Days 3 & 4! (and maybe 5!)

Well, this is the way it is. I have been at the sewing machine pretty much straight for the past two days, so there isn't much time for writing lengthy posts, nor was there a lot that I could show you...but....



This is my workstation.....you can see much strippy-ness is going on! Remember those umpteen million gazillion 3" 9 patches that were OVERKILL!? Let's just say that a piano key border has become mandatory to this quilt to use up the pre-sewn strip sets.



Of course...THIS BAG couldn't possibly be enough to go all the way around the outside of a quilt could it? NO INDEEDY! We must sew..MORE!! (Yes, echoes of Karen and Lisa saying "Sew Bonnie Sew!!" Are still floating through my head)



I dug into my big ole bag of oldies and oddities...1.5" strips are sewn to pairs....recycled fabrics mixed with scraps, no attention paid to color, just including as much variety as possible, and doing my best to annihilate all the shorter pieces...

Twosies were sewn into foursies....



I'm cutting the foursies into 5" subsections....but what do you do when you can't get another 5" section and there are leftovers? Cut them 1.5" of course!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these little stacks of 4-squares, but I could do 16 patches and use them as the center of stars or something...for now they are baggied up!



Sewing sewing more sewing..do I have enough yet? I'm not sure, I better sew some more, there are still strips left in the bag, keep going...get rid of the uglies...

By the time I finally stopped, and went to iron this lovely piano key border...there was more than enough to encircle TWO quilts...LOL!!!! SO..I see a Chinese Coins quilt in my future, or some strippy thing somewhere...

And there are still old ugly 1.5" strips in the bag I would like to see go away!

SO....tomorrow! (Saturday) is the BIG SHOW in Sisters. We are leaving here at 7:15 to get there early enough to be able to get decent parking for the car, and hit the antique booth first FIRST! It's a tradition. And we love to watch the quilts going up on the side of the buildings. The mornings are the best!

I'm meeting up with a bus full of Ladies from the HGTV message boards at the park at 1pm...I can't wait, it will be so fun!

After that, we'll finish seeing anything we somehow missed, and we are usually out of town by the time the heat of the day has hit it's peak.

The week is flying by..We've been taking long walks every morning..I've finished writing the directions to 4 quilts so far...it's been a good good place to be!

Sisters, Day #2!

I'm being a hard task master on myself, but having a great time doing it. I should do this EVERY year! No, not really that hard, but I've got the quilts here with me that I need to write directions for, so we've got a bit of show and tell going on.

And my goal first thing in the morning, is to write ONE PATTERN per day...however long it takes....before I am "ALLOWED" to sew at the machine on the current project! LOL!

Jen, are you listening to me? This is patterned off of seeing your kids earn "screen time" and having to pay for it with marbles. Same thing here! LOL! No machine time for Bonnie until she finishes her homework! (Aren't you proud!?!) :cD

Before heading to the airport in Redmond to go pick up Claire, we took Max for a long walk..about 3 miles I think. Yep, even the walk had to wait for me to finish my homework! But it worked. And it is so fun to see everyone biking or running or walking dogs here. It's great to be around Max. He is a HUGE golden, still in his adolescent phase...hard to believe when I came up a year ago march, he was barely 2 months old. Now? He still hasn't grown into his head or his paws!! And he is huge! (Did I tell you how big he is?!?) Sorry the pic is a bit blurry, but this dog is all about action!!



So here we are at the airport to get Claire, and I am still astounded EVERY YEAR at how beautiful it is to see snow covered mountains in JULY. Living in Idaho for more than 20 years, you'd think I'd be used to it. I never am. It sucks the breath right out of me..just look at those peaks!



Even on the drive from Redmond to Sisters..I just could not keep my eyes off the mountains....(It was a good thing I was not the one driving! *LOL*)

First up on the list of things to do in Sisters? Get lunch! We had decided to go here:



But when we arrived, we were met with THIS SIGN!?? (*@#($*&(*&!



This is the funny of the day. How can a BBQ place be out of BBQ by 1:30 in a town so small that you can spit from one end to the other? The town was not busy (YET) but maybe they are cooking cooking cooking to save it all up for Saturday, when it IS going to be a zoo? We didn't find out...we just found another little bar & grill place and sat out on a grassy back area at a picnic table, enjoyed their special of the day, the sunshine, each other, and it was great.

From there on we of course had to make our way up to the Stitchin Post.....and completed our shop hop on the way back through Bend.



Did I buy anything?? Well..yes I did! I found these yard long pre-cuts, $5.00 each! Love the red/orange piece...and the yellow blue stripe? Yes, I know it looks like a men's shirt fabric! And that's why I bought it. I thought I might want it for sashing or an inner border for a recycled shirt project, and sometimes you just have to have "ENOUGH" of something....and maybe a shirt isn't going to give you what you need, but fabric that looks like one will.. :c)

Do the two spools of YLI LIME GREEN quilting thread need an explanation?? I know I'm not the only one who buys thread just because they like the color! *LOL* I don't have a project for it yet, but I know I will. It will be just the right color, and YLI is my fave. I was hoping they'd have it on those BIG mega wooden spools, but they didn't...so two smaller ones will have to do.

