell it love with it when I first saw it on Laurie and Polly's blog, and was so excited when I saw it at the FQS. Goodness knows, I have more than enough M&S fabric to make this thing!

Tomorrow I run errands. I was avoiding doing them on Black Friday, and today I just didn't feel like getting out. My first stop will be to get new rechargeable batteries!

Hope everyone had a great turkey day! Now, onward to Christmas!

EDIT: Is anyone else having a problem leaving comments using their Google account? I've tried and tried this weekend to leave comments on blogs only to be told that no such account exists...... hello? I used it to make this blog post.

Boring Blogger

2011-11-20T01:41:00.000-08:00

Just touching base to say nothing much has changed around here. I'm still on overload and still not sewing.

I did get caught up on sleep today (yesterday?) -- Saturday. The power went off for four hours in the morning, so I took a nap. Woke up in the late afternoon. Guess I needed that. I have to head to the office today to run payroll - as soon as the sun comes up.

Sure am looking forward to a four-day weekend. I'm going to start upstairs and clean my way down! The sewing room will be the last room I deal with, but I want to get those tubs of fabric that I'm organizing finished and out of there so I can get to my sewing machine.

Thanks for hanging in there with me ... and thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for my loved one. She finds out on Monday what her chemo schedule will be.

It's All Over

2011-11-08T18:02:00.001-08:00

I guess I can now tell everyone what's been going on this year.

Our company has been sold, and the final closing was today. It was all so bittersweet, but I know this will be good for everyone involved. The buyers have gotten themselves a heck of a wonderful company. All of the employees have been retained. I think we're just going to be bigger and better before it's all said and done.

As CFO (a promotion earlier this year), it was my job to handle all of the due diligence and to actually work with the buyers, their legal team, our legal team, CPAs, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers to get the deal done. It's been a long and arduous task. I'm worn to a frazzle. Frankly, I feel as though I've aged ten years in the last six months.

I know the next couple of months will be tough as we're going to implement some new software to make things run more smoothly. There will be new procedures written, and I'm sure a huge learning curve is involved. That part has me a bit nervous, but, frankly, I've done things in the last few months that I didn't think I knew how to do, so it'll be fine.

Over 17 years with the company now. I hope I will be there for at least another five or six to get me to retirement.

Hopefully, I can get back in a more relaxed routine very soon. I'd like to take some time off to visit my brother in Louisiana. I'm very, very homesick. It's been a year since I've seen them. And I'd sure like to get back to quilt-making. I think I still know how! :)

This fabric is sort of talking to me now and I'm feeling the need to dive in again. I have some projects around the house that need to be done before I do that, but I'm sure by the end of the year I'll be back at it.

To everyone who has been so supportive during this time, thank you so much.

And I'd like to ask a favor.

Someone whom I love very much just yesterday was diagnosed with breast cancer. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she navigates her way through this new chapter in her life.

xoxox

Still Breathing Here!

2011-11-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Barely! I had heart failure about seventy hundred times during the LSU-Bama game!

I'm getting too old for this!

Bama fans, fabulous game!

GEAUX TIGERS!!

I tried to applique while watching it. ROFLOL. I think I took four stitches.

Penny couldn't figure out what all the yelling was about. But she twirled every time I yelled!

It's time like this that I wish I were a drinker..........

Gift Certificate Winner

2011-10-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, you all really know how to pick some gorgeous fabrics. I'm so glad I decided to do this give-away - because I saw a bunch of lines that I hadn't noticed. Now I'm all confused about what to put on my wish list! Thanks a LOT! :)

I visited all of your blogs, and looked at all of the lines and patterns and books you picked out. I must say -- you have great taste!

Penny was too busy smelling the gumbo on the stove to be at all interested in pulling a name out of the bag, so I had to do the honors. And wouldn't you know it ....... two names were stuck together. I guess that means there are two winners!

The winners each get a $50 gift certificate to spend at the Fat Quarter Shop!

So without delaying this any further ....

Staci - I love your kitty helping you sew! Too cute!

AND

Amy - love love love your Halloween tumblers, and that Whimsical quilt is to die for!

If you two will email me, I'll get your gift certificates ordered up tomorrow. Since Kimberly can tell you that I'm famous for getting the email addresses wrong, I really *need* you to email me so I can copy and paste it! LOL

Thank you all for participating. Wasn't it fun seeing what tugged on everyone's heartstrings?

We'll have to do this again soon.

Oh -- I forgot. Penny has a message for all of you!

HAPPY HALLOWIENER!

Quilt Market

2011-10-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Is everyone else as excited as I am to see all the new designs and fabrics at Quilt Market?

I've been trying to follow the Fat Quarter Shop on their Jolly Jabber blog and Facebook and Twitter, but they're posting things faster than I can keep up! LOL. There are buttons on the right side of their blog page that will connect you with their constant stream of posts on Facebook and Twitter. Go ahead. Poke those buttons! I dare you!

Guess I need to start making a list and checking it twice! I find that if I do that, then I'm not sidetracked when it comes to poking buy buttons.

But while everyone is in Houston seeing everything up close and personal, those of us who can't go need to have some fun, too! I'll bet you agree with me!

Leave a comment to tell me which of the lines or patterns at Market you are most excited about getting when they are released for sale. I'll leave this open until Monday night, 10/31, when I get home from work. A winner will be chosen to win a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop so you can purchase some of your favorite fabric when it arrives there!

Can't wait to see what you all are going to choose! Maybe I ought to hold off on my list until I see what everyone wants! :) Remember, you must have a new line or pattern or book, etc., in your comment to be eligible for the drawing.

Good luck!

Time is Flying By

2011-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by and I seem to be stuck. I'm a real black and white person, and I'm dealing with a huge gray area now that's totally driving me nuts. Guess I should look at the bright side of it ... at least I have a reason now for my "nuttiness"!!

No sewing still. I hope to get things in some semblance of order to be able to sew in a couple of weeks. I was sitting here a while ago thinking about what I need to work on. I think I'm going to tackle bindings first since those are the easiest. Then I'll prep backings and hopefully get some of these tops off to be quilted.

I have several tops that just need final assembly or maybe a final border. Those are on the to-do list. Yes, Judy, I'll finally figure out the mitered borders on Bears in the Barnyard!

When I get all of that done, I'm going to pick one of those BOMs that I started and just do it. Just going to eat this elephant one bite at a time.

I need a vacation - badly need a vacation. I miss my brother and miss Louisiana. Maybe I'll get some time off before the end of the year.

Speaking of Louisiana, how 'bout that LSU! Geaux Tigers! I hung an LSU flag on the *inside* of a window here. A couple of years ago when LSU won the national title, I had a flag outside and someone stole it. Guess they weren't a fan, huh? Two weeks until the LSU-Alabama game. That one makes me nervous! If there are any Alabama fans reading this .... well, how do I say this nicely? .... I hope you lose! Now, don't go hating on me. I say that with the utmost affection! :)

I discovered the freezer was off yesterday afternoon. It seems a breaker had tripped. When I got it back on, the digital display told me it had been off 72+ hours. I'd like to know how it knew that if there was no power to the freezer. Anyway, everything was warm so it will all get tossed. Unfortunately, I don't have garbage pickup until Thursday, so I just left it all in there for now. Don't want stinky garbage cans in my garage. Darn, I sure wanted some ice cream last night! Oh, well, I'll just get take-out until I can toss everything out of there and start over.

If I had been sewing, I would have known that my freezer was off. The Bernina is on the same circuit as the freezer.......

And I need a new computer. This one is driving me nuts. It's about two years old, and that seems to be as long as they last for me. Guess I'll call our IT folks next week and see what they can suggest. Also I think I'm going to go shopping for a laptop with an air card. Anyone have any experience with those? Thought that might be best as I seem to have a lot of internet connection problems here, although it's all working -- for now.

What else? Buying fabric? Not much. Although I'm eagerly awaiting all the new things that will be revealed at Market. Jane's going. I'm officially jealous!

I see that Kimberly has up the new Bunnyhill Designs BOM, Merry Merry Snowmen. I always look forward to Anne's Christmas BOM. I love those little snowmen heads peeking out here and there. Yes, I poked that button!

Brenda Riddle has a new pattern up that's totally gorgeous, "By My Hand." I can't wait to get this one. I think I have enough of her beautiful fabrics to make this from stash. Of course, buying more would be okay, too! ;)

Penny is stuck to me like glue this weekend. Yesterday I opened the garage door to get a little more light in there while trying to reset the freezer display. As soon as she heard the door open, she started howling. That funny doxie kind of howl. I wonder if she does that every day when I leave. I hope not!

Oh, oh, I went to this fancy shindig Friday night. The folks I was with pointed to a very attractive woman and told me it was Opal from Days of Our Lives or one of those soap operas. I was clueless. LOL. I guess living here is totally wasted on someone like me! I did attend two events recently where Dean Koontz and his wife were in attendance. I shook his hand, and when I got home I ordered one of his books on Kindle. I just started it. "A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie." I think I'm going to need tissues. But if I ever meet him again I can say I've read one of his works.

I tried to take some pictures of the leaves all over the ground but the computer is so slow now that I couldn't get them to download. Well, I guess I could have gotten that done, but I'm too impatient. Those probably wouldn't have been very exciting pictures to anyone, but they are to me. Considering it's hot hot hot here 10 months out of the year, leaves falling usually mean cooler temps are coming. Of course, it's SoCal, so it could be hot another couple of months. Honestly, I don't think they even need weather folks here. They should just post a one-minute picture with a sign that says "HOT AGAIN"!

