Tired Tonight!

What a day. Then an hour getting home in traffic and drizzling rain. Food and a hot bath are in order! But first things first -- Daisy hugs! The best medicine in the world for whatever ails you!

A new book came today, The Civil War Diary Quilt by Rosemary Youngs. I think I'll head up to snuggle under the quilt and get a good read in before lights out.

Spring has Sprung

I dug around in the quilts and found one that looked like spring. I really really hate to admit this, but I have never had a quilt on my bed before tonight! But it's raining again, and I thought it would cheer me up to have something light and fresh in the bedroom!

This was one of my early quilts, probably the first six months or so. The pattern is called "Butterfly Flip" by Atkinson Designs. Unfortunately, I didn't "flip" those butterflies, but lined them all up like little soldiers. And didn't even do a good job of that. There are plenty of them who are marching to a different drummer! LOL

Today was a busy one, but I'm all ready for a big meeting tomorrow and that feels good! Also, I stuck to my new resolution and stood up for truth and justice today, and that felt good, too. So all in all, very much a feel-good kind of day!

Daisy dog and I are having a stand-off right now. She didn't like her allergy-proof dog food, but would eat it reluctantly. I caved this weekend and bought her a bag of good stuff. Yesterday I caught her in the pantry trying to get into the bag. Tonight I mixed the old food with a handful of the yummy. I watched her pick through the bowl and eat only what she liked out of it. And now she's sitting at the pantry door looking pitiful! She plays me like a fiddle!

Spring Cleaning

Yeah, okay, the house is clean, but I was thinking more along the lines of getting some UFO spring cleaning done. I decided to pull out the UFOs, the ones that I can quickly finish up. Five or six just need the backings pieced, which I hate to do, and then they're off to be quilted. There are two that need assembly - the nothing-fancy-just-do-it kind of assembly; these are donation quilts. One needs pinning so I can try to quilt it myself. One needs some creative thought on a pieced border. And, yes, there's a QOV in there just needing a final border and the backing pieced. But all are very do-able in short order.

There are more UFOs, trust me, but even those are nearing completion. Most of them just need a couple of more blocks made, or some stash busting for borders and backings. But those will be another stack for another time. I just figured if I got these pulled together and placed in a spot in the house where I'd have to look at them every day, then I'd feel bad because they weren't finished. That Catholic guilt thing again! LOL!

Admission is good for the soul. I'm a quilt top junkie! There! I've said it!!

Thinking about Stash Quilts

I was rummaging through my quilts today and ran across this one made from batiks. This pix is before the binding was on it. But I was thinking it would be an easy quilt to make using up all the strips we've got hoarded away. I think scrappy would be fabulous! Judy's gorgeous quilting, but I don't have a closer shot to show the beautiful variegated thread.

I spent the entire day cleaning. Just have my bedroom and bathroom left and I'll do that first thing in the morning. Now that it's all caught up, I can truly do my daily task and keep it up. I also hung sheers in the living room and dining room, hung a huge mirror in the dining room that's been leaning up again the wall for a year, and hung a ton of other pictures. Starting to feel like a home! About time!

I moved Daisy's kennel from the dining room to the living room - and covered it with a quilt, of course! She was all discombobulated after it was moved. Every time I'd go near the kennel, she'd jump in and pull the door closed with her teeth as if to say, "Nuh uh, you're not moving me again!!" Funny funny dog. A real creature of habit!

I'm so proud of myself for being so productive today! Tomorrow I sew!!!!!

The Hurricane

I was still a new quilter and taking as many classes as I could to learn different techniques. I signed up for a storm at sea paper piecing class, and The Hurricane was born. I had so many problems with thinking backwards - my brain doesn't work like everyone else's (that's a blog for later) - but suffice it to say this was a real challenge.

I wanted a red storm at sea. I saw one in a magazine once, and that was what I wanted!! So I trek over to The Fabric Patch and started pulling red batiks. Candace was helping me and it was coming together very nicely. Then I spotted the dark blue with the ferns and started pulling go-withs for that. The red quilt was totally abandoned, but Candace still calls this my red quilt! LOL

I paper pieced this thing in about two weeks at night after work, and it took me another two weeks to get all the paper off the back of it. It looked like it snowed in my sewing room! I mean, a blizzard. I vacuumed every day, sometimes twice a day, and no amount of vacuuming could keep up with it. It stuck to my clothes and made its way down the hall and into the kitchen and stuck to my shower curtain. I must have had paper stuck to the bottom of my shoes because I found some on the deck out back! My maid even brought the vacuum cleaner to me one day, "Miz Beeky, it no suck!" I was rolling on the floor laughing. She had filled up TWO vacuum bags in like ten minutes after a night of paper pulling!

I sent this off to Judy with my usual detailed quilting instructions, "I don't care. You decide." I know I drive her crazy but that's how I am. Anyway, it is one of my favorites just because it was my first PP'g.

Christmas Tiles

This picture is before it was quilted by Judy, but I just love this quilt. It's her Vienna Tiles pattern. I did a huge amount of cutting before my shoulder surgery. Once I was home and feeling up to it, I'd sit at my sewing machine and sew until it was time to take more drugs. LOL! I did five or six one-handed quilt tops while I was off work - chain piecing them through with my left hand and using the bejeebers out of that knee lift! I've got a picture that I'll post another time of the beautiful quilting on it. This one is totally from stash! I was so proud of myself for doing that!!

I'm going to break my resolution tonight and order take-out. I've been really good the past few months about cooking something at night, but I'm just too tired to fool with it today. There's a good barbeque place near here - might just go get some chicken and call it a day!

March Project

The host of our Elimination Club pulled the March number, and here it is - Dear Emma. My friend, Sally, and I are making this one together for her beautiful granddaughter. Sally is making the pieced blocks and I'm making the appliqued ones. The first appliqued block was made the day Emma was born. She's now two. Our goal is to have this finished before she graduates high school! Yeah, we can do that!!! (The third row is not assembled in this picture.) I'm going to finish the fourth row of the applique and also do the fifth row this month.

I can't believe it's already March! I sure wish I had started quilting 20 years ago. There's no way to make all the quilts I want to make. Guess they'll all be going to The Home with me!!

My happy thought today is realizing that I'm happy! Quite an accomplishment considering all I've been through in the last ten years. I've been wallowing in the past a lot lately, as evidenced in my blogs, but that's over now. I always get that way this time of year. While it's important to remember my past and where I've come from and been, it's more important to move forward - with the knowledge that each day here on earth is another opportunity I've been given to get it right!