What's on the docket for today? Since we road tripped all day yesterday, it's a stay in and sew day! There will be much of THIS kind of thing going on!!!


This is me and my long chain of 9 patches....yes they are ALL DONE...and for Karen and Lisa who told me to "Just keep sewing" strip sets last FRIDAY, that I possibly couldn't have enough strip sets to make these 9 patches....does the word OVER KILL mean anything to you guys? LOL Oh well, you can never have too many 3" 9 patches on hand! :cD

Hello Oregon, Day 1!

I have to tell you, there is NOTHING in this world as nice as July in Central Oregon. I am always blown away by the smell of the nature and the trees out here. The way that the sun is up and shining before 6am. The way the night is so SILENT after dark, so unlike how things are in North Carolina, where the cicadas, crickets, tree peepers and other wildlife kick up a cacaphony of sound all night long.

It is when I am here in Sun River that I sleep like I'm comatose..deep sleep where I'm sure I don't even bother to roll over in my dreaming. Would YOU bother to roll over in a bed like this?!?



You might think one would not need a bed thick with duvet in July, but it was 35 degrees at 6 am yesterday. It warms up nicely, but simply the fact that it gets so chilly at night makes it BLISSFUL for sleeping with the window open....just enough....just enough to require deep snuggling. I do think the best sleep comes when the tip of your nose is a bit cold :c)

Isn't this a great quilt? It's ALL double pinks and shirtings!



My friend Randy acquired this at the Sisters Show some years back, and I love to come revisit it! Some of the baskets are "normal" just made out of two or three fabrics, but my favorites are the ones where she ran out of one thing and had to substitute another. And please notice how SMALL these cake stand blocks are!



I just love these fabrics in this quilt...some of these are the originals to which many reproductions have been made. It's always neat to see these in their "original" printed form...we are guessing somewhere between 1890 and 1900 for this quilt.



This one was quilted as a summer spread, the edges turned to the inside in what is known as a "knife edge" finish. It's simply quilted in a VERY LARGE grid with big stitch quilting....the backing is a solid cinnamon pink.




So what happened on Day One? Well, I arrived about 9pm on Sunday night, sans luggage :c( I had my carry on with my clothes, and my laptop bag...but the IMPORTANT STUFF, the suitcase with the project makings in it, and the one body bag of quilts I have to write patterns for (yes, I'm doing my writing here since I was such a slacker last week...deadlines don't move!)got left behind at one of my quick connections.

Never fear! Randy to the rescue....one of my projects involved a massive amount of blue half square triangles. Randy is NEVER short on blue, had plenty of neutrals to go with them, and so I set about working on making those until my bags got here.

We took a break to take Max the dog for a long walk on the bike paths....I love seeing everyone so active here! Riding bikes, walking, running.....what a great place, so we went a did a little power walk to for a couple miles, and came back and sewed some more.

Kat and Lori showed up a bit before lunch time, and we got all the sewing spaces arranged and set right in to working on projects!

My wandering luggage showed up about 2:30 in the afternoon and I breathed a sigh of relief! All was well!

Dinner was enjoyed out on the patio! Is there anything better than Central Oregon, when the heat of the day ebbs down, and the evening shadows grow long and cool? Sitting outside, enjoying the nature, good food good friends, lots of laughter and great conversation? I don't think so. I look forward to this all year long, and filling each other in on the happenings with our families and things that have gone on since we saw each other last.

We sewed til after 11...until I could no longer keep my eyes open!

Today, Claire comes up from California, and our 5-some will be complete! We are running into Sisters for lunch, and to check out the Stitchin Post and do some shop hopping before the crowds get crazy at the end of the week. And then we will come back here and sew and sew and sew some more!

Happy 4th!!

There is a phrase that has stuck with me since I was little. I usually think of it in times like Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Independence Day...

FREEDOM isn't FREE

And it's true. It's not a right, it's a privilege. I mean, it SHOULD be a right yes, but it comes with a price, it isn't free. And I'm thinking a lot on this today.

My bags are packed, they are in the car waiting. I'm just sitting here downloading a couple books on my mp3 player for listening on the plane (Yes, while I hand quilt!) and then I'll be off to Charlotte to catch my flight to Oregon!

I get in to Redmond about 9pm tonight...Bend time. Which is MIDNIGHT NC time..urrgh. Still, I wonder if I'll be there in time to see any fireworks as we drive from the airport back through Bend and to Randy's house in Sun River!? That would be nice. I think I'm flying in to early to see any from the air. My flight goes from Charlotte to Phoenix to San Francisco to Redmond..and I'm lucky, no long layovers at all..just off one plane and on to the next...I like it that way.

Whatever you and your family and loved ones get up to this holiday weekend, please stay safe, enjoy the small things, take time out to appreciate all that we have!

I'll check in from Oregon when I can!

New Phrase...

I have the quilting machine humming away with Compu Quilter while I am working in the studio this morning! (that is for about the next 1/2 hour...cuz I've got to get out of here by 11 am!)