That's it from here. Sorry it's been so long without a post, and really sorry there are no pics. Hopefully I'll everything ironed out and get back to normal here very soon.

Lazy Sunday

2011-10-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

I worked yesterday, so it's good to be home and doing nothing today. I got up early, went to McDonald's when it opened, and came home and crashed again. Need to go to the market, but I don't think that will happen today. I'll eat whatever is around for dinner tonight.

I got in a box this week from Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop. I picked up some yardage for borders and backing to go with the tower of Panier de Fleur I had gotten a couple of months ago. While I second-guessed my choice for a couple of minutes, it's okay now. I'll use it and it will make a beautiful quilt. Also incoming - the borders/backing for American Banner Rose. I'm all set to sew now when I get some time.

The camera batteries are dead, even after charging. Guess a trip to Office Depot is in order at lunchtime tomorrow.

Good news, though - the internet and TVs seem to be fixed, for now. New modems and boxes. I wonder why they all went bad at once. Hmmm.....

Hopefully I'll be back to blogging on a more regular basis here in the very near future. Thanks to everyone who has emailed sending good thoughts. They're very much appreciated!! Penny thanks you, too!!

Still Standing

2011-10-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

But, honestly, I didn't know one could be so tired and still be upright. The last three weeks have been ... well, I don't even now how to describe them. I took off this weekend. Got out early for a haircut, a car wash (badly needed) and then came home and crashed. Seems my internet came back on during the night. We'll see how long that lasts this time.

I finally opened the box that Kimberly filled up with goodies from the Fat Quarter Shop. American Banner Rose! Just opening that box made my heart go pitty-pat.

Tomorrow is my brother's 70th birthday. Wish I could be there to celebrate with him. Happy Birthday, Don! I love you!

Let's see, what else? Oh, I poked a couple of buttons a few minutes ago to get a little yardage to go with a tower or two I had here. Thought I'd best do that while it was still available.

I'm heading over to Amazon right now to order up some books for the Kindle. I only have a couple left on there that I haven't read. When I get in bed at night I've been only managing to make it through about two or three "clicks" (pages turned) before I fall asleep. I'm about done with "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base." Now I'm ready for something light!

Penny is still cute and funny, and starving for attention. Tomorrow I roll up my sleeves and dig into cleaning this house. I'm sure there'll be plenty of play time involved as she loves to attack the Swiffer and the vacuum cleaner. I have a little thing that I wind up and it plays "You Are My Sunshine." She barks and dances when she hears it. I just turned it on and she went nuts. Silly dog!

That's it from the Quilting Condo. Thank you all for your supportive emails and messages. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel ... it's a tiny light now, but getting a tad bit bigger and brighter as the days pass.

Status

2011-09-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been so tired you can't think straight any more? And then when you finally get to bed, you can't sleep because your mind is still working?

That's where I am right now.

I emailed Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop today and told her I was too busy to poke buttons but I kind of knew what I wanted. So she did my shopping for me. How cool is that?!! I love that shop!

I did get out for a couple of minutes today to deposit my last three paychecks. They were sitting on my desk, and then I found one of them in a stack of documents I was shredding. It was time to get them in the bank. It would be awfully embarassing to have to do a stop pay and reissue my checks.

That's it from here. I'm going to bed. I'm so tired I'm not even hungry.

Hope everyone is stitching some for me!

Remembrance

2011-09-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

A two hour pause today to stitch the "Remembrance" block in memory of 9/11 ten years ago.

The Perfect Storm

2011-09-08T20:44:00.001-07:00

I had a gut feeling this would happen. Two MAJOR things at work, projects that I've been working on months on one and a year on the other -- well, they're both culiminating at the same time. The next two weeks will be horrible, and for the next 60 days I'll be working long days and most weekends. I honestly don't know how I can be in two places at once, but I'll give it the old college try.

Yes, my internet went down again on Monday and was down until a few minutes ago. I have them coming out again on Saturday morning to hopefully trace the problem. If they can't, then I'm having it disconnected and I'll look for another provider.

Quilting -- none. Poking buttons -- not at all. Petting fabric -- nope.

Keep me in your thoughts through this period. And keep Penny in your thoughts, too. She is so cute when she throws herself at me when I finally get home at night. She just wants some attention. That's not asking for much, is it?

Please take some stitches for me!!

Inspiration Thank You!

2011-09-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

I knew if I put out a call for help, quilters would respond. And respond you did! I spent yesterday looking at all of the ideas from readers. I poked a few buttons for patterns, magazines, and pre-ordered a book mentioned. Next week most of those should be arriving. I'll be immersed in reading and planning - and hopefully reach a decision.

This decision isn't really as hard as I'm probably making it. It's just that I don't want to just buy fabric without a plan, but I want to make sure I have enough of this gorgeous stuff. Hence, the pondering about this tower. Wait, did I just say that? Buying fabric without a plan? Yep, I think I did ...

I was walking through the kitchen yesterday and I saw a book sitting on the counter (don't ask) waiting to be put away. It had houses on the front. Back to the computer to look at Carrie Nelson's new pattern just posted on her blog. Scroll down to see "Full House" that several of you mentioned. By George, houses it might be.

I have a bunch of patterns with houses. I have the Marti Michell templates for the schoolhouse blocks. I have youthful vim and vigor. Okay, I'm delusional about that last one! :) :)

{OMG, the loudest thunder just shook the place. We hardly ever hear thunder in SoCal. And now it's raining! I love it!}

Back to houses, I did a quick pull from the pattern stash.

I also threw in that Long Tall Sally pattern by Miss Rosie just because the colors on the pattern front caught my eye.

So no decision yet, but at least, thanks to you, I see the possibilities now!

You know what? You rock! And the rain lasted for a grand total of five minutes.

Pattern Dilemma

2011-09-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe all of the talented quilters out in bloggerland can help me on this one.

I have this tower of Little Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings that I picked up at the Fat Quarter Shop a month ago.

Well, they have yardage now so I want to snag some of that while the getting is good. I know it won't hang around forever.

My problem -- I don't know what to make with this. I love the range of neutrals from cream to black. I've looked around for patterns this morning and I'm stuck.

Since my readers are much more talented and smart than I am ......... HELP!!!

She's Baaaack

2011-09-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe she is. The internet connection was zipping when the tech left, and now it's wonky again. Better hurry up and get this posted before it conks out! Again.

Busy week. Yesterday my hands started shaking and I realized how hungry I was. I got up from my desk to grab lunch and glanced at my watch. It was 5:20!! Need to pay attention to that sort of thing from now on.

I've been organizing this morning ... ROFLOL. I think it's hopeless. Officially reached the fabric saturation point here. Plan on getting a couple of projects finished up this weekend and off my sewing table. Not that that will help any with the saturation situation, but at least I'll feel better about it! Gotta love the way I think!

But I do have a quilt to show off.

This is "Tulip Time" by Anne Sutton of Bunnyhill Designs. Don't you love it when your favorite designers decide they need to reduce their quilt stash! I have collected quite a few quilts made by my heroes but I didn't have a Bunnyhill quilt. Now I do! It's gorgeous! Thank you, Anne, for giving me the opportunity to add you to the collection! The pattern is on the Bunnyhill site here. Darn, she has the cutest patterns!

Penny is in her kennel right now. I was going to spring her loose when the tech left, but I noticed she was sound asleep. You know what they say .. let sleeping dogs lie! So I guess this means I need to put off vacuuming until she wakes up? :)

Off to finish clearing off the sewing table. I know there's a Bernina under there somewhere!

I hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend. Hoping my friends back East have power now after Irene. And I'm praying for those folks getting soaked with rain right now from Lee. I offered to order up the Ark for my brother this morning. He replied that maybe that would be a good idea as he saw pairs of animals heading to the bayou!

Sorry. That kinda humor runs in the family...........

Update: Well, in the process of fixing my internet connection, they screwed up the TV connections. Guess I won't be watching LSU today. Appointment, a week from today. That does it. I'm moving!

Update to Update: TVs are back on. Guess they fixed it outside. I really don't think they wanted to deal with me again today! Geaux Tigers!!!

Computer Woes

2011-08-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

Last week was supposed to be a good one for me. I mean, it's not every week a gal turns 6-0. But very quickly the week went "south" in the proverbial hand basket.

And to top it all off, my internet connection is broken. Badly broken. So they're coming out this Saturday to see if they can't work through what the problem is that keeps happening.

So I'll be back this weekend with updates on the saga of life in my little world!

I tell you, there's never a dull moment!

Penny's New BFF

2011-08-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Meet Teeny.

She's gorgeous. She looks just like my Daisy.

I want her but I'd have to fight Jane for her.

She was difficult to photo also, but at least she didn't run away. She had eyes only for Jane, follows her around everywhere, and wanted to be picked up here.

Skippy -- well, he's not quite sure about this whole "sister" thing. He's a good boy, though, so they'll do fine.

He's just hoping Penny doesn't come over any time soon. He told me he just won't be able to handle TWO of them!!

Gettin' the Groove Back

2011-08-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

All I can say is -- WOW, thank you all so very much for your kind comments. I got up this morning thinking I was going to answer every single one of them and quickly got overwhelmed. Just know that I appreciate you, and hope to get to know each of you better! You all are truly remarkable! I mean that!

I got a haircut and color this morning a/k/a the dip and clip. Had a ton of errands to run, but must have fazed out because the next thing I knew I was back home. Oh, well, will just have to do those tomorrow.

