Withdrawal

I haven't sewn a seam in nearly a week. I haven't cut a piece of fabric in almost a week. I have, however, put together the bargello bowl fabric that I need to press and cut for super bowl Sunday. My Dad has shingles, so I have been regulated to taking my Mom to all her appointments; shopping for food, etc. And I also cook all the meals. By the time I get done, I am pooped. So it has been to bed early for me, and that means I am in bed at 10PM but I don't fall asleep until after one. I'm going to need a vacation soon, lol. I'm not really complaining, but it is a lot of work. I'm hoping to be able to start to sew together the black, white, pink one tomorrow and then I can get the fabric together for the bargello bowl quilt. And I still have to get this den straightened out so that when my niece comes down from NY with the baby, we will have a place to sit around and gab. All my UFO's are in plastic grocery bags all over the room that I must put away. Or finish. I guess I will have to get a book on machine quilting using a sewing machine, not a long arm or a short arm or one of those really expensive sewing machines. Just an ordinary Kenmore, no bells, no whistles. Oh, well, that's it for now. Keep the piece.

Finished one top, starting the other

Here is the top for mystery quilt number one. This one is the purple, white, pink one. I still have to start on the black, white, pink one. My Dad came down with shingles, so I am doing all the running around to shop etc. I also have the task of taking Mom to therapy and the doctor etc. After doing this for two days, I had to put a stop to it today. My knee was killing me, I could hardly walk, so all I did was go to the drugstore to pick something up for my Dad and then I spent the rest of the day watching General Hospital from two weeks ago. Had the dog in my lap and it was great. Still have two more episodes to watch to catch up and I will do that later. The weather here has cooled a little here. Very nice out, too bad the dog doesn't like to be outside. I would take him to the dog park and let him run around. But because he is white, he can't be out in the sun, so that let's me off the hook. Going to bed now, and putting a pillow under my knee and watching those last two episodes of GH and Oddball. Hopefully I'll sleep through the night. Good night, sleep tight etc..... Keep the piece.

GIANTS GOIN' TO SUPER BOWL!!!!

YIPEE!!!! After a nail biter of a game and many heart attacks, the GIANTS finally kicked the game winning field goal to win the game and send thenselves to the super bowl. I cannot imagine what they were feeling when they took the field and played in those tempatures. I wouldn't have been able to breathe in that cold. Don't care, they won and now I have a team that I can really root for in the super bowl. GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't sew another stitch

Okay, I was playing a game in Pogo and they were talking about getting a beer and someone said something about vodka and I got to thinking. So I got the bottle of Kaluha and then I took the vodka out of the freezer and then I got the half and half and I made myself a very, very strong white russian. So no more sewing until I finish the drink and it wears off. LOL!!!! Football this afternoon, GO GIANTS, GO GIANTS, GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!

Half my quilt top is sewn together. So I know I accomplished something this morning. Considering the fact that I didn't go to sleep until after five this morning. My Dad came to me last night and informed me that his hyrnia (?) was bothering him, it is on the same side as the broken rib. He told me that if he should start vomiting, I should call 911. SO HOW COULD I GO TO SLEEP??????????????? At around five, he came into my room and told me that he felt much better and then I went to sleep. Phone rang this morning at 10:30, it was my aunt and I will probably go up to see her on Tuesday and give her the quilt I made for her. That's the quilt on top. The pinwheels are green, the sashing is beige. Can't see it too well in that picture. The quilting was done by Cathy at my quilt shop, she did a wonderful job. The binding was done by Suzanne, also at my quilt shop. And she did a wonderful job too. And I didn't have to "buy" any fabric for this quilt, all done with stash, except for the backing, which I bought at my quilt shop. But I have so much left over, I have put it into the mystery quilt as squares. I don't have to worry about backing for these two mystery quilts. I have wide backing in purple and pink that I am going to use. But I haven't gotten to that point yet. Going to watch football now. LET'S GO GIANTS!!!! Keep the piece.

One corner done!!!

Yipee!!! One corner done. I'm working on putting the next row together. It doesn't look as bad as I thought. Looks better when I hang it up. I've been taking pictures while it was laying on the coffee table. I hung it up over my baker's rack that has all my supplies on it. OOOOO, I'm so excited. Can't wait to get this done. Renée is doing the happy dance. Keep the piece.

I've Decided

Thanks everyone for helping me decide NOT to put sashing into the quilts. The majority voted for the sashing, but I really want to get these quilts put together and if I put sashing into them, then I wouldn't get done until who knows when. And I've got two rows of Quilt #1, purple/white/pink sewed together and it looks great. So tomorrow is another day and I will hopefully get the rest of this quilt put together and then I can do the other one and then I can think about borders. Pink for both? I'll figure it out another day. Tired, going to bed. Photos later. Keep the piece.