I posted THIS pic on the Quiltville friend page on facebook:



To show the quilting I am doing on this quilt. This is the one where I used one of Grandpa's shirts in the border, and the other shirt will be part of the binding.

This is the piece of Grandpa's shirt...this nice soft sage green:



Someone asked about the pattern, and I mentioned that yes, it is a pantograph by Urban Elementz called Holly's Hearts. I have unabashedly become the Princess of Pantos...which is kind of a weird thing for someone who quilted for the public for 15 years to call herself. And in a funny moment I said:

Life is just to short to spend it micro stippling!!

I think this is significant in my life.....because I've been "Sweating the Small Stuff" and really, it's all small stuff! I need to relax, I need to not be so uptight...and all that small stuff is reminiscent of too much "micro stippling" going on in my life. Right? RIGHT?!? Good analogy I think! Unless you really enjoy that nit-picky stuff. Then have at it.

So what's on tap for today? I have a chiropractor appt at 11:30....and THEN...after a run to Fed Ex, I'm headed to my friend Karen's house to do some visiting and sewing! That's Me, Karen & Lisa!

See this bag of 9 patches?



I thought I had enough of them, but I need *COUGH* 240 to do what I need to do...so the bin of 1.5" scrap strips is going to come along with me and I'm going to 9 patch the afternoon away. I'm not sure how late we'll sew, but I tell ya..I'm in the mood to stay until they kick me out!!

What's on tap for you today?

All ABOARD!!

Have YOU ever wanted to QUILT CRUISE?!!!!!

Now is your chance!

I will be teaching aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's "Enchantment of the Seas" (wasn't that the name of the dance in "back to the future?!?") Along with Pat Sloan!

Set your Calendar for November 2011. It's far enough away that you can do this! You can make your reservation now with "Sew Many Places", the best quilting travel agent in the world, by calling 877-887-1188 or you can reserve your spot online HERE.

The cruise leaves out of Baltimore...and is a NINE NIGHT CRUISE! Think of how much quilting (And sight seeing!) You can get done in that amount of time! We will head toward San Juan, Puerto Rico, and SEW on the first two days days at sea....Then on to St Thomas, The Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

On the way back, we have TWO MORE DAYS of class time to sew and enjoy each other!

You are going to be hearing about this a lot over the next 17 months or so, I really hope you can join us!

Pat's last cruise went from Boston up into Canada.....they had a LOVELY time..if you want to check it out, go to Pat's Blog HERE!

I already so can not wait!!

It's Another Day...

I admit it. Yesterday was a bit of an overloaded rant!

But sometimes, voicing your frustrations (at least for me) can put things into perspective, and I can move past whatever is FREAKING ME OUT for whatever reason, and put me in a place where I can tackle whatever the obstacle is.

In this case....it brought about THIS!



Has YOUR bin of strings run amok lately? LOL! Have you paid it mind or attention? Have you considered the possibilities?! This is what mine looked like after I'd been sewing from it, pulling from it, fluffing it about to find the right pieces and sewing into the late evening hours!

I have a couple of quilts on the brain that involve string piecing, and this is the kind of variety that is hard to pack away to take for a trip. Can you see me just filling a 50lb body bag with scraps and strings?! Well I could..it would be within the weight limits!

But I don't need it all. I need the neutrals for one quilt idea, and the blues/yellows/creams for the other. I'm going to sit in front of the TV and sort out the ones I need. I'm going to get some BIG ziplocks....and take just what I need to Oregon, instead of being overloaded and overwhelmed with too much too much too much!

I think I can do the remainder of the piecing for these designs with 2.5" strips and some FQs.....and I'll just sew as far as I can go, and if I run out of something, I'll just PLAY, right? Isn't that what a retreat week with girlfriends is for anyway?

I'm off to the gym for a workout with my trainer Charlee. She is in the process of buying a house, and I know there will be a housewarming quilt in there somewhere. I've got a top that can be rather quickly quilted and should foot the bill. You know, I seem to worry LESS when the recipient is not a quilter at all? Just loves quilts? They will be happy no matter what!

And I'll be back in the studio later....dealing with more of this mess!

Toothy Tuesday!

Yep! It was dentist day for me today!

The dentist was great, she took care of the chipped back crown that was rubbing my tongue raw, and other than one small cavity, she sent me right on to the hygienist for my buff and polish.

Squeaky Clean and pearly white....and all I could think about while I was sitting there filling out copious amounts of paperwork (New dentist...auugh. Hate that paperwork!)was that I wanted to be back in my basement studio kitting up MORE stuff to take to Oregon!

I spent time with my friend Randy on IM this morning throwing out ideas....feeling a bit panicky...when you need your whole scrap user's system to create a project, how do you kit it up? What if you don't have enough? She assures me she will have plenty of stash there, so will Lori, Kat, and Claire. And there are the stores...oh yes, trips in to Bend are quite doable....

But STILL!