But sitting at the hair salon while Kathy worked her magic, I started thinking about a new project. Okay, I know, I have tons of UFOs going, and definitely want to work on the Brrrrr Winter next up, but something was bouncing around in my almost empty head.

This.

The book is "Summer Gatherings" by Lisa Bongean and Carole Charles of Primitive Gatherings fame. The fabric is an old Judy Rothermel line called Colonial Christmas. I'm not sure exactly how old it is but I'd say five years, probably more than that. I ran across the fabric while Kathie had me rummaging around in the Civil War stash a few months ago.

When I bought the book, I went ahead and picked up the 1.250" triangle paper because I was immediately drawn to the quilt. I figured sooner or later I'd find the perfect fabric for it. I think I've done that.

So this quilt will enable me to place a few check marks on my to-do list.

* Make a Christmas quilt every year
* Make more quilts using Civil War fabrics
* Use that stash!!

Well, *you know who* didn't think too much of it. In fact, she wouldn't even pose by the fabric. I grabbed this shot just as she was about to make her get-away. She looks so fat there. The camera must really add ten pounds. :) But, no, she's nice and trim. I haven't weighed her lately, but I'd say 10.5 lbs. Right where she should be for a two and a half year old doxie.

Such a woosie!

Oh, oh, speaking of doxies, I'm going to Jane's this afternoon. We're all going out to dinner. And I get to meet the newest member of their family - a black and tan doxie! She was given to them by someone who couldn't care for her any more. Jane said she's about eight years old. Her name is Teeny, but they've been calling her Penny! LOL. We decided that she should be Peeny Weeny! I can't wait to meet her. Penny will have to meet her, though, another time. Don't want to overwhelm poor Skippy with two little black and tan hellions today! I'm taking my camera. I'm SURE she'll be easier to photograph than *you know who*!!

I feel really good today. Next week will be another bear week, but I've decided to quit looking at the big picture, just take it a week at a time.

Small goals are more easily attainable, aren't they?

Testing, testing ....

2011-08-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Just peeking my head around the door to see if it gets shot off!

Just kidding. Really I am.

I've had 41 emails (I counted) asking what was in the boxes a couple of posts back.

There was some Panier de Fleurs and some American Banner Rose.

Looks like I have a patriotic thing going on here. Love those colors. I also picked up some Moda Bella solids in three different shades of gray. I resisted gray for a good while, but now I'm solidly sold on it - pun intended.

The next most frequently asked question was if I was coming back to blog. The answer -- yes. I'll be somewhat infrequent for another couple of months. I'll tell you about it after that. Then you'll see why things have been the way they are. The last twelve months have been unsettling, but I think I may be seeing that light that everyone tells me shines at the end of tunnels.

And in *all* of my spare time, I've been getting organized in my sewing room. Here very shortly I'm going to need a weekend of just sewing mindlessly to unwind a bit.

Now here's where I need to say something, and I hope this will be taken in the spirit in which it is meant.

It's my blog. I don't care who thinks I buy too much fabric. I don't care who feels the need to criticize me in comments. If you don't like me or what I have to say, even what I stand for, then move on. Your fingers are not Velcroed to the LA Quilter button.

I'm going to leave comment moderation on, which is a royal pain in the patooty for me and I'm sure for those who leave comments. It's a necessity while I'm away from computers for so much of the day. Please bear with me on that.

I'm baffled on why I'm such a "large target" for nasty commenters. I think I know why, but it's really just conjecture on my part. The whys are not important any more to me. I was able to find out who a couple of those folks are through the wonders of technology. One surprise; a couple not so much so. Again, that's not important to me any more now that I know. I've moved on.

I've said this before -- and it bears repeating -- I live in a tiny world. I'm out in Corporate America all day, and then I come home to my condo and my dog. The peacefulness of my little world at home is a much needed counter-balance. I'm going to be 60 years old soon. My body is worn out and my mind is tired. Pure joy is playing in my quilting room. It may be sewing, or cutting, or just petting fabric, but it relaxes my mind and soothes my soul. I only hope that someday soon I'll get to spend more time doing that.

So to sum all of this up, from this point forward any crashers into my tiny world will be rejected. I welcome and cherish the friends I have made through five years of blogging, and I hope to get to know more of you over the next five.

So ... happy thoughts. Kind thoughts. That can only lead to better things.

Drawing

2011-08-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

The winner of a $50 gift certificate to spend at the Fat Quarter Shop is

Ann-Mari at www.quiltduffy.blogspot.com. All the way over in Norway.

Please email me and I'll get the gift certificate off to you. Have fun shopping.

Thank you, everyone. See you on the flip side.

You know what?

2011-08-03T05:27:00.001-07:00

I'm done.

Anonymous said...
More crap that you don't need and will never make and will end up giving away to help the stash report??
Am I close?
4:48 AM

I'm sick and tired of being a punching bag for unhappy, viscious and mean people, those who feel better about their miserable lives when they leave nasty, anonymous comments to others.

I'm sick and tired of being judged by someone who knows nothing about me.

Do you like what you see when you look in the mirror?

Do you feel righteous now?

I hope so. I hope you'll go about your day knowing you made an impact on someone today.

I'm going to leave the "contest" up on the last post because I honor my commitments. So leave a comment for a gift certificate drawing. You can be as nasty as you want to be. I don't care any more.

I'm done.

No more stash reports. No more talking about new fabrics. No more give-aways.

When I get to sew, I'll post about it.

Other than that, I'm done.

Any Guesses?

2011-08-02T19:40:00.001-07:00

I'm opening these boxes Saturday morning.

Any guesses?

Stash Report 2011 - Week 31

2011-07-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

Buttons were poked this week at the Fat Quarter Shop, but later in the week so that nothing landed. Next week will be a doozy, though!

And then there was the Long Beach Quilt Show yesterday. Jane and I headed over there early and spent four hours walking. I was so tired when we left at 2:30. Not used to walking so much. We had fun, though.

I picked up a bunch of patterns. If my camera charges up, "if" being the operative word here, I'll post pictures. Seems everything electronic around me is malfunctioning ... printer, cell phone, and now the camera. Even the computer is slow as molasses these days. The coffee pot also broke yesterday. I'm about to head down to McDonald's for a couple of cups to go. Note to self: Buy a coffee pot today!

Five embroidery patterns followed me home, and three or four patterns that I can make from my stash.

A couple of teeny wool kits. Also a teeny kit of fabric for a teeny pattern. I doubt there's a yard total in the kit but I'll figure it all out later.

In the meantime, I'm not changing my stash report until next week when the Marine's land .... a/k/a the boxes from the Fat Quarter Shop.

And for those of you who asked, the shops I liked best at the show were Primitive Gatherings, Pudding Stone Road, and one other one that I can't find their name anywhere, even on the receipt.

I need my coffee!

So the report is same as last week.

Year to Date:

Busted: 397.98 yards
Purchased: 431.025 yards
Net YTD: (33.045) yards busted :(

Guess it's not bad considering the quilt show!

Stash Report 2011- Week 30

2011-07-24T02:41:00.000-07:00

All I can say is thank goodness for give-aways. I haven't been able to sew for two weeks, and might not for the forseeable future.

Year to Date:

Busted: 397.98 yards
Purchased: 431.025 yards
Net YTD: (33.045) yards busted :(

My local quilt shop is having a fund raiser for a local charity, so I'll be donating more fabric to that in the next couple of weeks. I plan to be in the black very soon!

Yeah, I know .... it's about time!!

Penny's "50" Give-Away Winner(s)

2011-07-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry I slept in this morning. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. Is it really 7:51 a.m.? It's been years and years since I've slept that long. And the kicker is I went to bed really early last night because this was an exhausting week. Guess I'm all caught up now.

The title of this blog post is "Penny's '50' Give-Away Winner(s)."

Yes, winner(s).

I kind of had it in my mind to give away all three things, but I thought I'd see what the response was. I said to myself (I talk to myself sometimes!) that if I had over 200 comments, I'd do it. Well, as you can see, there were well over 200 comments.

I printed off all the comments, cut them up and put them in a bag. Penny pulled one out of the bag for the gift certificate.

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

Megan from Crooked Seams.

Megan has a really neat blog. Go check it out!

Now, at this point, Penny totally lost interest in a paper bag with no food in it, so I had to pull the next two names.

The winner of the random fat quarters from my stash is ..........

Gail at Going to Pieces.

Gail has some wonderful projects on her blog!

And finally, the winner of the 50 random yards from my stash is ..........

Quilterbee who doesn't have a blog.

I would appreciate it if the three winners would contact me this weekend with your correct email/mailing information.

Meanwhile, I'm heading up to the stash room to start pulling those random fabrics!

Congrats to all. Thanks to everyone for playing along.

Penny's "50" Give-Away

2011-07-17T15:20:00.001-07:00

So when we were talking this morning, Penny and me, she came up with 50 when I asked her to pick a number.

Her choice kind of took me aback, but I'll go with it anyway.

Leave a comment and tell me whether you'd rather have:

1. 50 yards of miscellaneous fabric from my stash

2. 50 miscellaneous fat quarters from my stash

OR

3. A $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter shop

One winner will be chosen.

Since I won't be able to post at all this week, I'll run the give-away to next Saturday morning, July 23rd, when I get up and have a cup of coffee. It'll probably be around 6:00ish a.m.

Be sure to leave contact info (either a link to your blog or your email address) in case your name is chosen.

Remember, comment moderation is turned on, so you might not see your post right away. I will be publishing several times a day, so be patient. Also, because of the volume of entries for give-aways, I won't be able to respond to each comment. Please know that all commenters are entered.

