SsssNnnnnnn Ooooooooooow

I really wish you could hear the way Elliot says snow. It is so cute and now whenever his mom or I say snow, we use Elliot speak. We have a little bit of snow this morning and "they" say it will be gone by afternoon. This is the view from hubby's chair.

I have to take Tony to the vet this morning. He needs his next series of shots. I'm going to ask for the anti-stupid shot for him. Sometimes I think all of this training was just a dream. He forgets he knows how to sit, forgets what down is and forgets he knows how to go to the door to go out to pee. I have to remind myself he is still a toddler and not to be mad at him.

Yesterday at our sewing day. I worked on my 11th block from Carol Doak's Yahoo Group BOM that started August 2007. This is the June block, the July block didn't want to print. Every once in a while, my printer doesn't like the Adobe files. It will print one, hate the next, and print the 3rd. So Sonya printed it off for me, I will make copies and get that last block finished. Then I need to figure how to set it. I'm thinking mini cornerstones but haven't found what I want to do yet. She is so talented and generous with sharing her designs.

I know it isn't the homespun plaid UFO I should be working on. I'm mulitasking!!! It's fun to take a small project to Marian's and come home with an almost complete block. Time to get ready for my big trip to BG!!!! Hmmmm maybe Taco Bell for lunch. Haven't done that for a while.

UFO #9 Done

How exciting to be finished with another UFO.

This quilt was started sometime in 2007 and now will be marked off the UFO list. Waahooo! UFO # 9 was called for my small quilting group on February 8th. This isn't so bad considering I was sidelined.

Now I have to work on that darn UFO # 22. It will go fast, I am determined to stay up with my plan to get this list down to nothing! And when I showed Hubby #9, he said that wasn't the number he chose so now there is more pressure!
Hmmfff, I scoff at pressure! Bring it on. Besides, what's the bid deal, it's been in a plastic bin forever!!!

I know this sounds weird but I'm looking forward to the next number drawn from my group. Maybe I cheated a bit and picked 11 projects that I really wanted to finish. I like the way I'm working on the others on the list also. Someone picks a number for me and I feel obligated to do the job. Wonder if that will work for housework..........

TTFN

Getting No Where Fast

Have you ever spent a day where you are doing, doing, doing but not getting a thing done??? That's the kind of day I'm having.

I did finish these cute little luggage tags. I saw them on Elaine Adair's blog and thought they would make great little gifts. Well I discovered I was late in a swap so I finished these 4 up and packaged them up along with my swap items and sent them off in the mail. I have 4 others pieced and several more blocks printed off to paper piece and turn into tags. I got the designs out of Carol Doak's 300 Paper Pieced Quilt Blocks.

Then I did some housework and played online for a while. After scolding myself for wasting so much time, I finally loaded the Crayon Box quilt onto the frame. I had to cut batting, bobbins were already filled and now I am quilting--just a meander--and can only do a row at a time. Then rest the knee. While resting, I made vet appointments for the dogs, folded clothes, planned my menu for the week and deleted a bunch of shows from the DVR list.

Now I need to get dinner started. Leftover baked chicken turned into chicken burritos and spanish rice. Yumm... I could eat pizza or Mexican food every day of the week if Hubby wouldn't complain. But he will so we won't!

Quilting Along at the Quiltathon Day 2

I stayed up too late last night, got up too early this morning, drank coffee, read the paper, threw in a load of clothes and started to sew my papers. Then Hubby decides to go into town to look at a computer desk. I stayed home to sew. I had just sat down when the phone rang and Dad wanted to come over for a visit. By then I needed to get the chicken in the oven to bake so I did that while I waited for Dad. Just as he was leaving, Hubby comes home so Dad stayed for a while longer. After he left, we ate dinner, cleaned up then I got to sew.

Even with all that, I'm feeling pretty good about my Quiltathon Day 2. I finished all my Half Square Triangles and made some extras for my Depression Block Quilt. I decided I may as well print enough papers for the background fabric I had cut. I cut my strips 9" wide and then subcut the strips 6" wide and ended up with 21 pieces. So I printed some more papers, cut more of my prints and got busy sewing. The sewing part doesn't take much time at all. The cutting, pressing and tearing off the paper takes lots more time.
Here is my basket of 252 HSTs. That will give me 60 extras. After I got everything all cut and pressed, I took my baskets to the couch, got the ole ice bag, put up the foot rest, sat down to watch the rest of the Nascar race. Just as Matt Kennseth was taking the checkered flag, I was peeling the last paper off my HSTs. WooHoo for both of us.