I'm just not a girl that can grab a bundle of pre-matched-by-fabric-line fat quarters and make a quilt I'm happy with! I want MY STUFF! *hands on hips*

I can't just do the jelly roll thing and be happy with it.

Not only that, I'm really really torn on what I *SHOULD* be working on, vs what I *WANT* to be working on, and those are not one in the same thing....

The first thing that comes to mind is the Mystery for November. It worked so great having last November's mystery be a limited edition, and then included in this next book upcoming, that it only makes sense to do that again, right? To give a sneak preview of the kinds of things that will be in the next book? (Yes, that's book #4! Wahhooooo!)

So I've been hot and heavy into my EQ and trying to design something that has enough units to keep it interesting, enough color to keep me (and everyone else) from getting bored) enough intricacy to make it worthwhile to spend this time piecing it and not having it look like the "same ole, been there done that" And at the same time using various parts of my burgeoning scrap stash....more than ONE area of Scrap User's System, because if we can't USE IT, what's the point of having it? A Mystery, that will also be a quilt for that next book. Two birds with one stone, should be easy right? NOT. SO. MUCH.!

I also think I have reached saturation level on just how much fabric a quilter needs to have. I'll never sew this up in my life time!

SO..this is what I've done this afternoon:



These are blue and yellow strips being cut into 1/2 square triangles, and I need about a quintizillion of them! And this is where I get pinched...because I need enough variety to do some test blocks before I pack all this to Oregon, and at the same time...just cutting for variety for ONE block, I may as well cut for 16...you KNOW?!!!!! And if this doesn't look great, what do I do with the leftovers and the wasted time (This is me on a time crunch, I know I need to relax.)

While this is going on, I'm not getting the writing time in that I need either....I need this stuff kitted up, and then I can use the rest of the time to write. I can write SOME while I am in Oregon...I have time on the plane (but that takes time from the hand quilting..lol)and time while there. I bave a blasted 3 hour layover in San Francisco before hopping that red-eye home...I could write then...right? WRITE!?

So..it's been mostly a frazzled day and I feel like I'm spinning around with my head cut off. Have you ever had one of those where you accomplished little to nothing, and the little you did, might not be what you needed to do......and if these blocks don't look right, it will be back to the drawing board!

Wonderful Weekend....

We had a girls sew day at Jen's!

We had been wanting to do this for quite a while, but well, you know my schedule...and if you throw Jen's in there too, and what she's had going on the last little while (It's always busy when you have 4 kids!)Saturday was the first day that worked for both of us. YAY!

I packed up my car....Shotgun, the Bernina belted securely in the front passenger seat. According to my GPS, Jen only lives 8.5 miles from me. This is the closest quilting friend I've found so far, just a hop and a skip really!

She's turned her dining room into her quilting room, and it is just PERFECT..3 large tables/desks are set up, and it is right there central to where she needs to be in her home, right next to the kitchen and the family room where the kids are playing. Who needs a dining room that never gets used and just needs dusted from time to time? Much better to use it as a sewing room instead of upstairs away from family activity.

We even had the opportunity to influence a "Quilter In Training" aka Ashley, Jen's 8 yr old daughter! She wanted to sew too, and it was just so precious watching her get all excited about the "Baby Janome"...and finding a project for her to work on. We thought if we cut some 6.5" foundations from a white fabric, she could easily learn to sew some string blocks. The machine was very small, and that is why we thought smaller blocks would be easier to work on since the area between the needle and the inside of the machine wouldn't really handle a large block without a whole lot of rolling up and shifting around.

Just look at her go!



She's got it down just like a pro!



Look: Here is her first block all trimmed up!



At one point I overheard conversation something like "Mom, can I use THIS fabric?" "Yes, you can use any of the pieces in that laundry basket" "ANY OF THE PIECES?!? ALL OF THE PIECES!?" I think Ashley has quite the makings of a fabricaholic already!! LOL!

Later that evening, I got an email saying that Ashley's brother had come to the "dark side" too!

The kids ended up sewing together until after 10 p.m. They shared her little machine and while one was ironing the other was stitching....then they would switch. I suggested that they let their blocks work together to make a quilt and they were so excited about that. Andrew wanted to get in on the action too last night. Since he's staying home from church this morning, I told him that I would teach him while the others are at church. I fear that soon I'm going to be kicked off of my own machine! :^)

All in all it was a great day and MUCH greatly needed!

I've finished the blocks for the last quilt for the book...will post more about that later. I've gotta get some book orders out and ready to mail. I've been to the gym, the bank, have showered, scheduled a guild 3 years in advance ((!!!!!)) Do any of YOU know what you will be doing 3 years from now? This is just so brain blowing to me! And I've got a Chiropractor appt at 4pm....

I'm headed to Oregon on SUNDAY! I can hardly wait! I have it in my mind, to finish designing the next mystery quilt and have that be my project while I'm there..then I don't have to CRAM in November....I just need to do all this other stuff first.. :c/

I'm going to SEW!!!

