Christmas Shopping

Jane and I went out and about yesterday in the cold and drizzly rain. I had such fun! I've been just going to work and coming home for the past three weeks, and it was good to giggle with her. We went to two quilt shops and an antique store that we've visited before.

I was SO good! I bought four yards of a patriotic backing that I needed, three polka dot fat quarters and one pattern! Everything else I got were gifts for various and sundry folks.

Judy, you really need to visit SoCal soon! The two shops still had lots of Holly Jolly fabric! See? LOL.

You should have heard us in the antique store. We were laughing so much at some of that stuff. There were a couple of things I probably would have gotten if it weren't for Christmas being just around the corner. I'll go back after Christmas. If they're still there, then they were meant to be! I was looking for one particular thing for a gift, and what I found was either way too expensive or way too cheap. I'm going to keep looking. Eventually I'll find it!

Daisy was being so funny when I got home. Yesterday morning, I retrieved a small FQ Shop box from the garage thinking it would be perfect to mail a present in. Well, it was too small and I left it sitting on the floor by my cutting table. When I walked in last night, she had her head down against the side of the box and was pushing it across into the living room. I started laughing when I saw her. She looked up at me, and then went back to pushing that box around the house. I didn't get it but she was having fun! Doesn't take much to entertain that baby - boxes, water bottles, spools of Aufrafil thread! LOL.

Went to dinner with Jane and her sweet DH last night. First real food I've had since the endodontist visit on Friday morning. My mouth felt perfectly fine until about halfway through the meal. I took a couple of Motrin and it feels better this morning. I might ought to stick to Jell-O for another few days. :(

Gratitudes:

~ The remarkable feeling of being with good friends and laughing about absolutely nothing!

~ The rain!

~ My silly dog making me laugh - again!

~ A whole day stretching ahead with absolutely nothing on the agenda except what I want to do!! Oh, yeah, and laundry!

Worn Out Here!

I've been busier than all get-out.

I have the second appointment with the endodontist tomorrow morning. I started back on the antibiotics today. I hope my stomach doesn't get all messed up again, and that this whole ordeal will be over shortly!

I'm going Christmas shopping with Jane this weekend. I've got to say that only once have I actually gone out Christmas shopping in the almost 14 years I've been in SoCal. It's scary out there - way too many crazy folks. But hopefully she will be navigating, or at least co-piloting, and I'm going to do it!!! LOL

My goal is to finish this sewing by the weekend, and then I have to get busy on the binding for the boss' quilt. I have two weeks to get that done as they will going out of town before Christmas. In a week and a half or so if you hear some gleeful screaming coming from my direction, that will be me with a finished giterdun!!!!

That's it from my boring little part of the world. It's cooling down quickly outside as it's supposed to start raining tonight. I can't wait!

Sunday Stash Report

1st Weekends are my Christmas sewing weekends. Although I haven't sewn on any Christmas projects yet, the weekend is not over!

I did turn on the Bernina yesterday and had a glorious sewing day. I'm working on something that is turning out really nice, although it's a secret and I can't blog about it. LOL. I should finish it up this week and it's off to be quilted. I lost two weeks while I was sick, so I'm behind schedule.

It's cold here - well, California cold. It was in the low 40s last night and will be in the mid 60s today. The rain we had on Friday has washed away all the ash and soot, and everything is so beautifully green here. If I venture out today, I'll take my camera along and will add some Southern California winter shots for those in blogland who are getting snow this weekend and experiencing a real winter!

Stash news: I have a good and bad report this Sunday. The bad news is that I have not busted any stash - and won't until I get this quilt top finished and get the binding finished on the giterdun. The good news is that I didn't buy anything this week except for two patterns to aid in the stash busting efforts, and two months' worth of those flower of the month fabrics. Half yard cuts. As I've mentioned before, I seem to buy things in sets, and I can't stop this set now. I'm just glad the year is almost over!! Have no clue what I will do with those, but I have them. LOL

Daisy is sleeping in this morning. I think she knows that when she gets up, she has to go out in the cold to potty. She is really getting blind. She was diagnosed with cataracts when she was about four years old. It seems in the past two or three months, her vision has really gone downhill. I'm going to have to remember to take a big flashlight out with me when I walk her at night. If I shine it a foot or so ahead of her, she will follow it. I noticed this week that she walks off the sidewalk and stumbles, and she actually walked into the side of the building last weekend. It's real frustrating for her when she stumbles or bumps into something, and she turns and starts heading back to the front door. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but she's happy except when she's outside at night. My boss asked me what I would do with her when she became totally blind, and I replied that I would just love her and help her along. She does fine in the house with the lights on and knows where everything is. I love this puppy so much, and I suspect I will be really bonding with her even more in the years to come. To paraphrase a line from "Seabiscuit," you don't throw away a perfectly good life just because they're a little banged up. I love you, Daisy bug!