Now I am going to put on my jammies and plan my week. Should be pretty exciting. Tony needs to go to the vet for another shot and DJ needs to go to the groomer. Oh yeah, I live the high life!

Quilting Along at the Quiltathon Day 1

Today I am getting a late start on the quiltathon. I spent a good share of the morning with my foot up and the ice bag and the knitting. Then Crystal and the kidlets came for a visit. Crystal brought me 4 quilts she wants quilted and is wanting to pick them up next week! Such a funny child! She know how I do with pressure. After they left, I fixed dinner of leftover pork roast and rice. Oh my gosh, how I love a good Paula Deen recipe. I don't have the links for those right here so I'll post those later.

Slowly but surely I will get my 192 half square triangles made for my Where Are the Bears Quilting Along project with Judy from Patchwork Times. My fabric and papers are cut to size and most are pinned together. Last night I sewed and cut 3 sets then peeled the paper off my 36 perfectly sized HSTs.

I am using my Triangulations CD for making the HSTs. I don't know why I have waited so long to used this program. I do know, I have lots of my fabrics cut into strips and I have used the Easy Angle for so long that I never think to use any of my other tools. Then Judy mentioned the Triangulations CD in this post and I pop myself upside the head because I have it and need to use it.

Now that I've made a few, I like using this method. I can tear the paper off while watching tv with the big guy. It doesn't take long to sew and cut a few at a time so I am not disobeying doctors orders. :-)

I'm actually doing better than I thought I would be. I went to JoAnn's and grocery shopping yesterday and I have to admit that I may have over did. But I rested today and my leg feels pretty good. Not ready to go dancing good but better that a few days ago. Now I am going to sew 4 more pages of these nice little HSTs so I will only have 10 pages to go! 16 pages times 12 units per page, equals 192 HSTs in no time at all. I'm making 17 pages for the just in case factor!

TTFN

No RSVP Required

You are cordially invited to My Pity Party. No need to RSVP, just join me as I snivel and whine. I don't do well with pain. I hate that about me.

My Gramma lived with excruciating pain from her early 50s until the day she died. She seldom complained. I have a hurt knee and to listen to me whine, you would think there is nothing as painful as my knee. Wrong! I made the decision today to shut up. I am going to try really hard not to be a whiner.

I finished knitting a simple scarf and started another. I am using plain ole worsted weight Red Heart yarn that I have loads of. I found a design on Ravelry called 2 Weeknights with Warrick. It's a fun and easy pattern. Then I want to make a couple more dishclothes. I have my projects in the bag on the couch just waiting for me to finish one and start the next.

I am following doctors orders and trying hard to be a good girl. No whining!!!
Later, I need to elevate.
TTFN

Grounded With A Sewing Injury

I've been grounded from using my right foot for 2 weeks! No right foot on the gas pedal of the sewing machine. Keep my leg elevated, use ice. I have not been letting my knee heal up from a few months ago when I originally stepped in a hole and twisted it. I've had some serious knee pain and finally went to the doctor. He grounded me!!! But like a sneaky teen, I'm not going to stay grounded because I can use my left foot on the gas pedal! So there. I'll sew for a bit then elevate........not today. I'm knitting.

I started these Potluck Wool Mittenettes a couple/three months ago for myself. They were way too small for my chunky hands but fit Miss Taylor just fine. She laid claim to them right away. (I think she gets that from her Mother!) So I started the second one and put them away. Today she is spending the afternoon with us while her parents are on a Valentine's Day date. She spotted the mittenettes and started hounding me. So I sat down, elevated my leg and got busy. They are now finished and ohhhh so cute.

Now I will work on the blue scarf that she swears will look awesome with jeans! Gotta love her, she does have a knack!!!

TTFN

Where Are the Bears?

Judy at Patchwork Times is doing Quilt Along #1. I have done quiltathons with Judy but this is the first time I will be making one of her designs. I'm very excited about this quilt.

I have always wanted to make a bear paw quilt. When I saw Judy's the itch started again. Then she says she is going to do the Quilt Along and of course, since I am not starting anything new, I signed up!

I have already decided this quilt is going to Ian when it is finished. He had asked for a new quilt quite some time ago. I feel like the mean Gramma because it has take me so long to make him one. I knew this wolf fabric was in my stash so I started pulling fabrics to go with it.

The fabric on the right will be the sashing and borders, the fabrics below the wolf print will be for the Half Square Triangles and the fabric on the left are some I'm not sure of but I think will go in as more HSTs. I do need to go shopping for a backgound fabric. I want a very, very pale gray but will take samples with me to match to. I have the Triangulations CD that I haven't used much so I think I will use this method for all the HSTs this quilt requires.