That Penny! Whatever am I going to do with her?

Stash Report 2011 - Week 29

2011-07-17T04:46:00.001-07:00

I really blew it out this week on purchases. No excuses, except I've been so good this year ...... and it was killing me! However bad this report is, it's way better than prior years. So I guess progress is being made.

Four yards of this Floursack by Windham for a backing. It will be perfect for the back of an old utility quilt I'm finishing for my sister-in-law that was made by her mother and grandmother. It's even the same vintage. I wanted a whole bolt of this, but a cooler head prevailed. :)

Yes, I do practice restraint occasionally while poking buttons at the Fat Quarter Shop. Occasionally. Ask Kimberly. She'll tell you!

Then oodles of Civil War came in. Oodles of it. First is Sweet Emilie. That's the two bottom packs in the picture below. This is the prettiest Civil War line I've seen in a long time. The colors are so soft. Will I be able to cut these?

Hello, my name is Vicky. I'm a ..... oh, never mind.

Also, a tower of Little Gatherings. Look at that range of neutrals to black. Gorgeous!

The box I was most excited about was Scandanavian Christmas.

Sorry for the blurry picture. My hands got all trembly when I opened the box this morning! I poked a few buttons, and then decided to find the pattern I wanted to make before ordering the borders/backing. Well, that was a mistake. This stuff is selling like hotcakes! The piece I wanted was gone, I tell you, gone! Youdathunk I'd have learned that lesson by now. Get it while it's there! ROFLOL. I bought so much of this line that I think I'll be able to wing it, though, so don't feel too sorry for me. Oh, and the best part of this? It blends very well with the first couple of French General lines. So you see? I'm all set!! :)

I also picked up a couple of yards of shirtings, and another piece for a backing.

So there you have it, all 53 yards of it.

EDIT: Oops, I forgot one of the pictures. More Civil War fabrics, Cotton Club.

Next up, shopping for an 18-bedroom house to store all of this stuff!

Year to Date:

Busted: 318.73 yards
Purchased: 431.025 yards
Net YTD: (112.295) yards busted :(

I'll get up a give-away later today. I asked Penny to pick a number and she chose "50" - so 50 it is. Hmmmm, I wonder what that means........

Good Grief!

2011-07-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

When I said boxes would be rolling in this week, that wasn't an exaggeration!

I think I'm done buying for a while. But I knew this would happen. All those wonderful things that were taunting me, and you, in "Coming Soon" have hit the shelves at the Fat Quarter Shop! Go check them out. I dare you!!!!! :)

Next week I'll get up another give-away. Need to offset at least some of it!

This weekend will be fun. I'm going to Newport Beach with my late boss' family to spend Saturday frolicking in the surf and sun. Well, let me rephrase that. I seldom frolic, so I'll have to be content with watching others doing the frolicking! I'm really looking forward to hearing waves and seeing water. I didn't realize how much I've missed it until I started thinking about this weekend. I'll be the old lady in long sleeves and a hat sitting under a beach umbrella!

And then next week will be meetingsmeetingsmeetings, and the week after that, too. Sheesh, I get tired just thinking about it. I'm going to take reading material with me to the beach to cram and prepare. Or maybe I'll just take my Kindle!

I'm feeling a lot better but still not over this crud. I've been early to bed and drinking lots of water and taking Claritin, antibiotics and cough syrup. Penny has been feeling neglected, so I guess tonight we'll cuddle for a bit before I head upstairs.

That's it. Just fair warning about my stash report on Sunday, and a give-away next week.

Stash Report 2011 - Weeks 26, 27 & 28

2011-07-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first report I've made since retreat weekend, so three weeks here. Thought I'd best do it now before that boat-load of fabric arrives next week! :)

Busted -- I sent a little quilting buddy some charm packs for her birthday, and then I cut out two quilts last weekend. So 28.05 busted! There were some other fabrics sent to a swap pal, but I didn't write down what those were and can't remember now, so I can't count them.

I need to hire myself a CFO! ;)

Incoming -- There are 28 yards that were given to me by a friend. (Thank you, my friend!!)

Next week ....... ouch. I have a package sitting here that hasn't been opened. I figure it'll just get added to the other gazillion yards incoming next week.

There were a ton of notions that came in this week from the Fat Quarter Shop. I laid them all out and found out my camera batteries were dead. Guess I need an assistant, too. Anyway, I picked up four spools of dark brown, dark green and dark blue Aurifil threads, fall colors. I plan on doing some quilting myself this winter. I love Aurifil thread, but more importantly, my Bernina loves it! The spools seem to last forever and there's a whole lot less lint than other brands I've used!

Four packs of these Clover fine pins. These are the only pins I have ever used that my Bernina allows me to sew across. I know I'm supposed to take them out, but who really does that? Okay, I know some of my readers do, but I don't. Anyway, these pins are so thin and fine. They bend easier but I'd rather lose a few in the process of making a quilt than having to spend the time stopping and unpinning before stitching that seam. I buy these every time I see them. I'm so glad the FQS is now stocking them. I can poke the button and toss some into the box on a fabric order.

Then for applique I picked up two favorites. I love the ThimblePads for both my pushing finger on top and the underneath finger. I also pick up these when I see them.

But the one thing I'm so glad the Fat Quarter Shop is now stocking are these General's white chalk pencils. I have tried every marker out there for making on dark fabrics and these are my absolute favorite! They're hard to find locally, so I'm a happy appliquer!!

Wow, this is long. That's what happens when I don't report for a while. I guess it means that I'm feeling a tad bit better today!

Year to Date:

Busted: 318.73 yards
Purchased: 378.025 yards
Net YTD: (59.295) yards busted :(

I Can Multi-Task

2011-07-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

I can be sick as a dog, coughing, sneezing, wheezing .....

..... and still poke buttons at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Guess my poking finger isn't as sick as the rest of my body!

Fourth of July, 2011

2011-07-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Penny and I have been sewing. Well, I've been sewing, and Penny has been bugging me. She finally threw in the towel and went to sleep.

I finished the Peyton at Play pattern except for the borders. I'll get those on either tomorrow or next weekend.

Dug into my Minick & Simpson stash for this one. I think there are two or three different lines in this quilt. The outside border will be that large blue Prairie Paisley fabric.

Sorry I bothered you, Penny. But turn about is fair play!

A Good Day!

2011-07-03T17:30:00.001-07:00

I've been busy in my sewing room today!

First, I finished the patriotic tumblers. I decided on a blue border, although I'm rethinking that now. LOL.

Then continuing the patriotic theme, I cut the Peyton at Play pattern from a couple of Minick & Simpson lines. I notice I don't have the borders in the picture, but they're cut also. I'll start sewing this one tomorrow.

And finally I cut out the Brrrr Park quilt. Again, the borders are not in the picture but they're ready to sew on when the quilt center is finished. This was a lot of cutting. I'm going to enlarge the quilt so there will be more cutting later, but at least I can get started on the majority of it.

Of course, I didn't vacuum...........

July 3rd

2011-07-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today I cut. Just need to tidy up a bit more around my cutting table and then I'm just going to do it! I don't know if I'll sew any today ... maybe later ... but I have two quilts I want to get cut out and ready to stitch.

The first is Brrrr Park which I talked about in the last post. I love that Winter fabric by Minick & Simpson.

The second one I want to cut is also Minick & Simpson fabric, a patriotic, but I don't know exactly which one yet. Doesn't matter at this point. I'm just itching to fiddle around with patriotic fabrics seeings as how it's the 4th of July weekend and all. I *think* I have some up in the stash room!

The pattern I'm going to use is Peyton at Play by It's Sew Emma designs. This one will sew up really quickly, and those large squares are perfect for some of that gorgeous patriotic fabric that Laurie and Polly design.

So that's my plan for today. I'll get laundry going in the interim, and will vacuum after finishing one and before starting the other. I hate house cleaning, so I'll play the little games I play to get it done. No stash report today. Next week will be a three-week report. I have a little bust so far, and a friend gave me some fabrics last week so I need to count those in. I just don't want to deal with that today. I'm hoping next week's report will have me very very close to being in the black. We'll see. As long I don't go sleep poking again!

It's so hot here. A great day to stay in and play. I need to sweep the patio, but that will have to be way later when the sun is about to go down.

I slept in a bit this morning, and Penny is over there snoring. She cracks me up!

It's Friday. Hooray!

2011-06-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

This week has seemed very long to me. I guess that's because last week I only worked three days. And next week, too!!! :) Gotta love it when the boss declares a four-day weekend!

I've been pondering what I'm going to work on over the long holiday. The Civil War patriotic tumbler quilt will be finished. I just need to complete the assembly of the rows. BTW, I figured out if I iron the seams open, it reduces the bulk on those tiny things. Probably everyone in the world already knew that, but it took me a bit of pressing on those seams before that dawned on me. Sheesh, I'm such a doofus!

Then I think I'll spend a day cutting out the Brrrrr Park quilt by Minick & Simpson. I love that quilt! I'm going to enlarge it, but I hope to get it cut and then start assembling. No way will it be on my bed this Christmas, but at least I want the top done. Well, on second thought, maybe I can get it finished and have it quilted by then! Yeah, it's doable! I already have my Christmas bedroom envisioned! It's going to be so beautiful!

Ahhhh, Christmas when it's cool and pleasant. I can't wait! Not like this 4th of July when it's supposed to be blisteringly hot. Penny and I have a date with the A/C all weekend!

Off to work here. It's quarter end. I was able to get inventory priced yesterday, so I'm already ahead of the game. The WIP is what gets me, though. ROFLOL. See? I can't escape WIPs, even at work!!