I'm feeling better every day, although my stomach is still a little messed up from the antibiotics. Haven't gotten the final word yet on when I'll be finishing up the work on that tooth, but I suspect it will be late next week.

I promise pictures! Soon!

Gratitudes:

~ A sewing day at my house
~ I need to buy a scale. I think I've lost a couple of more pounds.
~ The Christmas spirit is coming on
~ As ever, my sweet Daisy

Forming a Plan Here

I spent a little while up in the stash room last night just kind of looking around.

The first thing that's bugging the bejeebers out of me are the odd fat quarters that are everywhere. I'm going to be pulling some patterns from the pattern "stash" and from the book "stash" and will be using up as many of those odd fat quarters as I can here very shortly. Whatever doesn't get used will get cut into strips. I want those things out of my life!

Tonight I stopped by Ginger's to get a Jane fix, and found the cutest pattern in there. You already know I love BOMs, and here's a pattern I can pull from the stash and do a row a month!! My own BOM!!

http://tinyurl.com/2ffvd9

The pattern is "Seasons in a Row" by Sandy Brawner of Quilt Country. I had already put it on the counter when Jane told me she saw the quilt at market and it was just adorable.

On the health front, I'm feeling so much better. I had a visit with my new family physician yesterday and I really like him. The hospital doctor was kind enough to find a new doctor for me since mine retired last month, and then called him and filled him in on what I was going through. Before my appointment yesterday, my new doctor had pulled the hospital records and was all ready for me. We had a few good laughs and I think it's a good fit. He told me he wanted me to wait two weeks after I finish the antibiotics before resuming my dental work. Well, today the endodontist called to check on me, and he disagreed with that. He wants to do the work now while I'm still full of antibiotics. I'm going to let those two battle it out! They're supposed to talk tomorrow. I don't think in my whole life I've had so many doctors communicating about me. Geez, I feel special! ROFLOL Oh, as an aside, I lost 11 pounds on the liquid diet, but it's certainly not a diet I'd recommend! LOL

This week has seemed really long to me, I think because I was so sick last week and slept away most of it. One more day to get through.

Jane and I are going to see the Nutcracker Ballet in the middle of December. We're both really excited about that! I can't wait. I danced in the Nutcracker for maybe 10 years when I was a kid. I always thought it was magical!

What else? Oh, yeah, the garage. This weekend I start weeding it out. I'm NOT looking forward to that!

And did all of you go to www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com to check out Miss Emma crawling? I can't believe she's already old enough to do that! Totally adorable! I tried to 'dibby' her, but Kimberly wouldn't let me!! :) :)

And those two BOMs I blogged about last time, they don't start until next year. So if I get a running start on stashing busting before those start .... I'm just saying ....

That's it for tonight. A blog about a whole lot of nothing, with a little lagniappe thrown in for good measure!

Gratitudes:

~ Getting well
~ Excitement about stash busting
~ Getting in the mood for Christmas
~ Crawling babies!

I'm Just Saying ...

... if I were so inclined to order another BOM since All Things Christmas is almost done, I'd sure want to think about these I just spotted at The Fat Quarter Shop.

First, Blossom Time by Bunny Hill Designs. I think my heart stopped when I saw it. Wait, maybe that was the medication. Anyway, this thing is drop-dead gorgeous!! http://tinyurl.com/27kgdb. I mean, I can actually visualize it on my bed.

Then this popped onto Kimberly's site today. http://tinyurl.com/yumrqr This is called Birds and Bees, and uses that fabulous Dandelion Girl line by Fig Tree. I think that's a dynamite price for the monthly blocks, too. A whole lot of happiness for less than $19 a month. And wouldn't this be a great quilt for maybe a beginning appliquer!

I'm not going nuts here poking buttons. But, I mean, I'm just saying ....

Stash Buster Sunday

I didn't bust any stash this week. Unless, of course, you count the cash stash for medical bills. No, let's not count that. In fact, I'd rather not think about it.

I did start sewing up a couple of things for a friend, but I can't call that stash busting because it was her fabric. But while I was doing that, I came up with some plans for how to use up some of the stuff I have here, and how to store it better so I can more easily see what I have.

A friend emailed me yesterday and said she was going to send me some strips for my loggies. WHAT? NO, YOU ARE NOT!!! Nuh uh!! No way!!! I was so shocked that I forgot to email her back! Will do that immediately! ROFLOL. Honey, we're stash busting - and that DOES NOT mean sending me your stuff! Love you anyway, and nice try!! LOL

One thing I was also thinking about last night are the most favorite quilts I've made. Those haven't been from coordinated lines of fabric, but from my stash.

For instance:

"Strawberries for Lisa" has been juried into Road to California!!!! That was 100% out of my stash! Well, except for the background because I didn't have enough of any one piece. But all the rest of it came from my stash! It's a special quilt because I had hoarded that strawberry fabric for five years until Judy's design inspired me. Thank you, Judy!