Today is quilting machine day. I have my backing made and the bobbins full for the Crayon Box and it will get loaded this morning and hopefully finished today. Binding is cut and waiting. This one has an owner also, she just doesn't know about it yet. No Dee, it isn't you. :-)

TTFN, I have work to do!

You're Starting Another Project?

I have belonged to the Stashbuster Yahoo Group off and on since it started. There was a time I went 2 years without buying any fabric for my stash. This group has changed the way I buy fabric. If I don't have a project for it, I don't buy. I will buy for borders, backs and bindings if I know I will use it right away.

Well, I usually don't buy. For some reason I thought this green and orange fabric would make a great backing. Then I saw the orange plaid and somehow they both came home with me. After all, they were on sale!!

I had also decided not to do anymore block of the month projects. Why do I say stuff like that when I know darn good and well I am going to start new things! Stashbuster is doing a Not So Ugly Sampler project. I wasn't going to do it. Then I looked at the photos and I caved. I knew this green and orange uglyness would make some nice blocks.

I have my Double Delight top almost finished. I didn't know what I wanted for the borders so I looked at some of the photos at the Quiltville Chat Yahoo group. There was a photo from Nancy in Georgia that I fell in love with. I emailed Nancy to ask if she minded if I copied hers and she was nice enough to say yes. So I got to work on my borders and would you believe I don't have enough fabric! Lucky for me the lady at the store I bought my border fabric from said there was more and I will get 1 more yard when I go to town on Wednesday. If there wasn't any, I was going to have to get creative and make a pieced section on my side borders. I still might but I want to use the brown and that is what I want to use for the binding.

My project for the rest of the day is to use some stash fabric for backing on the Crayon Box quilt. I wanted to use flannel but I don't have anything that I want to use on it. I got out some purple and will use that instead.

TTFN

UFO #9

It is time for this month's UFO Challenge for my small online quilting group. This is UFO #9. It is my version of Quiltville's Crayon Box. I had started making 4 patches as leaders/enders. Then I added some 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" bricks, then 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips. Then I saw Bonnie's quilt and knew I should keep going with my ideas. My bin of bricks was overflowing so I decided this was a good way to use them up.

Why did it get put away 2 years ago and never finished??? I didn't have enough of the sashing fabric. As I was searching through the box for this UFO, I remembered that little point. Just after I picked up this bag, there was another UFO with that fabric as borders. My mind went nuts........I'll just take those borders off-they were 5" wide-and used that fabric for this UFO and find other fabric for that UFO because they were just borders, none of that fabric was in the quilt. Lucky for me, the binding was already in the bag and those borders were just enough fabric for my sashing.

Last night, I sat down, watched TV with Hubby and took off the borders. Then I had to work on the quilt. At 10:00, I turned of the machine. I had one more row ready to add to the 3 that were done and the 5th row was all organinzed and waiting for me.

Now the quilt only needs the top and bottom sashing/border. I am not going to put borders on. I am going to use flannel for the back. I am also going to work on the UFO that I took the borders off of. Turns out this is UFO #8. If I get that one finished before the number is called, I will have to replace it with something else.

I am on a roll with these UFOs. I got out #29 yesterday and made another block for it. That one is a Carol Doak BOM that I needed to make 3 more blocks for. So it is one block closer to being done. I have another block ready to cut fabric for and the 3rd block doesn't want to print so I will have to print that one at Crystal's next time I'm there. (This is for Crystal to remind me!) I still have that darn homespun plaid laying here looking at me! I think today I am going to make it into a top just so it will quit tormenting me.

TTFN

Happy Birthday Elliot

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIOT

It sure doesn't seem like 3 years!

Love You!!!

Thing I've Learned While...

...working on my Strip Twist quilt top. If I cut 4 strips from each of my fat quarters from the pack, it isn't enough. I need 12 blocks and only have 10. I probably should have done some math but I usually fly by the seat of my pants.

So 80 strips means 8 strips per block! Wow, I can do math. So now I need to cut and sew 16 more strips. I think I will take all of the remaining fabric, cut it into strips and work on an inside border. My plan is go shopping (yeah, I know!) and find a nice dark brown, almost solid for a skinny inner border, then put on the scrappy border, then wider border and bind with the same fabric.

Yesterday I finished the Next Door Neighbor baby quilt. The baby shower isn't for 10 days and I already have the gift finished. What's with that???