Tired but Happy

2011-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

I spent a few days sewing with a group of lovely ladies. It sure was good to be away but it was hard to get back into the routine of work-home-work, etc.

I only brought applique to work on, and I won't do that again. My wrist was hurting so badly after a day and a half of stitching.

I did one Dutch Treat block, one called Time Warp. Isn't that how you feel when you're away from it all and immersed in just sewing?

And I did 75 drunkard's path blocks. Should have prepped more as these sew up so easily.

I only did one and a half basket blocks. I found out I couldn't talk and stitch on those at the same time! :)

Didn't think I would, but I missed my little Penny. She was SO glad to see me when I got home. OMG, you would have thought she had been abandoned for months on end. And then when Jane left, she stood at the door whining for 30 minutes .... guess that shows where I stand with her!

The good news is that we're off next Monday AND Tuesday for a long Independence Day holiday. I was so motivated this past weekend. I think I'm going to spend a couple of those days off doing nothing but sewing! Get ready, Miss Bernina!

Sleep Poking

2011-06-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

You've heard of sleep walking, right? Well, I may have a case of sleep poking!

There was a box from Keepsake Quilting on my doorstep tonight. I opened it up and it has some really neat notions and gadgets in it.

The only problem -- I didn't order it.

At least I don't think I ordered it.

Unless I've been poking buy buttons in my sleep again!

Or Penny has once again gotten ahold of my debit card!

I just sent them an email so they'll know that someone's order came to me by mistake. Darn, I'm going to hate to return this box! LOL.

I tell you, I get in trouble without even trying!

There's never a dull moment around this joint!

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

MYSTERY SOLVED!!! It WAS for me!! Seems Keepsake forgot to include the gift card! A sweet sweet very dear friend sent this package to me! Wow, I've had more fun tonight trying to figure this out!! I love you G!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 25

2011-06-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

I hang my head in shame ... I slid backwards ... I tried to be strong ... it's all the Fat Quarter Shop's fault! (Hee-hee, I love blaming Kimberly!) Actually, both of these have been on my list ever since I first glimpsed them in the Coming Soon section months ago. Well, they've come now. What can I say?

The first is the 2011 Designer Mystery Block of the Month from the FQS. The first block arrived along with the finishing kit and backing. I love it that Kimberly sends those at the beginning of the BOM! Anyway, that was 14.75 yards. A lot of gorgeous Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree.

The second b-i-g box was FaLaLaLaLa by French General, a couple of jelly rolls and some yardage including a backing. That was 21.5 yards. I know that seems like a lot, but I already have a tower. I should be able to get a couple of quilts out of this.

The give-away last week helped some with 35.875 yards gone. Guess I need to have another give-away or sew faster!!

Year to Date:

Busted: 290.68 yards
Purchased: 350.025 yards
Net YTD: (59.345) yards busted :(

I'll miss next week's Stash Report as I'm taking a few days of R&R. Hopefully I'll come home refreshed and ready to rumble -- er, sew!

Plodding Along

2011-06-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

I prepped a lot this week, so nothing to show in that regard. Well, I guess I could show it, but that would be boring!

However, there has been a teeny bit of sewing going on. Teeny as in teeny quilts!

Kathie truly has inspired me with these mini quilts. They go together quickly, and I've had so much fun piddling with them. When I only have a few minutes to sew, great headway is made!

This one was put together a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it darling? Kathie was, again, the force behind this quilt. Penny was feeling neglected, so when I put it down to photo, she crawled up next to it and rolled over so I could rub her belly!

She's not used to me sitting at the machine. I got her when life was starting to get complicated, and I just didn't want to sew much. Now when I sit at the machine, she's constantly trying to distract me. Silly dog!

The little patriotic tumblers are a work in progress.

Kathie and I have been swapping fabrics. I sent her a charm pack of this older Judie Rothermel fabric, and while she was cutting hers, she cut some tumblers for me! These are so much fun, and will give me good practice to sew those big tumblers of '30s fabrics that I cut with the Go cutter. No, I haven't forgotten about those! I love patriotics, and this will be one of my favorite mini quilts!

I say "one of my favorites" because this one is my absolute favorite!

In one of the exchange boxes, Kathie tucked in this little beauty! Oh, my, I was so surprised! Doesn't it make you want to get out some buttons and challenge someone to a game of checkers? It's adorable, Kathie! Thank you so much!

I had previously made this little quilt ...

... so now I have four that will hang on that wall in my future studio!

If you haven't made a mini quilt, I'd say give it a whirl! They're quick and fun and you'll love every second of the process!

Give-Away Winner

2011-06-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be so late. I was in a meeting this morning and my glasses totally fell apart on me! The only way I could fix them was with a rubber band wound around the middle of the lens to hold the broken frame together. Talk about stupid looking! And to make matters worse, I had a second meeting with only an hour break between the two. Needless to say, I hightailed it over to Lenscrafters tonight to get new glasses and waited for them to be made. This time I got two pairs! I guess I now have a stash of eyeglasses!

It's always something .... I tell ya, sometimes it's not fun being me!

So enough of that. Who won the Maywood Simpatico almost yard cut tower?

After printing all the replies and putting them in a bag, and then shaking thoroughly, the name pulled is ---------

MARY LOU of CHEAPER THAN THERAPY QUILTING!

Congratulations, Mary Lou! Please email me your snail mail address, and I'll get these off to you this week. Hope you enjoy working with them!

Thank you to everyone who entered. As always, I wish I had a hundred and whatever prizes to give away. We'll just have to do this again soon, okay?

Maywood Simpatico Give-Away

2011-06-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Since I totally missed my 1000th blog post, and to celebrate my stash report looking so good compared to prior years, it's time for a give-away! :)

I have this stack of Simpatico line from Maywood. I thought they were one-yard cuts, but I measured one and they're just short of a yard. So I'll call them 7/8 yard cuts. Close enough! There are 41 fabrics in this stack.

I've tried to use these several times on quilts and I couldn't get the mix I wanted. So hopefully the lucky winner will be able to do so. I think they would make up into dynamite charity quilts.

Let's keep this a short give-away. I'll do the drawing on Tuesday 6/14 when I get home from work. That might be around 7:00ish CA time.

No special gimmicks for this give-away. Just leave a comment, and if you aren't linked to a blog, be sure to leave your contact info so I can get in touch with you if you're the winner.

And remember that I have comment moderation turned on. So if you don't see your post immediately, hang in there. I'll be checking in several times a day next week to get those comments up. Just bear with me on that! Also, judging from the number of folks who leave comments on the give-aways, I won't be able to respond to each person. Just know that your name will be in the hat for the drawing!!

Good luck to everyone!!!!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 24

2011-06-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

I've been a cutting fiend this week! I'm not counting any of this just yet, but every once in a while I need to justify my quilting existence by taking pictures of what has been happening around the joint!

Strips - 1.5" - lots and lots of them. A friend sent me a pile, and I've been cutting a strip off of every piece of Civil War fabric I'm pulling per a suggestion of Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts. Wow, that works! Look at that pile of strips! I can sew up lots of little nine patches now without having to stop and cut more.

Also cut and prepped lots of small drunkard's path blocks. I'll have way over 150 of those done when I stitch these up. Probably closer to 200. Lots and lots more to go on this project!

While I'm prepping drunkard's paths, I'm also tidying up by going ahead and cutting the 1.5" scrap squares from the leftover "bowties." It really feels good to do that!

And last but not least, I've been prepping and stitching more baskets. Pictured are 115 completed baskets! 176 more to go. I feel like the old tortoise on this project, but finish line is getting closer and closer.

Oh, yeah, incoming fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop .... there's always a box from there! That Grace was just too beautiful to pass up! I have an applique project all picked out for this fabric. Since I already had the FQ tower, I picked some yardage of go-withs. I'm going to use any leftovers for the backing. At least that's my plan for now. So that was 9.5 yards that landed.

It'll be interesting to see how much fabric is used when I finish the Civil War projects I'm working on. I'd wager it will take a big hunk out of my negative numbers. But I have to admit, that teeny negative doesn't bother me one iota! It's just a smidgeon of what has been negative in years past! :)

Year to Date:

Busted: 254.805 yards
Purchased: 313.775 yards
Net YTD: (58.97) yards busted :(

This week I want to get up another stash give-away. They are one yard cuts of a pretty line of fabric that I'm positive I won't use. So check back later!

Bored, Bored ... Boring

2011-06-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have absolutely zero to report these days. Nothing. Zilch. Can't figure out how someone as boring as I am decided to blog!

Let's see. I finished the 113th basket block. No speed records there but have taken a slow and steady pace on them. I need to prep more, which means I have to dig around for more black and cream shirtings. They're here somewhere. Probably up in the black hole -- uh, the stash room.

I started prepping more drunkard's path blocks this week. I think Kathie told me I needed like over 600 or some such absurd number. ROFLOL. Okay, so they applique up very quickly. Seriously, it takes longer to cut the squares than to applique them. Of course, I'd be further along if she'd quit tempting me with new projects! It's all her fault! :)

While looking for something this morning, I found this.

Many years ago I purchased some antique quilt blocks off of eBay, and the seller tossed this cutter quilt in the box. She had already cut into it, and thought I might be able to use the rest of it. There are five or six blocks left. Most of them are stained or tattered, but I thought I'd pick the best one, cut it out, and have it framed. It wouldn't matter if it was in poor shape, and it would make an interesting item to hang on the wall in my future absolutely gorgeous quilting studio! You know the studio I'm talking about. It's the one that's been hiding in my brain for the last 11 years. Yeah, that one! Oh, my, it's gorgeous!

