Baby It's HOT Outside

Call me a whimp, I don't care. I used to love the hot days but now I don't. What I really don't love are the hot nights. I like to go outside in the evening but when it's 80+ degrees, it isn't pleasant. We don't often get temps in the 100's on the west side of Washington state but today is the 3rd day, even when we do, it cools off at night. I am lucky to have a couple of window air conditioners and the house has stayed pretty pleasant. But I like to go outside on nice days. Especially when the munchkin is here.


Miss Taylor spent the weekend with us. Momma Crystal and Master Elliot sought releif here on Friday and Daddy Mike joined them on Saturday. We have a hot tub and Miss T wanted to swim. Well the water was yucky and it was too hot for tubing. So Poppy emptied it out, cleaned it, filled it up, warmed it up and turned it into a swimming pool. Momma Crystal dipped Mr E in then went and found a swimsuit for herself. After dinner, Gramma even took a dip.

Satuday morning Miss T and I made some Barbie dressed and a new purse for Miss T. It is so fun to have her assist me. She likes to choose fabrics and buttons and has a pretty good eye for color. Being 6 1/2, her attention span is pretty short. And since she thinks I am "smart and good", she is the designer and I am the sewist. She even helped me place fusible flowers and leaves on some more applique blocks to work on this week.

Everyone has gone home now. Poppy is napping in front of the tv and I think it's time to relax in front of the fan while holding down the couch for a bit. Think I'll make a nice little salad and call that dinner. Later, it's still TOO HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Am Elmo

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do! You are usually feeling: Talkative. You've got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren't talking, you're laughing. You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged women especially like you. How you life your life: With an open heart. "Elmo loves you!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

WOW!! What A Week

I can't believe this week is over. It seems like yesterday that Sonya and I boarded the tour bus and spent the day at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. It was last Saturday! I love the huge hanging baskets. They are all over town. I only saw one that really, really wanted a drink of water. Water was the beverage of the day!
It was so hot--How hot was it??? We took refuge in a beer cooler.

97 degrees is too hot to for this ole gal to spend all day outside and by the time we boarded the bus to head for another quilt shop, I was not feeling well at all. I didn't buy a thing. But I'm still thinking of calling and ordering a quilt kit!

I love this string quilt with the 9 patch corner stones and 3 strip sashing. I think I will copy this for the string blocks I have in progress. You know, one of those on going things.

There were several quilts with the panels in the center and log cabin blocks around them. This quilt would be perfect on my log bed. I think I need mine to be flannel and bigger.
I've been so inspired that all week long, I've been stitching for a half hour or more after work. I'm working on a little wall hanging for my sewing room. It's amazing how much I can get done if I just sit down a do a bit.

On the bus, Sonya and I each won a book because we were the only travelers that have been on every tour with the gals that organized the tour. 3 tours, 3 trips. The book I chose is call Patches and Posies by Teri Christopherson. On the cover is a Posy Patch Quilt with 9 patches and alternate blanket stitch applique blocks. Perfect for me, I have a bag of floral and cream 9 patches. So Sunday afternoon, I traced and fused a whole bunch of flowers and leaves and cut some background blocks. I have been stitching on these all week at work and have 7 up on the design wall. This is a good summertime work project. Very portable and no problem laying it down when necessary.

So when my little wall hanging is finished, I am going to load up a top on the machine and get some quilting done, a little bit at a time.

TTFN, I'm gonna go stitch for a minute or 2.

Shopping

While at Netty's, I just had to shop. I need buttons for my camp shirts and when I went to pick them out, there was a box of buttons for 50 cents a card. She said some had been there for quite some time. I love buttons and came home with quite a few.

Then I needed more fabric. I saved a bunch of half square triangle from another project and made them into little pinwheel blocks. I needed a soft fabric for alternate blocks and chose a soft yellow.


