Lucy Comes Tomorrow!!

I am running around trying to get everything ready for Lucy and her family who arrive tomorrow! I am SO excited, and this has been a really crazy work week with no time to get down to thinking what I want to do for meals, how to get things ready for where the kids are going to sleep, are the linens clean, bathrooms clean, etc! I am SO excited to see her.

I finished a quilt! (AMAZING, huh? Remember when I used to quilt all day?? *sigh*) I finished the hand quilting of the amish crazy strippy yesterday in between clients at work. At least that part is working out well...I can hand quilt in between clients without making too much of a mess, and people so far have liked seeing what I am working on.

I just have the sleeve and the binding left to do. I'll attach those, and also save that handwork for work...



I am also including a pic of a quilt that I am inspired to try! The antique pics came from a quilt that was listed on Ebay. I looked in blockbase, and it is called TWIN SISTERS! I thought it looked like windmill blades, but I like both names. I wanted to do it scrappy, with quick cutting techniques, and I got a good start on it, but need tons more blocks. I just haven't been able to make myself sit at the machine to piece because I am under the gun to get customer's quilts done and out the door. It's the "busy season" as far as quilting for others goes. County Fairs, Weddings, Kids off to college, Christmas gifts...push push push! (And yes, I got a bit behind because I took a week to go to MN.....but family comes first!)






Jeff starts school on the 17th. That means my mornings will get going a bit earlier here, and I am hoping to get some piecing time in the morning before the rest of my day starts. I'll make it work..it's just been a lot to juggle lately.

I hope all is well with you out there in quilty blog land!

Bonnie

Nothing Better Than Family!

I am back from MN!~

It was hotter than hell's kitchen....but thanks to my aunt who has a pool at her house (and lives on the water front with a dock and a boat) we were able to cool off in between errands and jaunts and other fun stuff.

On the way home from the airport, we stopped at the assisted living place to visit my grandfather who is turning 90. We had 4 generations in that room! That was really pretty neat, and he remembered things from when I was younger. It was fun to have Jeff hear about when his mama was little.

We were also very near Minnetonka, where I lived as a child, so we had to give Jeff the scenic tour of the house I lived in, some of the memories there, my mom pointing out which trees she planted and look how big they are now, etc....we drove past my elementary school, and I had to point out the graveyard that was next door. I remember looking out the window and seeing those headstones (I was about 6 or 7) and they did use to freak me a bit. The name of my school was GROVELAND, but I always thought it was GRAVELAND because of the headstones...I guess from a 6 yr old point of view, it made sense :c)

We had a lot of fun hitting some yardsales (they go thurs, fri, sat there) and finding stuff for Jason and Shanon's apt. I found them a brand new microwave for $20.00! Assorted kitchen/bathroom items and some other stuff to make their house a home on a very shoe-string budget.

My aunt (who is only 5 years older than me..my mom's youngest sister) just recently moved into this new house, and we pitched in with some gardening for her since she has lupus AND fibromyalgia. Many hands make light work? It was still hard work! But we were able to dip in the pool and worked where the shade was. My mom is a master gardener, she has green thumbs and green knees! I guess I didn't inherit that ability from her, she amazes me with what she can do. But she says the same thing about my quilting...she doesn't know where I got that from, and can't imagine ever doing it either.

The family reunion was on Saturday. It was held at the home of my 2nd cousin Cindy. Cindy's dad is my mom's 1st cousin, so I think that is how it works. Anyway..her home is large, lovely, built to look like an old farm house! They are out on several acres of land and have a beautiful inground pool. We needed it because it was so hot! The boys also had fun riding 4-wheelers around the farm...and yes, the corn was as high as an elephant's eye, as the song goes.

I met Shanon's parents, and we had a lovely time. I stayed at their house one night, the night before we moved Shanon and Jason in. We played the most fun dice game! I don't know what it is called, it is a made up game according to them, and they wrote me down the rules, but I don't know if I can remember exactly how it goes. It was sure fun and had us laughing for quite a while. Jeff was the first one at 10,000 points exactly and we were glad he won because it went on for hours :c)

I walked every morning except the morning we were coming home. I did about 5 miles each day.....near my aunt Joy's house is this green belt arboretum area with paved hiking/biking/rollerblading trails. It was great! I got out as early as I could, but it was still hot and sweaty.

The morning I was at Shanon's parents I went walking the farm roads. Imagine fields of corn and beans as far as your eye can see...dirt roads, no cars, no sounds other than birds and the farm houses spread so far apart....wide open! It had been a long time since I'd been in a farming community like that and I really enjoyed the peace. I was the first one up (the clock said 7:15..I thought it was 7:15....but turns out the clock had no battery in it, and it was permanantly 7:15....when it was only about 5:45am!!!) and enjoyed the world awakening....even sat on a garden swing and read a book while the morning was still cool while waiting for everyone else to wake up.