Anyway, that got me to thinking about a lot of the antique blocks I have tubbed up and stashed away in the (where else?) stash room. I'm going to be pulling some of those out to see if I can't do something with them. Well, I'm going to be pulling them out someday soon. It's way high up on my list of things-to-do.

In the meantime, there is a lot of prepping to do on other projects. I'll be spending some time sewing with a few ladies later this month, and I've decided I'll only be doing applique. So I need to prep now and not wait until the last minute to decide what to work on during the sew-in. I usually do that, wait until the last minute. This time I hope to be better organized. We'll see how THAT goes!

A very dear friend sent me the Civil War Bride pattern by Threadbear, www.threadbear.com.au. That thing is gorgeous. The link is to a blog about this quilt. I won't be starting this any time soon, but it sure is fun to read the pattern and dream about it. I hope my friend gets started on it immediately!

There IS one vintage reproduction applique quilt that I'd like to start soon, though. I'll probably hold off for a bit, but I'm already envisioning it on my bed. It's the 1854 McLean Album Quilt. Isn't that gorgeous? I'm going to be doing it in solids, and those are collected and ready to go. I just need to get my game face on and start cutting the background squares. That usually spurs me on to prep the applique. Anyway, that's another inspiration I've been pondering.

There are so many things I need to be doing today, but I think I'll go take a nap. That ought to cure the need-to-dos!

Waste Not, Want Not

2011-06-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Cutting up Civil War fat quarters is a ton of fun.

Here's a question for you all. At what point do you throw away the scrap?

After cutting up a fat quarter for basket blocks, nine patches, and both backgrounds and quarter circles for the drunkard's paths, this is what I'm left with.

I can't throw that away! So I figure I can get two 1.5" charms out of it.

Those little slivers of left-over fabric now go in the garbage, NOT the scrap bin!

I've totally used up a fat quarter!! ROFLOL.

I crack myself up sometimes!

Stash Report 2011- Week 23

2011-06-05T02:22:00.000-07:00

Short week at work, long hours, little time to sew ... that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I did make up eight more basket blocks.

108 done - 183 to go! It's the elephant/one-bite-at-a-time thing. I'm slowly getting there. Defintely my grab & go project. Three were done Friday night while sitting at Ginger's Quilt Shoppe chatting with friends.

This little beauty was sewn up last Sunday, and I will be reverse stitching a little bit today on it. Didn't realize I had flipped some rows around until I took the picture. Those three blue cornerstones all lined up are bugging me. It'll be a quick fix and I'll be happier for doing it.

Kathie and I have swapped out some fabrics, and she sent along this little kit in a package. I've totally fallen in love with little quilts! Thank you, Kathie, for the inspiration and gentle nudges back to the Civil War fabrics.

Rooting around in my Civil War stash has been so much fun. I've discovered a few jewels up there! I found some old Civil Wars that I'm about to pop to start into a Christmas quilt. I've been cutting and cutting for drunkard's paths and baskets and little nine patches. I guess there will be blog posts about these for quite a while because they're what I'm excited about working on now.

This week I had six yards of wide backing that arrived. That's backing for two quilts. I love it when the Fat Quarter Shop gets those in. I try to order early because they sell quickly. Ask me how I know!! :)

18.355 yards were used up, cut, swapped ... finally a week with more out than in!

Year to Date:

Busted: 254.805 yards
Purchased: 304.275 yards
Net YTD: (49.47) yards busted :(

Visit Judy at Patchwork Times to see how others are doing on their stash busting! And if you haven't already done so, please consider a contribution to the Help Joplin Project. There's a tab at the top of Judy's blog with all the information on how we can all get involved.

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

I spent all day yesterday doing little nine patches. They're scrappy, they're fun, and they're all out of my stash!

Some of those are from that swap about seven years ago. I think those light shirtings are really popping, but Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts gave me a couple of tips to calm them down. Or I may just keep making blocks and replace those. When they're set with alternating plain aged muslin blocks, they probably won't pop quite as much as they're doing now all laid out together.

Kathie is also the inspiration for these!

I'll worry about that much later when I'm closer to the end of these.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 22

2011-05-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Nothing much has changed. I'm sewing, but not counting anything yet. Honestly, I don't know how I'll figure out the nine patches when I'm done with them. I'll probably take a very conservative stab at the bust on that one. Of course, the finish is still off on the horizon - a long time away!

There was a bit of incoming - some pieces from a friend to add to my baskets, drunkard's paths and nine patches. A good estimate of 2.5 yards.

Yesterday was an errand day and haircut, etc. I did manage to grab a couple of purses on sale. This morning I'm not overly enthused by either of them, but they'll work for now. I couldn't find the color I really wanted for summer. Will have to keep looking for that. I really don't get those designer purses. Sure, they're pretty, but not very practical for me.

Finally caught up on sleep last night. I was up very early today, but hopefully can crash early and be back on schedule by tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be at the humming Bernina if anyone needs me!!

Year to Date:

Busted: 236.45 yards
Purchased: 298.275 yards
Net YTD: (61.825) yards busted :(

Help Joplin Project

2011-05-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

Judy at Patchwork Times has once again spearheaded a project to help others in need. Judy is one of the kindest, most generous ladies I know. Here's the link to all the info you'll need to join in and help the Joplin MO residents who suffered such devastation and loss this past weekend.

Help Joplin Project

Anything you can send will be such comfort to those who need so much. I am going to go through the quilt stash this weekend to see if there aren't some completed quilts that would be appropriate. There's one that needs binding that will go to Judy, and I'll do that binding on Saturday. Per Judy's request, I will wash any quilt before shipping it to her.

I know everyone who reads my blog has already seen Judy's post on this project. But if you haven't, please send whatever you can. Every cent will mean so much to those who have nothing.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

That Kimberly!!

2011-05-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

I received an email from Kimberly a few months ago. She said she knew how I love to collect old things because I'm so old -- no, no, wait, she's much too sweet to actually say that! :) Anyway, she wanted to know if perchance I had any of the old Kansas City newspapers with the star patterns they published for 30 years or so.

I immediately remembered buying some many years ago as well as a couple of really old books with pictures of those stars in them. I was a brand-new quilter and had no clue what to do with them! But I wasn't about to admit anything until I could squeeze some information from her.

I've known Kimberly ever since she opened the Fat Quarter Shop (although we've never actually met), and no matter how much I beg or attempt bribery, I have yet to EVER get any information from her about new quilts or clubs. I mean, sheesh, sometimes a gal just wants to know what's going on, but that Kimberly won't tell anything! I can assure you, it's not for my lack of trying!

So, although I hate to admit this, I totally caved. Yes, I had some of them, and I'd send them right along to her. She received them in a couple of days, and only then offered a tease -- that there was a SUPER SECRET PROJECT in the works!

Finally, a couple of days ago I get a late night email from her -- "Go look at the What's New page." I was out of bed in a flash (I must get a laptop to keep upstairs) and flew downstairs to the computer! There it was!

The Vintage Kansas City Star Block of the Month!

I was SO excited! For so long I have wanted to make some of those stars, but the templates and hand piecing seemed daunting to me. Well, Kimberly worked it all out for us -- no templates, no hand piecing! All easy piecing techniques using our beloved rotary cutters and sewing machines!

Totally totally excited! It doesn't start until November, so I have plenty of time to get these other projects finished up and be ready to go! I LOVE THIS QUILT!

I hope everyone signs up with me for this one. Maybe we can do a blogger's quilting group like we did on some of the other BOMs - hold hands and do it together! I'll ask closer to the start date, but if there's enough interest, we'll get it going. Maybe we can do the monthly drawing for prizes like before. I don't know. We'll talk about that later.

In the meantime, though, go sign up immediately for this! She always sells out of the really great BOMs quickly, and you'll hate it if you miss out on doing this awesome quilt!

This so feeds into the vintage mindset I've been experiencing lately - the Civil War stuff, '30s fabrics, antique quilts..........

Okay, Kimberly, you can say it. I'M OLD!!!!!!!

Message from Judy at Patchwork Times

2011-05-23T06:49:00.001-07:00

I spoke very briefly with Judy at Patchwork Times last night via her cell phone. She is okay. She was not home, but was up somewhere near Joplin and the storm passed right over her. They were able to get into a safe room until it was over. She'll post about it when she gets home.

Thank you to everyone for your concern. We love our Judy!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 21

2011-05-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Expected incoming fabrics arrived. No buyer's remorse on any of them! I'm going to start cutting them up this week, so at least half of them will be out of here within the next couple of weeks.

In addition to the FQs I blogged about yesterday, the third project in the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle arrived. The quilt is called Prairie Gathering, and the fabrics are absolutely wonderful! I'm really itching to start this one.

I really need to finish up a couple of items on my sewing table, so I can really hop into the Civil War projects in earnest. I could finish both of those in a couple of weekends if I'd put my mind to it. Might work on one over the long Memorial Day weekend. It's not a large quilt, but the backing would be a stash bust. I'm going to simply grid quilt it on the machine. Just need to get it squared and pinned. I can do it!

A few months back I pulled out the Brrrr Park to cut, and I still haven't done that. Might get that cut out next weekend as well. I want this quilt on my bed this Christmas, but that won't happen if I don't get it made. It's a gorgeous Minick & Simpson quilt out of their Winter fabric. I love love love this quilt! (Scroll down on the page to see the quilt.) I'm going to enlarge it to fit my bed.