Then I found this cute monkey print and got white background for a small border and then purple for the outer border and backing.Then there was this awesome orange that jumped off the shelf at me and I had to enhance my background stash. Actually, each piece I bought has a purpose. Oh and she had some wider lingere elastic that I was out of so 10 yards each of black and white.


Before going on our trip, I found Fays Fabrics on line and ordered some of her value packs. I got 2 value packs of elastic, 1 of lace and 1 spandex pack. $47 and I have enough fabric, lace and elastic to make lots and lots of awesome bras.

I am in bra making mode and needed to find fabric. I wasn't happy with what I found at JoJo's. When my package arrived, I was overjoyed. I love the lime green spandex . There were 5 large pieces of spandex in my pack.

(I've tried 3 times to upload pictures of the elastic and lace but blogger is cranky! Maybe they think I've been too chatty today! )
The lace is great. Each piece is at least 2 yards long. I can't wait to use the maroon or the orange or the dark green on the lime green fabric.

I love the variety of elastic. There is some Victoria's Secret elastic and Honors and several pieces of picot edge. The pieces are just like she advertised, and I think I want some more of the value packs. Nothing like a good surprise! I also need to order underwires, hooks, and probably a few other things. ;-0

Off to make more buttonholes, 1 shirt done, 2 to go, and both pair of pants need a button and buttonhole. Don't think I'll do much for the rest of the day.

Back To Quilting

After work yesterday, I decided I better get my hiney busy and finish Sharon's quilt. I call it "Sharon's Fireworks Watching Quilt". I don't know when Sharon started piecing this top but she hated it. So when she decided she did not want to be a quilter (have you ever heard of this before?!?), she cleared out most of her stash and gave it to me. I had already finished 2 quilts for her. And I had to finish this one. She was just going to throw it in the trash but I couldn't let that happen.

This poor quilt was in a bag with all of it's parts crying to be remade (probably the reason she didn't want to be a quilter). So during this past winter, I took all of the seams apart (Trust me, I will never do that again!) and remade the blocks--Oh I love projects at work. I had them all sewn together and yesterday, after doing some serious sewing room cleaning. I remembered the date and paniced. So I got this project out, added a couple of borders, pieced some of the leftover fabric for a back, then went to bed.



At 5 am, I woke up raring to go. Tiptoed out of the bedroom, shut the door, made coffee, wound a few bobbins, got a cup of coffee in me, loaded the quilt on the frame, warmed up the machine, went out to get another cup of coffee, came back in and went to work. I love doing the loopie meander and this quilt was finished at 10 am. Binding on and machine stitched down. Done, done, done!



Sharon is going to love snuggling up in this quilt. I hope she doesn't have anymore hidden treasures crying to be finished.

What a productive day. Finished a quilt, washed my car, shampooed out the spilled coffee, wrote in my blog. Sometimes I scare myself. Now on to the next project. I need to make some buttonholes.

Rant--I Hate Working Saturdays

Yes I do! I'd rather work 12 hours Monday through Friday than work 5 hours on Saturday. But when I took this job, I knew I would have to work lots of Saturdays. I've been doing it for almost 10 years! I shouldn't really complain too much now because I get lots of Saturdays off. It's just when I think I'll be here for 5 hours, then find out it could be 10 or so, I tend to get a little cranky. Everyone says "But it's all overtime.", big deal, that just means I'm paying more taxes! And I am not at home doing what I want to do.

Ok, I'm done with my rant! I have put on my happy face. The attitude is now good.

Remember when I wrote about my job and the fact that I can do what I want when there are not trucks???

The biggest advantage at being here today is that I brought my laptop and I can use the extra phone line--yes I am still on Dial Up--to be on the internet. I have spent the morning reading sewing blogs. How fun is that.

Here are some of the blogs I've read today:
Getting Stitched on the Farm
Right Sides Together
Sew Random
Diary of A Sewing Fanatic
Rusty Bobbin
Susinok

Now I think I'll go on a search for something more. There are so many facinating blogs to discover.

Until next time, don't worry, be happy!