Monday was the "going home" day....only we never got there. :c( It started out fine. We dropped Shanon's little sister back to the farm, and headed in to Minneapolis. We had some lunch, and then proceeded to Maul of America (oh man...I so do NOT do malls!) to kill some time before our flight had to leave. That place is too huge, but Jeff as a teenager, really wanted to see it. So we did. Fast forward a few hours and we were at the airport to catch our flight. We waited. We waited. We waited....we panicked. Our flight from Mpls to Washington DC was late, and we were only supposed to have an hour layover which was going to be tight anyway.

Needless to say, we were late getting to DC, our flight had left us. We stood in line for hours and finally were given food and hotel vouchers. The time was 11pm. We were told to go to the curb to wait for the Hyatt shuttle.....and we waited 1/2 hour. Nothing came. One of the gals in our group (yes, we bonded, you know how misery loves company!) called the hyatt and we were informed that the shuttle stops operation at 10pm. (*&@#&(*! WHHHAA! So back into the airport we went....we had to traipse all over to find someone who could issue us a taxi voucher as well so we could get to the hotel.

12pm.....finally checking into the hyatt, which was GORGEOUS....but we didn't get to enjoy it much because we had a 6am wake up call, to catch the 6:45am shuttle back to Dulles to catch our 8:20am flight.

8:20 comes....and we are still waiting at Gate A-2. Over the loudspeaker comes this message: Our flight has had a gate change and we now need to run helter skelter to D-14!! This involves taking a shuttle from terminal to terminal....

We get there and there are NO counter people, no flight crew, no ticket agent, no NOTHING. Finally they show up and we are told the plane is having maintenance issues. I swear..we are all so tired with all this by this time..but what can you do? about 2 1/2 hours later we finally get to board the plane after the plane gets new tires and new brakes and who knows what else. We get into Columbia at 12:00noon. After getting baggage it is about 12:45pm.

I have a 3pm client!! So I rush home with Jeff, drop him off, grab a shower, and run out the door to work, getting there about 10 minutes ahead of my client. I am so beat, and not even a chance to catch a breath before I'm thrown right back into life.

I really did have a great time. It was wonderful seeing Jeff and Jason getting along so well as brothers. I can really see some growth there. I'm happy I went, but I'm even happier to be home!

Bonnie

--

UHOH!!

Alt-webring is having issues! I can't get any of the panel links to work..I get errors. So do other people I hear...so I have emailed them to see what's what.

Anyone on stashquilts having the same issue with their panels?! Let me know please!

Bonnie

Credit Where Credit is Due!

I just went searching on "quilts complete" for a pattern I need....and I came across this book by Suzanne Early

I just made a BIG MISTAKE...I saw this book, flipped out because it was a pattern off my website, emailed the lady....emailed my email lists! ACCCKK! I was freaking out because I didn't think she credited me or asked permission but....I just got this email back:

Hi, Bonnie,

She does give you credit inside. It says on the inside front cover:

"Detail of "Starstruck for Christmas" - pieced and quilted by Suzanne
Earley. Based on a pattern by Bonnie Hunter at www.quiltville.com."

The book is about machine quilting and has no information on doing
the quilt on the cover.

Susan


WWWWWWWWHHHAA!!! I'm so sorry Suzanne...I'm emailing you back right now too for the crazy email I sent earlier!

I think I'll go hide in my fabric some more....with chocolate! (And yes, I'm excited to be mentioned regarding the cover quilt, thank you very much!!)

Bonnie

What a Full Week!

I've found ways to use my time at work! YEEHHAWW. I am feeling less overwhelmed, more organized, and more importantly, I have the itch to stitch :c)

I posted earlier that I finished the binding on the charity strippy. I also sewed a label on that quilt at work..and then the leader/ender strippy quilt FINALLY got completely finished as I finally stitched down the hanging sleeve on the black. I think it sat there folded in my family room completely pinned on, just needing one edge stitched for what...4 months or more? Egad.

Since I finished those two quilts...I am back to HAND QUILTING on the crazy amish strippy wall quilt that I posted way back when. Do you know, in just a couple days, finding 1/2 hour here and there, and stitching on my lunch break..that I am down to quilting the outer border with the cable design?! I'm exited to get it done so I can take a pic and show you. Remember earlier in the year I machine basted 4 or 5 little wall quilts so they'd be ready to grab? I'm grabbing them :c) They might not be BIG finishes, but I have something at work to work on. It feels good to have my quilting "underneath" fingers feeling a bit pokey and building up the callouses again.

This week I had my friend Lori from Texas staying with me. She and I went to school together, and she was my roomate at the clinic until she got transferred out. She came back to Columbia to take a CEU class, and stayed with me. So that is what kept me busy this week. We did girl things in the evening! One evening we took the dog to the state forest and hiked about 5 miles, chattering the whole way. Another night we met another classmate for dinner, another night we grabbed a bite ourselves..she came to my work after her class was out, and we went to eat and went to see a chick flick together..Devil Wears Prada..funny funny! And so fun to do it with a girlfriend.