I think I can significantly lower my numbers in the red just doing the above. Must stay focused!

Oh, oh, oh, oh -- I finished up my 100th basket block last night! I'm so excited! Of course, there are 191 more to go. I had this goal this week and I made it! I'll prep more of them as I'm cutting the Civil War fabrics, but I don't plan on stitching on them again at least for a month. It's okay. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it!! It has worked out well, though, to stitch them 20 at a time. Small goals; more accomplishments!

Why do I always pick these projects that are big and tedious? LOL.

Year to Date:

Busted: 236.45 yards
Purchased: 295.775 yards
Net YTD: (59.325) yards busted :(

Head on over to Judy's Patchwork Times to see what others have been busting this week! Some pretty awesome stash numbers over there!

(And pardon the comment moderation. Seems the stalker has reappeared. It just make me feel so special!)

TGIS!

2011-05-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness it's Saturday! I truly had a boring week this week. Oh, don't get me wrong. Lots and lots of important tasks were accomplished, but they were all "yawners."

I'm trying to decide whether to run errands today, or just stay indoors and play. That sounds funny. Remember how moms used to say, "Go outside and play"? It's just the opposite for me now. Inside is where all this luscious fabric resides. Inside is where my sewing room is. Inside is where I sit and applique. Yep, I stay inside and play!

Of course, Penny wants to go outside. She loves to roll in the grass and stroll me really close to all the blooming flower beds. Achoo!!! So we compromise. We walk longer but stick to the walking path. If I let her lollygag about, then we end up exploring all the blooming things and she doesn't concentrate on the task at hand, if you know what I mean. She's so stinking cute. Really has developed a cute personality. I must figure out the video thing because she's got twirling down pat! "Twirl, Penny!" That's all it takes to get her going. :)

I'm on the home stretch to completing 100 basket blocks. Maybe I can get that done today. I had a few things land on my doorstep this week, and I'm anxious to get those cut and ready for the baskets, nine patches, and the drunkard's paths. These fat quarters are from the Carolina line by Jo Morton. I know. I should have taken them out of the plastic to photograph! I will SO not be a photographer in my next life.

Oh, yeah, today is May 21st! Yikes! Maybe I should have held off poking these buttons on the off chance that it's all going to end today AND I would be one of those to go in the first group. Okay, I seriously doubt that would happen - going in the first group, I mean - but then again, no use leaving all that fabric at the Fat Quarter Shop when I could be enjoying it for few hours!

(Hmmm, I wonder if there's a quilting studio in the hereafter! There must be! I can't imagine the perfect world without one!)

Back to the mindless blabbering here ....

Most of the blues I'm going to pull put for the James River Blues project that I put aside last year. That was last year, wasn't it? Maybe the year before? Wow, I don't even remember with all the sickness and heartache in 2010. Doesn't matter because things are happier and brighter nowadays, and I'm wanting to do nothing but cut and sew and applique.

The pattern calls for 12 blues and 12 shirtings, but I wanted to use as many as I could. I started off with my scraps and managed to get about half of the blocks made just from those. I have a few more scraps and will combine those with a few more FQs that I found laying about and then these new blues. The blocks are easy to make and I would have been done with it long ago, but with scavenging the scraps and adding 1000 different fabrics instead of just 12, it's taken a bit longer. That's okay. I'm going to totally love the finished quilt! That's what important, isn't it? Well, that and having a ton of fun through the process!

So back to how this post all started -- I decided I'm going to stay in and play today! Errands can wait until tomorrow. I lost an earring last night and need to pick up a replacement pair, and I also absolutely positively MUST buy a new purse. I broke the handle on a nice one several weeks ago when I got to work, and dashed over to the (don't laugh) discount store near the office and picked up another one to use for just the day. Well, that's been weeks. It's time to go purse shopping. I tend to use the same one until it's worn out. Maybe I should buy two of them this time. Since I'm going to be here after today, you know.

Work Anniversary

2011-05-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

Today is my work anniversary - 17 years. On one hand, it doesn't seem that long. On the other, it seems like a lifetime.

It's really just another day. Nothing special at all. I spent yesterday boxing up some things in my late boss' office which gave me a lot of reflection time on these past 17 years. My job hasn't always been easy but it surely has been interesting, especially watching his company grow and become what it is today. I learned so much from him. Those teachings are, I feel, a legacy that I will use in my life for the rest of my days.

Thank you, Joe, for believing in me and trusting me to help carry it forward. I miss you.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 20

2011-05-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

I was a good girl this week. What? You don't believe that? I didn't either! ROFLOL. I looked and looked around the sewing room, and I couldn't find one single thing that came in this week!

Must do house chores today! Hopefully I'll find some time later this afternoon to prep more drunkard's paths and make some little nine patches. I need to figure out a better system for the 9Ps. I think I'm going to adopt (i.e. outright copy) Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts by prepping some at night to sew on the next day. Might move those 9Ps along a little quicker! I love making them, but I've had a devil of a time getting into a rhythm on them.

Penny snuggled up next to me last night while I needleturned two more basket blocks. Obviously I was more tired than I thought. When I looked at them this morning, I noticed that the handle on the darker one is all wonky. I was about to unstitch it, but then decided that it stays as it lays! There are SO many baskets in this quilt that it probably won't be noticed. I'm sure there will be plenty more "burps" before I'm done with all of these 6,793,119 blocks! Of course, by the time I'm done working on them, I'll be at The Home and no one there will care - especially me! :)

Year to Date:

Busted: 236.45 yards
Purchased: 281.945 yards
Net YTD: (45.495) yards busted :(

Heading over right now to check out the stash reports at Patchwork Times. Judy sure does keep us accountable, doesn't she?

Whatta day!

2011-05-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

I went car looking/shopping. Those places, I think, are trained to just wear you out! I learned from experience, though, to give them my keys for the trade appraisal, and then to immediately ask for the keys back when they're done. Nope, don't want to talk about anything until I get my keys back. I had one place several years ago that held my keys hostage. I won that round, trust me, but it was a lesson learned!

Yep, the third place I went, one followed me home. I was plumb worn out at that point!

So there's a new QuiltMobile! Goodbye to the other one.......

I have a ton of stuff to do tomorrow to catch up on things that didn't get done today. That's always the way it is with me, playing catch-up. Oh, well, at least this item is checked off the list.

Penny and I are chilling right now. I was so hungry when I finally got home that I ate breakfast. She was happy because she loves bacon.

Watching the news of opening the Morganza Spillway in Louisiana. I'm praying so hard for all the family I have down there, especially my brother and nephew. Hopefully this will help. I can't imagine having to make the call to flood out some to save others.

I will also pray for all of our quilting pals in South Louisiana. Stay safe!

80 Basket Blocks Done

2011-05-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

211 more to go........ sigh!

94 Drunkard's Paths

2011-05-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here are 94 drunkard's paths. Only 6,972,239 to go!

The flash really washed out the colors. They're much darker and richer.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 19

2011-05-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

This week was brutal for incoming, but it could have been a lot worse!

I cut, prepped, and shared a total of 32 yards. That's a lot of fabric moving around in one week. Except for one yard of another line, everything was Civil War type fabrics. I say "type" because some of it was aged muslin, but it's all going toward the same projects.

However, incoming was 54.675 yards. Ewww...... stinky numbers! The newest French General fabric came home to roost, FaLaLaLa. Gorgeous stuff! When the yardage hits, I'll have to get some for borders and backing. :)

Also in were a lot of Civil War fabrics. I pretty much raided the Fat Quarter Shop's shelves of everything I thought would work in these projects. Unfortunately for my stash report, during the raid I spotted the box of Judie Rothermel fat quarters. Wow, that was one exciting box to open! Penny thought so, too!

There were 100 FQs in the box, but some are already missing! I'd wager the rest will be gone within the next month! I'm on a roll here! I don't see this box on the FQS site now, but Kimberly might be able to get some more. It'd be worth asking the question if anyone is interested. A great buy!

So that's my week! It was a busy one at work, and then was busy here at night. I'm feeling so good about what's being accomplished here - especially after the awful past year. I'll get busy again in another month or two, but for now I'm going to make hay while the sun shines!

My brother is again facing some medical issues, which I hope are not serious, but we're all a bit nervous about them. More testing next week. Then the potential for flooding down in South Louisiana also has everyone nervous. Don thinks his home is safe, but we're worried about my nephew's home. Just praying things turn out well on both fronts.

Year to Date:

Busted: 236.45 yards
Purchased: 281.945 yards
Net YTD: (45.495) yards busted :(

Even though I'm in the hole, I'm real happy about everything quilt-related at the LA Quilter house!!! High fives!!!

Organizational Skills

2011-05-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Are you organized when you're pulling fabrics and cutting?

I'm making the biggest mess out of all these Civil War type fabrics. This is what one side of my cutting table looks like. Yikes!

If I'm cutting a pattern out, and I've pulled the fabrics for just that pattern, then I'm totally organized and neat. All the pieces are bagged, tagged, and the leftovers either go in a ziplock or in the scrap bin.

The problem comes in when I'm cutting just two or three squares and enough fabrics for a basket block out of each piece. Then I end up with leftovers everywhere. And I can't quite put them away yet, because I still have to cut a strip for the little 3" 9-patches.

Most of the fabrics are fat quarters. Of course, the ironing board is set up right behind me so I can press them before cutting. And a tub or two of fabrics are sitting right near my feet so I can pull out of those. It's a mess, I tell you; a total mess!

So I'm determined this weekend to not stitch at all! That's right, not one stitch!