I was thinking about Judy's pink quilt she just made, and all of the other Hour a Day quilt patterns. I'm going to make some of those starting over the Christmas holidays!! Yep, I'm just going to do it!

So while I've gotten off to a shaky start this week, I'm driven by my determination to have all my stash fit into one room! I'm not going to pledge yardage used or number of quilts made, but just to have it all fit into the stash room! So that means a LOT of sewing in my future!! :)

Gratitudes:

~ The remarkable health care system we have here in America.
~ Jane.
~ A long holiday weekend to recuperate.
~ Coming to the conclusion that I actually like Jell-O!

It's Strangling Me!

My stash is strangling me. Really! I thought about this last night, and here's why I'm in this dilemma:

~ When I started quilting six years ago, everyone I spoke with about quilting talked about their stash. Every online group I read talked about their stash. I had just started quilting. What stash? So I set out to have a stash. The age-old question quickly arose - how much do I buy?

~ The very first trip to the quilt shop to sign up for a beginning class found me face-to-face with Robyn Pandolph's Moda line, Morning Glory. Oh, goodness, that stuff was gorgeous. I didn't know how much I'd need for my sampler class, had no idea which colorway I should buy; in other words, I was totally clueless. So I bought two yards of each piece in the whole line. 40+ pieces in that line. I was so proud! I now had a stash! I came home and washed each piece, carefully ironed and folded it, and it looked pitiful sitting there all by itself. And if I actually cut it and used it, I would no longer have a stash. I needed more fabric!

~ Then I joined a squishie swap. I bought FQs to make blocks for folks. But what if I messed cutting or sewing and needed more fabric? So I bought two FQs. What if I really messed up? So I bought a yard.

~ Next I made the discovery of all discoveries! They sell fabric online! OMG, I was in seventh heaven. I can't even tell you how much fun I had exploring those sites, poking buttons, discovering the greatest secret on earth - shopping in your pajamas! Since I was still taking my beginning classes, and still clueless about quilting, I had no earthly idea what I would make out of this stuff, but I just know I had to have it!

~ One weekend I was eavesdropping in the quilt shop, and a lady said she was going to buy a whole bolt of something. A whole bolt!! She was my hero! That day I bought a bolt of muslin and a bolt of Kona Snow. Good buys, but really blah next to my Pandolph stash. I needed more bolts!

~ I explored a shop in the next county and saw a stack of neatly folded FQs all tied up with a Moda ribbon. I asked the dumb question, and was told it was a Moda tower -- an FQ of every single fabric in that line! I bought that tower. (And I still have it!) Towers opened up a whole new way of thinking for me. I could have just a bit of ALL of the fabrics! And they wouldn't take up so much room. Really! I really thought that! But, of course, if you're going to buy a tower, you must get yardage for borders and backing, right? Still no clue how much I'd need, but I figured four yards for borders and eight yards for backing ought to do it.

~ Wait! They sell kits -- already made up -- out of the same fabric of which I just bought a tower and yardage! All right! Now I won't have to use my stash to make that quilt!!

I won't go any further. The rest of the story is sadly well known among quilters. But what I do need to emphasize here is at this point in the story I've been quilting a grand total of THREE MONTHS!!

So here I sit in my pajamas the day after Thanksgiving, having just viewed all the Coming Soon stuff at www.fatquartershop.com, and feeling a bit righteous about my new resolve to bust that stash!! While I was in the hospital last week, my inbox filled up with online shops taunting me with their after-Thanksgiving sales. I deleted all of them. Not a gigantic step in the scheme of things, but a beginning!

I'm formulating a game plan to use up the stuff I'm not so taken with any more. Batiks and Civil War fabrics are on list. While I really do like those, I'm not head-over-heels in love with them any more. It was just a quest to collect them. And those odd FQs, hundreds of them - I've been cutting them up into strips, giving them away, using them up. A long way to go but at least I've started.

The big yardage pieces upstairs, I'm going to cut them. No use saving them for the perfect backing piece. They're taking up room and they're not getting any younger. This is funny, but a while back a good friend mentioned looking for a beige mottled background for an applique project. I sent her a strip of something I had in my stash. She emailed me back that it was perfect, but since it was a really old Pandolph Moda and she needed five yards, that she'd have to look elsewhere. Not a problem. I happened to have seven yards of it up there!

I don't know where all this is headed, but I do know that I am out of room here. I'm going to make flimsies this year, tons and tons of them. I've got thousands of yards of fabric here, so I'm going to experiment a bit. While the fabric choices for a particular quilt might not be perfect, I'll bet my next paycheck that they will look just fine. Besides, we aren't building a piano here! I see charity quilts and "happy" quilts for friends and family coming out of the stash room.

I'm deadly serious when I say I could never buy another inch of fabric or another spool of thread or another ruler or book, and still prolifically quilt for the rest of my life. But I'd rather be stimulated occasionally by the new stuff, be tantalized by a new pattern or book. To do that, I need to do some serious stash busting.

2008 is the year!