I'm headed over to Kernersville to go sew with Jen today! whoowhoo!! It's just the push I need to work on the blocks to finish the LAST QUILT for the book! I've been dragging on this one because it's pretty monotonous, or is that duotonous because it's TWO COLORS? I really have a hard time wanting to stick with quilts that only use two colors, even if they use a gazillion fabrics...I'm much more drawn to scrappy EVERYTHING...But..I like how this is turning out, so I can't wait to get it to the point where I can sew the top together and start thinking on borders..Maybe just plain ones on this one? Not EVERYTHING has to have a complex border, does it?

I wanted to share with you a lovely Spiderweb picture that came my way via Kat! Isn't it great?!



I love the yellow centers, and she used buttons to tie it, using her machine to sew them down. Great use of all those shirt buttons, don't you think?

We had quite an exciting day yesterday. About 8:30am I got a call from DH saying he needed to be taken to the emergency room. ((!!!!)) Turns out that he thought his hernia had ruptured. He was in a cold sweat and about to pass out from a lot of pain when I got to the office to pick him up. I had been on the phone with him and said "Are you sure you don't want an ambulance?" He said..just get me there. So we did.

After he was able to lay down in my car, the pain seemed to subside a bit. After they put him on a gurney and left us to ourselves (for a huge amount of time) in a small cubby hole at the ER....He felt quite a bit better.

After the exam, the doc said...well...seems as if a loop of intestine had poked through the abdominal wall, but since you were able to relax, it's corrected itself and gone back where it should. We are releasing you. ((!!!))

There wasn't anything they could do, luckily it wasn't strangulated and cutting off blood supply, and it HAD seemed to have corrected itself. But it doesn't solve the problem. DH has an appt with a surgeon to make another appt to GET IT FIXED! I was terrified mind you...having to drive him, in so much pain, sweaty, clammy, shocky...down the interstate? What would I have done if he HAD passed out?

I can't tell you how weird it was for me to just drop him back off at work like nothing had happened. And how "UNBELIEVEABLE!!!" I felt when he told me he was going GOLFING after work. :::SHAKING HEAD::: MEN! I just don't get them AT. ALL.

So all this upset pretty much wiped out my day. I couldn't accomplish much of anything, I had to run back into town to go to Sam's to pick up my own prescriptions I dropped off the other day...and I was SO stressed out, I *DID* treat myself to that Sam's club berry sundae! And I ate the whole thing myself. So THERE!

Later in the evening, after the sun had gone down, Sadie and I did our 3 mile trek, so I'm sure I burned it all off again.

So today, I'm putting the home stuff behind me, and going to sew with Jen, and work on blocks! I need a personal sew day!

What are you doing today?

Doubly Blessed

If you are of "my age" you might find that phrase "Doubly Blessed" taking you back to about 1980 and a certain song by Meatloaf! "Ain't no doubt about it, they were doubly blessed...for they were barely 17 and they were barely..." Nevermind, that's enough for you to know as far as lyrics go! *LOL*

I feed DOUBLY and even TRIPLY blessed this morning.

You aren't going to believe this...I was out walking my dog Sadie (we do about 3 miles) and guess who I found in some bushes about 1/2 mile or more from my house on the OTHER side of the creek?

I was walking past these bushes and I heard meowing...I took my head phones out and meowed back...it was Emmy Lou, my missing cat!! She was in the bushes and she had heard my voice. But this OTHER dog came and heard her too, and chased her across a yard and into some other bushes...

I had to shoo the dog away - - I actually whipped it on the behind with Sadie's leash and then had to follow Emmy back into these people's yard where she jumped up on a picnic table and meowed to me the whole time until I picked her up.

She was purring to beat the band...and oh so skinny :c( She's been gone for 2 months. I guess the other pissy cat Chloe DID scare her away enough to keep her from coming home.

I carried her the whole 1/2 mile home, and she didn't even fight me. She came in, went right to her food, and then up to her favorite perch on top of the bedroom TV armoir...silly cat!

While this was all going on, Fed Ex pulled into my driveway and delivered a box...I guess I wasn't paying it too much mind, excited as I was about getting Emmy back, but this morning (After my doc appt) I saw that it is from my quilting bud Mickey in IL! What's in it?



Look see!!

Definition of True Friend: One who sends you 22 lbs of fabulous fabric in the MAIL! I'm really excited about some of these pieces. Lots of fun novelties which I don't have very many of, I've never been drawn to novelties, but I know I can do some fun things with them.



There are also lots of florals..these are going to be so great for so many things! I can hardly wait to really sort through and see what there is here.



Thanks Mickey!

The other good thing...I went to the doc this morning. My A1c for my blood sugar was 5.6. Diabetic range is 6 and above. Normal range is 4 up to 6. So...yes, I'm kind of in the high range of normal, but I'm still good. However, because of my age, and heredity, I need to watch my sugar and carb intake. I'm revamping my diet with the help from the doc's office, and we are going to keep this from getting to where it does reach diabetic levels. It's still important to get it checked over time. Without the exercise I've been doing the past 2 years, and without watching what I eat and losing 25 lbs in the past 2 years, I could have been well above that 6 level.