I'm going to do a whole weekend of cutting and prepping so I can put away all this mess. Then I can stitch for a few weeks before I have to cut again.

That's my plan anyway. I'm focused. I'm determined. Nothing will deter me!!

Anyone want to go to the movies this afternoon? :)

A Story and a Request

2011-05-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

I just read Carol's blog, and I came away in tears.

Carol has a heart-warming, heart-wrenching story, and a heart-felt request for her fellow quilters.

Please take a moment to read the blog and offer to help out if you can.

Thanks.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 18

2011-05-01T00:14:00.001-07:00

These are the last few drunkard's path blocks that I did while waiting for a call back from the emergency dentist yesterday. I have about 40 total done so far, and another 20 or so prepped. I'm so into this right now. But I mustn't forget my little basket blocks. I have another 20 of those prepped, and I'm going to do at least one each day before I work on the drunkard's paths. Maybe I can do that one, or part of it, at lunch break! Any forward progress is a good thing! Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts is really whipping out her blocks! She is a constant source of inspiration!

The only thing incoming this week was the next installment on the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle Club from the Fat Quarter Shop. This month is Prairie Huswyfe and it's gorgeous! 4.08 yards.

Busted 10 yards by cutting up Civil War fabrics for myself and to share. It is SO MUCH FUN cutting up fabric! LOL. It's been far too long with no cutting going on around here! I should now have enough cut to sew on for a while.

Oh, I also had incoming of some 1.5" strips from a friend, but I haven't added those up yet. I'll figure it out for next week's report. Maybe I can sew those up this week so it'll be a neutral! :)

I'm slowly making my way into the positive here, but I fear next week will shove me further into the hole. Darn that Kimberly and her 20% coupons! I'll just blame it all on her!

Year to Date:

Busted: 204.45 yards
Purchased: 227.27 yards
Net YTD: (22.82) yards busted :(

Okay, Here's the Deal... WINNER

2011-04-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-26T19:25:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-24T04:16:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-02T09:11:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Disclaimer & Full Disclosure

2011-03-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

It seems that a lot of folks these days are being asked if they work for fabric designers, pattern or notions designers and/or quilt shops when they blog about a particular product, fabric or pattern. Maybe it's a mass email going out ... but I'll quickly address it here.

Nope, I don't work for anyone even remotely attached to the quilting industry.

Nope, I've never been sent anything free to endorse on my blog.

Nope, I wouldn't do it, even if I were asked.

I'm Corporate Director of Finance, Administration & Human Resources for a manufacturing company that forges titanium, steel and other high-temp alloys. I don't see how that could in any way be stretched to include anyone in the quilting industry, except that perhaps they may fly on a plane that contains some of our metal. Of course, I would have no way of knowing that for sure, but I'm just trying to cover all of the full-disclosure bases here. (Okay, that was a feeble attempt at humor!)

Honestly, I don't know what in the world I'd be able to offer any quilting-industry company who offered me a job! And I sure don't know where I'd come up with the time to handle two jobs! Well, I guess I could give up sleeping because that seems to be the only "spare" time I have lately.

Hope this clears up the matter. Maybe now that mass emailer will put me on their do-not-email list. At least I got a huge chuckle out of it! :)

Stash Report 2011 - Week 13

2011-03-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Give-aways and fabrics to friends - that's a good thing!

Some fabric arrived that was expected. Lily & Will by Anne Sutton at Bunnyhill Designs and Pom Pom de Paris by French General.

I did manage to cut a few yards for backgrounds for my appliqued basket blocks but not counting that yet. I looked at the pattern, though, and I thought that total yardage would have been a lot more. Oh, well, it'll get reported as a bust when it's all cut, which will be a while. I'm not cutting much ahead of where I'm working because I'm only prepping 20 blocks at a time.

I'm teaching a friend to needle turn applique. It's been fun working with her, an hour here and an hour there. Saying techniques out loud refresh and reinforce them for me. I love showing someone how needle turn. I love seeing that "light bulb" moment when it clicks. Yes, you can see it.

Good news - 60 basket blocks done. A lot more to go. Eating this elephant one bite at a time!

This might be my last weekend off for a while, so I've been cleaning and prepping blocks and cooking to freeze meals. Penny has taken to camping out in the kitchen. Never know when Mommy will "accidentally" drop something!

2011 Totals:

Busted: 156.37 yards
Purchased: 167.255 yards
Net YTD: (10.885) yards busted :(

Almost even!

New Jaybird Quilts Patterns

2011-03-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

I was so excited last night that this package arrived! All five of Julie's new patterns! My picture is lousy, and I had to crop Penny out of it, but I just had to show them off to everyone! I'm like a proud mother here!

I met Julie for the first time at the Long Beach quilt show, what, two years ago now. She struck me then as a high energy, adorable young lady, with an extremely bright future in the quilting industry. Since then I've met her a few more times, and my first assessment of her has only grown stronger. I'm absolutely positive now that we'll be seeing her talents around for many years to come! She's so special to me - and I know to everyone who has met her and been infected by her creativeness and, I'll say it again, energy!

I just need to pick up the Creative Grids Lazy Angle ruler and I'm good to go here. Well, I will be when I get a bit more time to actually get in the sewing room!

Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop is stocking all of Julie's dynamite new patterns! I'm having trouble with links this morning, so go here to Jolly Jabber blog to check them out! (There's a link to both the Fat Quarter Shop and Jaybird Quilts blog in my sidebar.) I love it when two of my very best friends are in cahoots!! :)

Waytago, Julie! You done good, sweetie! The patterns are wonderful!

Good Morning!

2011-03-24T07:03:00.001-07:00

I don't know why I needed to say that, but I did! :)

Okay, here's the deal. I just got a timeline yesterday of a lot of stuff at work that has to be done in the next couple of months. It's overwhelming when I look at the whole list and due dates, but just like making a quilt, today I'm going to break it down into do-able components, make a list, and stick to it.

I see a lot of weekends working and a lot of stress. I can handle the work and stress. I just can't handle much of regular life stuff on top of that.

I haven't quilted much in the past year except for some applique. My friends know why. And I don't foresee much quilting in the next couple of months either. If I get to do it, then that's a bonus. If I don't, I'm ready to accept that.

I'll only be blog posting about once a week, if that, which is about all I've done anyway lately. Just wanted my sweet readers to know that everything is fine here.

So email me if you want to chat. I'll get back to you when there's a moment's pause.

And if you all would take a stitch or two for me, I'd appreciate it! xoxo

Give-Away Winner

2011-03-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for wanting this orphan fabric. I was waiting to see who won before I really cut the half yards. I was going to try to customize it a bit.

The winner, as pulled from a paper bag by Penny, is .....

JULIEQ of juliekquilts.blogspot.com

Since Julie is making quilts for Japan, I decided not to cut the fabric, but stuck the whole pieces in the box. There's 42 yards there. It's quite a hodge-podge of fabric, but maybe Julie will be able to incorporate some of it into the quilts that will make their way to Japan.

Julie, please email me your address so I can get these off to you.

Thank you all for wanting these. I am on fabric overload here, so I'm sure there will be more give-aways like this often.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 12

2011-03-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing in; nothing out. Although I have a couple of huge orders coming in next week from the Fat Quarter Shop. Decided to get yardage to go with the two lines of precuts and towers I have sitting here.

For Pom Pom de Paris I went with the yellow for borders, etc. Yellow is really calling my name this year. For Lily & Will, I'm stocking up on baby quilt fabrics and have precuts in all of the colorways, so had to get go-withs for all of those. I'm usually not into fabrics for babies at all, but these are absolutely gorgeous and classic. So I'm all set - or will be when they land on my doorstep, and when "great expectations" are announced!

Things were quiet here last week, and I looked forward to going to a small quilt show near here yesterday. But on Friday night I came home really nauseous and was up and down all night long. I think it's gone now, but it really laid me low until yesterday afternoon. Wouldn't you know it. Oh, well, there's always the Long Beach show in July.

I was able to make a little basket block each night this week, so have 6.5 done. Hope to get another one or two done tomorrow. When I get half of the blocks done I'll figure yardage and get that added to my busts. This is a really labor intensive quilt!

I have a box sitting here of .5+ yard cuts of miscellaneous fabrics that will go out to a commenter here, if they're interested. Just say so in your comment and I'll draw a name on Tuesday night when I get home. Don't know how much is in the box, but some scrap quilter might like to have them.

2011 Totals:

Busted: 90.87 yards
Purchased: 111.755 yards
Net YTD: (20.885) yards busted :(

Miss Rosie's Patterns

2011-03-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see that Carrie Nelson's new Miss Rosie patterns were for sale at the Fat Quarter Shop! Really excited! I've been watching everyone out in bloggerland make up all these beautiful quilts, and felt like the red-haired stepchild. I would always forget to order the patterns. Then when I'd order one and it came in, I found I already had it. Or I'd pull all my fabric to make one, and discover that I had gotten other patterns but not the particular one I wanted.

Well, Kimberly solved all of that!

There's a brand-spanking-new Miss Rosie's Quilt Company Pattern Club, a Fat Quarter Shop exclusive club!!

Wow, Kimberly was reading my mind!! That was one button I didn't mind poking at all in the middle of last night! Since I had scoured the site at lunchtime and didn't see it, it must have just gone up. Hmmm, I wonder if I was the first! LOL

So I'm all signed up for this fantastic club! Now I know that when the latest Miss Rosie patterns are released, they'll be automatically shipped to me! How cool is that!! With a discount! No more trying to remember which ones I have or need to get!

Now I just need to start digging in my stash to find the perfect fabrics!