I'm Blaming the Super Bowl Project

I've said several times that I wasn't going to start any new projects until I got some of my UFO's taken care of. I caved and did the New Year's Mystery at Quiltville. Those blocks are done but not sewn together yet. Then Bonnie comes up with an idea to make her Strip Twist as Super Bowl Sunday Project. Who am I to not participate! I've made this quilt once and it lives in the living room and is used all the time. The above fabrics are from a fat quarter pack that I got for Christmas a couple years ago and didn't know what I was going to use them for This is the perfect project.

I wasn't a very good quilter yesterday, I got my stips cut and sewn into pairs. I got sucked into Ravelry and found a scarf pattern that I wanted to make. So I pulled out my needles and a skein of yarn and watched the last part of the game with hubby as I worked on the scarf.

Today I finished quilting this fabulous Mom/Baby quilt. I found the pattern in a Country Quilts Magazine-no dates on any of the pages-and tore the pages out of the magazine and put them in my notebook. I had a small collection of reproduction fabrics and knew I wanted to use them on this quilt. The block is from Quilter's Cache called Next Do0r Neighbor and the magazine article is called Hey, Neighbor!

I had sewn this top at a retreat in November so it hasn't aged a long time. I'll sew the binding on it next and stitch it down Wednesday at Marion. This one is on the list as UFO #23 and will soon be listed as DONE!

Now I must work on UFO #22. I think I'll at least put the blocks up on the wall and maybe that will inspire me a little more.
~TTFN

Where Did January Go?

I was shocked when I saw today is the last day of January. Who took January away from me? I had a very good quilting month. Two UFOs are marked off my list, I finished Sharon's quilt. That one was a challenge for me but it is finished and she will pick it up this weekend. Can you tell how much give there was? I had to do a lot of pushing and pulling to get most of the folds out. I didn't get them all, there are some frinkles on both the front and the back but I think that adds to the charm of Gramma's stitching. I quilted over most of the long stitches to hold them in place and hopefully fingers or toes won't get hooked up on them. I hope her cousin is happy with it.

I took out the depression blocks and started working the HSTs as leaders and enders for my Double Delight quilt (which has all the blocks finished and is ready to lay out and piece into a top). I used almost all of my pieces so I had to do a layout to see how far I was. And I wanted to look at it again! After doing some figuring, I decided to pull out more short strips from the 2 1/2" drawer and cut more HSTs. I will take it off the wall today and just keep working on those little HSTs, get a bag full and make more and more blocks. Maybe next time I put it on the wall, it will cover my queen size bed!

Today I am going to quilt a baby/momma quilt that I pieced at the last retreat. I thought I had a picture of it but I don't. I'll have to remember to take one when it's finished. I did put it on my UFO list because the top was finished last year-in November-and not quilted. Again, that's just how my mind works!

TTFN

Choices--How My Mind Works

How do you decide which project you are going to work on when you have a day dedicated to just sewing? Today, I had the day to myself-mostly.

I gave myself 3 choices: 1-the quilt the quilt on the frame that I am procrasting about-everything is ready to go, 2- UFO #22-the homespun blocks that I am not so thrilled with or 3-work on my Double Delight blocks and my leader and ender HSTs.

My choice today was easy. Today is Wednesday Sewing at Marian's. But there is no sewing today, she has company and I had to wait at home for the phone guy. We had planned to go shopping in Portland today but I had to pass. I really wanted to go too.

I didn't want to run the longarm, it's too noisy and sometimes I can't hear the phone ring--music might be too loud--or the dogs barking--could be the unwanted visitor and I don't want to go see. I didn't want to work on the homespun blocks so I picked the Double Delight--and it's all set up right by the machine.

And besides, if I were at Marian's today, I would be working on my DD.

So after a few hours of sewing, I have 33 blocks complete of my 50 needed. No, I didn't do all those today! I did finish 9 of them though. I have 6 more almost finished then I only need to finish the 11 double 9 patches. That will go fast. Maybe I'll just sew the rest of the day away.

I don't get to have DSL, I live too far outside of the circle. Alway looking in from the outside!!! So I will live with my pokie ole dial up, save money by not going satellite and be happy with it. And I will sew!

Deep Fried Cajun Tilapia

Judy at Patchwork Times is having a giveaway and I really want to win her prize. As soon as I read her post I knew I had to get hubby to cook his blackened cajun salmon. (His hunting club friend had given me a recipe for cajun spice mix and this is the only cajun thing I have ever tasted.) Only thing is, salmon is very expensive right now and I am very frugal. So I had to come up with a new plan.