Confusion

Well, I finally finished the ring blocks for the black/white/pink quilt #2. I have taken pictures of the setting with and without sashing. I don't know if I like either one. Is it possible for y'all to let me know? Above are the pictures, the top two are without the sashing and the bottom two are with sashing, as you can see, duh. I don't know if the sashing is dark enough to make a difference, but I don't have anything darker. I think I'll put this one aside for now and work on the other quilt's ring blocks. I might have the same problem with that one too. The star blocks just disappear. Hope y'all will help. Thanks. Keep the piece.

No Sewing Today

Good evening all. Boy, what a day. Told my SIL that I would pick her up at the airport and then my car wouldn't start. But AAA was there within 5, yes I said 5, minutes and I was able to get there in time to pick her up. We had a very nice afternoon and I got to meet her new grandson (he's so cute). I just finished dinner and I think I am going to go to bed. Too tired to sew, afraid of making stupid mistakes and then having to unsew, yuck. So I'll sew tomorrow and Sunday and hopefully I'll get the rest of the ring blocks done and then I can start to put this quilt together. Something to look forward to. And just think, after I get these ring blocks done, then I have to put together ring blocks for the other quilt. Something else to look forward to. Maybe I'll make myself a drink. Good night, sleep tight. Keep the piece.

Clue 7 Block - Quilt #1

Well, here is the other one. These quilts are going to look really great. Well, I had thought that I had cut up 100 different pink fabrics to put into the middle of my rail fences. Guess not, as look at this block. It has two of the same fabric in the middle. Oh, well. Going back to finish all these blocks and then put them together into a quilt top. I'll be back way later, or maybe when I have one row done. We'll see. Enjoy. Keep the piece.

First Block Step 7

Well, here it is. The first step 7 block put together for quilt #2, the one for Mom's friend Ruth. Amazing how all the seams just seem to fit together without a problem. Maybe if I take care with the cutting, like I did with this one, all my quilts will come out like this one. I guess I should just follow the directions and do it as its written and not take any shortcuts. I promise that for Bonnie's next mystery, I will follow directions and do it just as she writes it and I won't complain about how small the pieces are or why we have to use "this" ruler. Can't wait to put this baby together. Keep the piece.

Step 7 - the Finale

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO, how exciting. The final clue and now the mystery is over. Whatever am I going to do for the next two and a half months? LOL. Here's what the black/white/pink step 7 block looks like before sewing together. Haven't decided yet if I will add a border or not. I'm thinking pink backing (as I have a wide backing fabric already). If I use the backing that I have, then this would really be a stash quilt as I wouldn't have to go out and get a backing. Stashbusting, I love it. Keep the piece.

Ohio Stars

Okay, I finished my stars and I am impatiently waiting for clue #7. Here they are. As some have been saying, if I had known that the accent was going to be the star points, I would have made them darker so that they stood out more. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys.

Mystery Logo

Yipee, I was able to get the Logo up on my blog. Much trial and error. And...I was also able to figure out how to leave my own comments on other people's blogs. I'm almost finished with the Ohio Stars. Two more blocks and I'm done. Can't wait for the next clue. And don't worry about it if you aren't up to clue 6 yet, you'll get there eventually and it will be well worth it. I think I'm going to make the next one blue and red and use up all those scraps. How soon will April be here? LOL

Uh Oh - Long Arm Quilting

OMG!!! I might have stepped on some feelings with what I said in the chat. And I really am sorry if I offended anyone, I really didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. I understand the start up costs for opening up a business, whether it be in your home or outside the home. I also realize that those long arm quilting machines (with computer set up or not) are really, really expensive. And I really really appreciate all the time and work that the woman who machine quilted all my quilts did. I'm just sorry that it costs so much to have quilts quilted by the professionals. I love piecing, I love putting fabrics together to make up a quilt. I'm not very fond of quilting and its not a quilt if its not quilted. My days of making bed sized quilts are over. I made my daughter two quilts for her wedding and those two quilts alone, between the fabric and the quilting, were approximately $1,000. Since I am not working at the moment, and do not have anything in sight, I need to keep my costs down. I have a huge stash and I am trying to use my stash to make any new quilts. Although I did make a promise to myself that I would not start a NEW quilt this year, but only finish all the UFO's that I have all over the place. And I will, do the UFO's only. The only "new" quilts will be Bonnie's mystery quilts because they are so much fun and they are not so big that I cannot figure out how to quilt them myself. I really love this craft and the people that I have met through it. What wonderfully caring people quilters are!