So all in all it's a good day! A great day! And I've cleaned my two drawers.....the undies/bras drawer is slimmed WAY DOWN, and the sock drawer....well..not so much to get rid of there, but did some, and I feel good about it. Tshirt drawer is next....and it seems like several of you are committing to one drawer a day too!

On the way back from the Docs I stopped at Target and bought a new book shelf...the old one...someone (his name shall remain unnamed, but his initials are DH!) stepped on the bottom shelf to reach something at the top, and of course the shelf gave way. It was one of those pressboard kind of units, so not that expensive to replace, but it is for my quilt books. This time around, I'm taking the shelves from the first unit (the broken one) and using them to double the strength of the shelves of the new one...hopefully to keep the shelves from bending. Books are HEAVY!! Warped shelves don't like to stay in the brackets either. So that's on tap for today as well.

Hello Wednesday!

I kept thinking all day yesterday that YESTERDAY was Wednesday...so it looks like I've got an EXTRA day this week! WONDERFUL!

Things on board for today:

Gym. Bank. Tan. Massage. Return/Exchange Shoes.

In that order.

Gym, Bank, and Tan are done…Massage is at 3…Shoes can either come before or after. I bought a size 8.5 yesterday, and when I got home and put my arch support thingies in them (Yes, fallen arches, that dreadful sign of middle age, along with the fact that my glasses now sport bifocals?) I realized I should have gotten 9s. So..back they go.

I loved spending time working out with my trainer this morning even though she kicked my butt to Mars and back. (Love you Charlee girl, you know I do….)and doing all those “normal” errands around town things that most people take for granted. Isn't that silly? What to do what to do....what can I take time for that I haven't had time for lately!?

My friend Jen from the next town over emailed and said...WANNA SEW?! Oh yes..oh YES I DO! And I've got time to do it! I told her any time between now and 4th of July works for me. Doesn't that sound blissful?

I wanna rent some DVDs I've been wanting to see (Anyone else besides me still fall into the habit of calling them VIDEOS?! as in TAPES? Sign of my age I guess..I am so not with it.)I've got a couple bindings to finish and I can do those leisurely in the evenings...that is....if I can get DH to stop watching all night long marathons of "America's Got Talent". It was on for HOURS last night, and about 1 hour is all I can handle of that. I'm just such a softie, I don't like to see anyone get the XXX, even if they are horrbile..hehehe

I am also feeling the need to do some more dejunking and organizing around here...no, not in the studio..but things like the drawers in my bedroom. Get rid of old tshirts I'm really not into wearing anymore. Find all the socks with no mates, and either match them or ditch them...get rid of all the old undies that the elastic is worn out of (You guys don't actually save those too, do you? It's a sickness, like...someone in :::name the country::: might not even have underwear, and would be glad to HAVE these, so you have to keep them out of guilt?!)and just toss.

Mostly...it's about over abundance. How many do I have...why do I have 46 pairs of socks, and how many can I really wear, and why am I keeping the ones that are past their time?

This inevitably will move on to things like getting rid of bras that have lost their shape, panty hose with a run or two (But works with slacks or long skirts??)And into the hanging stuff in my closet.

I want to skinny down EVERYTHING. I want my drawers to shut. I think....if I start with just one....I can work through quite a few in the next 10 days before I head to Oregon.

And there with I issue you this challenge....A Drawer A Day..are you IN!? What drawer do you want to tackle first? Leave me a comment. I'm throwing down the gauntlet!

OH, and before I forget! Here are some pics from the Virginia Bound class in Arlington Heights!


Virginia Bound, Arlington Hts IL 2010

We really had a great time, no storms happened on Saturday!

PS....I've got an appt tomorrow morning early for a physical and bloodwork, to start the baseline for my blood sugar testing. Nothing to eat past midnight tonight. Good thing it's an early appt, I have to leave the house at 7:30am! I'm hoping this is the start to really finding out what's what and how to deal with it. Thanks for all the support I've received via email. IT HELPS to know I'm not alone facing diabetes!

Seems Like LIFE to me...

Day two of being HOME for 2 weeks! I get up in the morning, think of what I need to do today, and then eeeeeaaaaassssseee into it....this is GREAT!

Yesterday, I have to admit....I didn't even get out of my jammies until after 4pm! I just..just...didn't even want to leave the house, didn't want to talk on the phone, didn't want to do ANYTHING. I even took a nap in the afternoon.

But lest you think of what a slug I am....I am 25% done with the writing of the pattern instructions for the next book. That's right! 3 patterns down out of 12, 9 more to go, and I'm pacing myself nicely thankyouverymuch! It's not easy for me to pace anything, seriously. I tend to go heck bent for leather, and that means if one is done I go right into the next, but I'm trying it a bit differently this time.

Nap came after the last pattern instructions were written. Then I got up and puttered around in the house a bit (oh so nice to ramble in a quiet house!) and later in the evening, after the sun had gone down...Sadie and I went and power walked the hills in my neighborhood for about an hour. I try to do SOMETHING physical every day, even if it is only walking. I chose evening, because I slept through the coolest part of the day (early morning) and it was the next best thing.