Hubby has recently decided he likes to cook and I like it that he likes to cook. He had just bought a Fry Baby to deep fry his fish. He has become a master fish cooker. Almost as good as Skipper's, our favorite fish place. So tonight, I made up his coating mix and he fried our dinner. Deep Fried Cajun Tilapia and salad. One balances the other in my mind.

I mixed up equal parts pancake mix and flour and added some of my cajun spice mix until it smelled good. (I don't measure, I dump, then smell. If it smells right then I continue.) Then I mixed up an egg with some milk. He did the good ole dry, wet, dry dip method and fried up our fish. You need to have 2 dishes for the dry so your first dish doesn't get too ookey.

And as you can see, I have a pretty good mess to clean up. It was worth it, dinner was very good. Wonder what I can get him to cook tomorrow..........

I Am A Shameless Procrastinator!

I really should be working on this quilt (it is a preprinted design) for my friend Sharon. Her old Auntie was hand quilting it for a granddaughter and didn't get if finished. Sharon brought it to me to see if I could quilt it and leave the stitching in. I said sure! I'll do just about anything for Sharon. Even this! (I should say that after hanging overnight, the wrinkles are no where near as bad as they look in this picture! Thank goodness)

The quilt was full of straight pins, huge safety pins and hair clips. Auntie had done quite a bit of quilting on it on all sides. So I pinned one edge to the take up roller and started to roll it on, back, poly batting and top. Ouch, there's a needle inside, oooohhh a pin I missed. I am having to clip some of the stitching to try to get some of the folds out. I just don't know how much to take out. So I will continue to roll it up, then reroll it to the backing roller. Then I will "quilt as desired" (I hate that term!) and hope she likes what I do.

Instead of working on the quilt, I have been working on journaling my quilt photos. I don't do fancy scrapbooking like Daughter Jenny does. I just opened a Word document, inserted a picture and wrote what I wanted. Then I printed it out, put it in a clear sleeve and into my notebook. I think now I will start saving my pages and have them printed out on nice cardstock at the copy place. Until then, I feel good about getting a few photos journaled.

Now I must work on that quilt!

#17 Is Not a UFO Anymore :-)

WooHoo, it is now in the washer getting rid of any bad words that may be in there. Why did I fold it up and put it away instead of finishing it? I have 28 other projects that I am wondering the same thing about. But I have finished 2 UFOs so far this year and it is only month one! I wonder if I can do 3........

When I showed it to hubby, I had him pick a number between 12 and 30. He picked #22. Crap, I don't like this quilt, that's why it's in a box and I haven't looked at it for 2 years. It is home spun plaids that I made 30 Slice "Em and Dice "Em blocks. You know the 9 patch that you slice and sew back together. The quality of the fabric isn't that great but I am going to go ahead and sew them into 2 small quilts, quilt them and donate them. I was thinking about not being in a hurry to do them but that's what happened when they went into the box. I'm going to try to get them sewn together tonight.

A bit of Progress

Quilting has begun on UFO #17 aka the 6" diagonal string quilt, but will now be known forever as #17! I love the Plumage pantograph. It goes pretty fast and looks good.

I'm using a medium gray thread which really shows in the black and hides in the colors. One of these days I'll find the perfect thread color to use on black. So far I haven't found it. I'll keep looking.

I'm tired now so #17 will have to wait until tomorrow to be finished. It's time for pj's and snuggling on the couch with my quilt and my book.

How Cute is This?

Mr. Tony has learned to jump up into the big dad's chair. If you are sitting in this chair, get up and walk away, he jumps up there and looks at you as if he's saying HaHa. This is what I saw when I came out of the sewing room today. A Kodak moment--aka blog fodder.

Not much quilting has happened today. I started pinning the back to UFO #17 to the frame and then realized I had to hurry and get the big dog up to the groomers for his day of pampering. Then I came home, talked on the phone for a while and then started to finish pinning when my brother came over.

Oh Lordy, the guy is a pain, but I can't be mean to him so I sat and watched some tv with him--hubby is conveniently at a gun show today. We did watch CMT Cribs and they showed Charlie Daniels home and Craig Morgan's. Craig Morgan has a tv watching room full of animal heads (which is kind of cool in a creepy kind of way) and one of his chairs is a tree stand chair on one of the support pole things in the middle of the room. Hilarious! I can't wait to watch it again with hubby, cuz ya know I have to, Charilie Daniels and a hunting dude on one show--must see TV!

Anyhooo, I am going to work on the quilt now so I can post another UFO done.

:~)