We enjoyed the hottub in the evenings, and last night (after a full day of class for her, and a full massage clinic schedule for me) we watched a DVD "Fun with Dick and Jane" Completely silly, but had some good laughs in it. It was just very enjoyable to spend the time with a friend, but now that she has left, I'm EXHAUSTED! And not a lot of "quilting at home" happened this week because of it.

I leave wednesday the 26th for the family reunion in MN, and I'm getting very excited about it. I'm not thinking about projects to take, not sure if I'll even have time to work on them while I'm there, but we'll see. I'll be back on the 31st, so if you don't hear from me next week, this is why!

Bonnie

Bound!

I had a VERY slow day at the massage clinic yesterday. I kind of knew it would be, so I packed up the simply strippy charity quilt that I had quilted over the weekend, and finished the hand stitching of the binding while sitting at the clinic answering phones.

I could have machine bound it in way less time, but it was nice to have something to do . I can do an "okay" machine binding, but it just never looks as nicely finished as a good old fashioned hand stitched binding does.

Because it is such a busy quilt, I used a panto pattern called Daisy Swirl by Willowleaf Studios. I like how it turned out. I hope the recipient likes it as well. It is going to go to the breast cancer center along with the other quilts we will be cranking out (hopefully!) at the workshop I am teaching on August 7th.

It is hot hot hot here in SC. HUMID. Drenchingly humid! I've been sticking to my guns on getting to the gym at least 3 times a week. I really like the one I joined that is near my work. I can get there quick, do 1/2 hour on the eliptical trainer (sometimes while watching oprah!) and then go swim some laps, and it is SO refreshing. Last night I did a pilates class and a yoga class.

And then this morning I got on the scale and was UP 2 pounds. :( Oh well...I'm not going to watch that darn scale anyway. Heat, Humidity, Hormones, whatever....I'm just FEELING better even if the scale is going in the wrong direction!

I'm starting a new book on mp3 today. I listen at the gym, while hiking with the dog in the forest, or sometimes while machine quilting. This one I just picked up at the library (it is copying onto my mp3 player as I type this) It's called "Like a Watered Garden" and it is by Patti Hill.

The editorial review states:

From Publishers Weekly
From the opening line ("I received a box of flowers from my dead husband"), debut novelist Hill hooks the reader with this intriguing look at love, faith, grieving and relationships. The unusually named Mibby Garrett is a garden designer who runs Perennially Yours, serving her clients' eclectic landscaping needs from behind the wheel of the Daisy Mobile with her companionable dog, Blink. The redhead's life is turned topsy-turvy when her husband is unexpectedly killed; she can barely cope with her business and with her 13-year-old son, Kyle. Her next-door neighbor, well-heeled 30-something Louise Giovanelli, keeps Mibby sane, supplying her with love, advice and baked goods from the B&B she owns next door. Odd guests at the B&B and Mibby's eccentric garden customers, including a handsome widower, are competently portrayed. When Mibby discovers her husband had a secret past, it threatens to destroy her last shreds of faith. Although some elements of the plot are well-worn chestnuts of Christian fiction (the eligible widower, the quirky neighborhood inn, the deceased character's clandestine past), Hill refreshingly resists the urge to tie up all the loose ends and avoids clichés in portraying the spiritual growth of her characters. Fresh prose, wry humor, an enjoyable protagonist and strong pacing make Hill a welcome addition to the ranks of inspirational novelists.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

It sounds like good listening/reading. I've been into some pretty intriguing mystery/crime stuff lately, and I think I need a switch.

I hope everyone is cool, happy and productive!
Bonnie

After Shots!

Okay...would you ever guess this is the same quilt with the border bungles?

What I did was pinch the fullness, fold it over, and hand stitch it with a blind applique stitch to take up the pleat..it looks like there is a seam running across the border, as if it was pieced....but it looks so much better than a pucker because it is stitched down. Can you even see the seam on the close up pic? I think you might have to click on it to enlarge it to have it really be visible.

And oh you guys, don't you know me well enough to know that I would be kind and explainatory to my customer? I told her "never fear, I can fix it..here's what we will do..." And then for future reference I sent her to my website to check out my border hints page so that the next one she can measure properly, etc.

I really like how it turned out. Yes, it's the baptist fans again, but it just FITS this wonky 4patch-9patch quilt with it's eclectic fabrics, 1920's (maybe earlier..there is one chrome yellow I'm suspicious about being earlier!) all the way through 1940's.

I'm off to work, I've got a full massage schedule today, booked solid from 11 am until 6pm tonight. Whew! But the good news is...I PIECED more last night! WEeee! I'm going to keep you in the dark about that one for a bit longer. I found an antique top on ebay that I am dying to use 2.5" strips to recreate...in my own scrappy fashion of course :c)

In Stitches - - -
Bonnie