Yep. It is now too hot and muggy to want to be outside doing ANYTHING strenuous in the NC heat and humidity right now. I'm emptying the container for the dehumidifier in the basement DAILY!

I have central air that keeps the main level and the basement nice and cool (Love having this basement studio in the summer!) But there are 2 bedrooms and a bath on the upstairs floor and the one A/C unit we have just can't seem to kick the coolness up there where heat rises, so each bedroom has it's own window a/c unit. I've taken to turning that on full blast about 2 hours before bed time to cool things down. It uses too much energy to have it running 24/7.

Lookie what arrived!! My new EQ7 upgrade! I've heard so much about this.....and here I am still just getting to know EQ6 after being an EQ5 user...and it's time to upgrade AGAIN. Do I do it now? Or do I wait until I finish graphing out the projects for the book so they are all in the same format (EQ6) and THEN upgrade to this? I don't even fully know EQ6 yet! Sometimes I am just so far behind where I'd like to be when it comes to being tech-savvy....but, this is me, as I am.

I tell you what...if they keep upgrading this thing EVERY YEAR, I'm NEVER going to get competent at any version of it they put out!

So here I am with 2 weeks off. Know what is pressing on my mind besides book stuff? What projects to take to OREGON to work on for my week long retreat before the Sisters Show! I go every year to my friend Randy's house in Sun River.....I usually have projects lined up and raring to go for a productive week...and this year? UUUUuhhhhh :::FAIL::::: I've been working on getting the book quilts done. There is one left that the blocks are almost done for, and the top needs set together and borders decided on..but THAT IS IT!

So..I dig into the UFOs...one project that comes to mind is my Nearly Insane that has not been touched really for...*GASP* Years. YEARS!! Should it come with me?

There is the applique that was not touched on a project that went all the way to Oregon and back with me last year. Or...was that 2 years ago?? Ackk! It's the string star with the words in the border. *shaking head*

There are ideas for quilts for the next up and coming book after this one, but do I really want it to be all about work and no play? It doesn't have to feel that way, but there will be an awful lot of kitting up needing to be done in the next two weeks to get NEW projects to the point I want to take them. When you are a scrap quilter, you can't just grab a stack of FQs and go. It's all about variety. TONS of variety.

I might ship my string bin ahead....and work on some string quilts I've wanted to do for the longest time. That would be fun. There is A LOT of variety in that bin. I add to it with every project I make...and there is the "bed in a bag" type zipper container that has all the strings from the recycled shirts too. So that would be cinchy...I just need to figure out the "Go WITH" fabrics that the strings could play against and I'd be raring to go. I might go with that idea.

So Today....went like this:

1. Go to Gym.
2. Proceed to lock key to open NEW padlock on locker...IN the locker...
3. Find someone to break open NEW lock with bolt cutters.. :c/
4. Pat self on the back for buying a 4 pack of locks that all use the same key...((One down, Three to go!))
5. Take car to Best Buy to FINALLY put new speakers in the car since the right front one has been blown out for about 2 years now. Can't take it anymore!
6. While car is at Best Buy, walk to the Sports Authority and buy new running shoes...old ones don't have any support in them anymore. (Sounds like my bra...but that's another day!)
7. Waste more time by having Two fer Tuesday Tacos at Moe's grill.....still waiting for car to be done.
8. Stop at thrift shops on way back looking for a desk for Jeff's computer...no luck there, but found some shirts 1/2 price for ME TO WEAR! (Not for cutting up..I'm banned from buying more of those..lol)

It's not a total waste of the day, even if I haven't done anything quilty...YET. There are still hours to go, it's only 3:30pm.

Yep, it's good to be HOME!

Mountains of Scraps!

So here it is Sunday morning, and my time in Arlington Heights is drawing to a close!

I can't believe how fast the time has flown, and I haven't had a chance to sit and type a blog post until now!

Thursday's lecture was amazing. I had a couple special guests come to see me, my mom's first cousin Verlon, and his lovely wife Pearl. I've never seen a cuter couple in my life! I knew I liked Verlon when I met him for the first time the week of Grandpa's funeral, and this time it was wonderful to extend the extended family even farther, and get to spend time with his wife!

I think they were amazed at how INVOLVED we quilters are! I'm sure they thought, when I invited them to the guild meeting, that we were all going to be a bunch of little blue haired old ladies just sitting around a sun bonnet sue quilt in the frame! SURPRISE!!! :cD

There were close to 250 people at the meeting, and the quilters ranged in ALL ages. Some traveled as far as 6 hours away or more to get here. Show and tell was phenomenal, and I think that Verlon and Pearl got a good eyeful of what we quilters are about! I had to explain to them how quilting is every bit as much about community and giving as it is about bedcovers :c) It really IS a life choice, a life style, a commitment.

It was also fun to tell him during my lecture something that I thought of that I bet he didn't even know. He and my mother share the same grandmother. *I* have inherited that grandmother, my great-grandma Manuel's black singer sewing machine. So I told the audience how this special machine came to be in my possession, and he was fascinated that such an object as a sewing machine can be a definite family tie through generations. Isn't that great?

On to Friday's workshop.....



Arlington Hts IL Scrappy Mt Majesties 2010

Little slide show of the blast we had making Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks from 8.5" squares! I dearly love seeing what people bring in, their color schemes, the stories behind their old fabrics and who/where they came from. I love that fabric has memory...especially if the piece you are using is the left overs from some long ago project for someone you love. It just holds all those feelings and sentiments. Our old fabrics are a link to our past, of where we were when, of what we were doing, of what things were like. It's a trigger for sights and sounds and smells and memories.

As you flip through the slide show, pay special attention to the one pic with the TINY PINK BLOCK!! One of the students had to try it in 1/2 size, and ended up with a mountain block that was only 4" tall, and would finish at 3.5" tall. ADORABLE! (Now I've got all kinds of ideas for doing something like this as a border....someone stop me before it gets too insane!)

If you have paid attention to the weather channel or news over the past couple of days you might have come across details of this huge storm that even blew out windows in the sears tower. It was quite the storm!

We were ending class close to 3:30pm and I got a phone call from one of the guild ladies saying that everyone who lived close might want to head home a bit early because this storm was approaching. Those who lived west were advised to stay until it passed. We were in the Arlington Heights library, and figured that we were in as safe a place as any. You could hear the rain and the wind hit the building, but there were no windows where we were, so we had no idea how bad it was out there.

When we finally left...the power was out in all the surrounding areas. There were trees and lines down, traffic lights were out..it was a complete mess! I'm just so grateful that we were all okay.

It also turns out that a shop that was 2 blocks up from my hotel was struck by lightning and burned down!! More storms later that night...it was a real mess.

My hostesses who have been taking care of me are still without power at their homes and may be for a couple more days...I'm just grateful that we are all okay physically (and that we unplugged all our machines so none of THEM blew up either! Priorities, you know?!)

Okay kiddos...time for me to pack this up and get the rest of my bags organized and head HOME! This girl is on the go again, and I'll post more about the rest of the trip when I get back to NC!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there....

Hello from The Hotel Indigo!

I've found HEAVEN....in Palatine, IL!! This is the oasis I've needed for just a bit of "me alone" time after all the running I've been doing.

My flight left Greensboro an hour late this morning...didn't bother ME a bit, I just sat there in the gate area quilting away, but the poor lady next to me...she was going to miss her brother's wedding! Oh well. What can you do? Some things are out of our hands, and I'm really working at decreasing my stress by just letting go of things I have no control over. It doesn't do any good...so I'm keeping that "Serenity Prayer" close at heart these days and "accept the things I can not change."

I was met at the airport by Marsha and her hubby, and they delivered me to my new digs in style. Welcome to The Hotel Indigo!




What a refreshing place! Who would not want to stay in this room and cozy up in this bed? All the colors of the hotel are so refreshing...a light celery/lime green and blue and periwinkle!!



This is the view from the bed side....I love the hardwood floors as well as the furnishings. I'm typing from this desk right now :c)



The "Welcome" area by the door..complete with lime green coffee maker!! COOL! I do feel very welcome here...



I don't know about you, but I always have to check out the bathroom in a new hotel room...GREEN WALLS!!! So restful and peaceful..and it hits me why I like these colors so much together...the blue, the green, the periwinkle...



I'M WEARING THE SAME THING! Oh yes, this place has got my number definitely!



I ran out to get a salad at subway, and look what I noticed on my way back into the lobby! CRUISER BIKES!! It was only 2pm, and I wasn't being picked up until 4:30 (still have 30 minutes to finish this blog post and get downstairs for pick up time!)so I stopped at the desk and asked how much to rent the bikes. $5.00 for 2 hours! What a bargain! How could I not want to ride a cruiser bike around twin lakes park and unwind for the afternoon before activities get going tonight?



I rode for about 90 minutes....it felt good to get those thigh muscles working, to feel the sun on my back and shoulders and the wind in my hair. I enjoyed watching people picnicing, children playing at the play grounds and feeding the ducks. Golfers doing their thing as their golf carts zoomed by on the paths. Lovers young and old holding hands and walking.

I also got dive bombed by a black bird, felt his claws in my hair, and it totally freaked me out!!! He must have thought my braid was something he wanted to build a nest with, but I kept it all to myself, luckily. Freaky Bird.

So I'm ready. Ready to head to dinner with the guild ladies and get everything set up. Ready to have my cousin ((once removed!)) and his lovely wife Pearl come join us for the guild meeting and teach them all the ins and outs of addicted quilters!

And I'll be ready to come back to my little perfect hideaway at The Hotel Indigo tonight when it is all done and dream dream dream, of lime green, navy blue, and periwinkle...

Oh and before I forget:

Lookie what I got yesterday....AT the thrift shop...for $4.99??? And it works wonderfully! I've never had a Rowenta before, so this one is for me. I shall NOT put water in it, I know about irons spitting over time. This one is going to be for dry ironing only! :cD