I'm almost finished with the Ohio Stars for my quilt #2. I did the half stars and the quarter stars and I have nine star blocks to finish. Hopefully by Thursday I will have those finished so that I can start the process of putting these babies together to see what they are going to look like. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else's are going to look like too as the there are really no two quilts that are going to look the same even if the color way is the same. This is so exciting and now Bonnie says that she might have another mystery ready for us in April. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO can't wait. Off now to finish my Ohio Stars. Keep the piece.

Finished Step 6 for Quilt #1

Yeah, finally finished step 6 in the Mystery Quilt. Took a little longer than usual because of all the unsewing. Let's hope that for Quilt #2 I won't have to unsew. That's them up there in their baggies, with #2 peeking out from the bottom. Now I must say that I am tapping my foot waiting for the next clue as I would really love to see how this is all going to go together. Oh well, guess I will just have to wait just like everyone else. Keep the piece.

Brand New Day

Have my cuppa, read my e mails, mostly from the Mystery Quilters and am getting ready to redo all those blocks that I had to unsew last night. It was a really good day. Giants won!!!!, but alas, the Colts did not. So, there WILL be a Manning in the playoffs for at least one more game. Sorry to all of you in Texas......... NOT!!!!!! LOL

Chain piecing is a wonderful idea, but only if you put the pieces together right. I thought I would get a jump start on those half star triangles, so I put them together, playing over and over in my head that the accent color should always touch the nine patch, and I still put them together wrong, hence my evening of unsewing. So I "listened" to the Golden Globes, not much interest there really, and that's exactly how long it took to unsew all those blocks, one hour. I am now off to put them back together right. Keep the piece.

YIPEE

GO GIANTS, GO GIANTS, GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!

UGGGHHH!!!!!

Okay, I guess it is time for me to not piece while watching a sporting event. I finished my Ohio stars for the purple/pink/white quilt (Quilt #1) and started to sort the little blocks to make the half star blocks. WELL.......Tonight I will be frogging (a little term that the Aussie ladies use to explain unsewing). I was able to put together 4 full triangles and all 12 of the others have to be frogged. The top photo is what it is supposed to look like. As you can see from the second photo, the pink part of the hourglass block should have been sewed to the 9 square block. There are 12 more just like that one. Glad I didn't get further along in sewing those blocks together or I would have been up all night unsewing. And I even said to myself that Bonnie said that the accent (pink) should always be towards the nine patch. Boy do I hate when this happens. Just think, at least I'll have them nice and unsewn by tomorrow, so that I can put them back together and then I can put together Quilt #2 (black/white/pink). UGGGHHHH!!!!! Keep the piece.

Another day, another star block

Got tired of doing the pink and purple blocks so I decided to put together a black and white one. Came out pretty good. Someone in the mystery quilt chat made a comment about if she would have known that the pink was going to be star points she would have used darker pinks so they would show up more and now I see what she means. I have to agree. If I had known, I too would have made them darker. I know I'm anal about certain things, but I am NOT going to make different hourglass blocks, whoever get these quilts will have to deal with it. Sorry. Just not going to do those blocks again. Although, now that I look at the pictures, they are not that bad. I can see the pink points. We'll see how the whole thing comes out. I still have not made a dent in my stash, so I see other quilts in my future. But first, I must make a dent in the UFO's, and I will this year. I have one already on the table, waiting for this mystery to get done. And my Mom wants me to make a name banner for the great grandson of her cleaning woman. I've already made two of those and I need to do other things before I do another one of those again. Anyway, going to sew some more stars and then watch the Giants win, lol. Keep the piece.

My "Baby"

This is my baby. He is 12 and in very good shape. This is the only "son" I will ever have and he is named Dusty. He is half poodle/half maltese. He is trying to sleep in his too small for him bed that I bought for him when he had the calcium deposits surgically removed. I thought it would be softer for him to sleep in the bed then on the hard floor and he loves it. Now I guess we should get him a bigger one that he can fit into. He seems to be surviving in this one though. I didn't think he would like it as he has never had one before. Guess you never know with them. My daughter bought one for her puppy as soon as they got her and she loves it too. Although my "grandpuppy" is a whole lot younger than Dusty. Just thought y'all would like to see him. Keep the piece.

Some more photos

Asher is my first grand nephew (I have two grand nieces). Here are some photos of some other things that I am working on. I do have lots and lots of UFO's (unfinished objects).

The dreidel on top was an experiment and it didn't turn out all that bad. Now I just have to find a backing and I am going to experiment with hand quilting to see if I can do it. Under the dreidel is a Jo Morton quilt from Quiltmaker magazine. There are 36 star blocks in this quilt with a sashing of flying geese. Each star has a different brown fabric in it. This one is still a WIP (work in progress). After the stars is a picture of my sewing machine and the computer desk that it sits on. I wish that the keyboard slide was a little bigger when I pull it out cause that would be a great place to put the sewing machine while I sew, but it is not sturdy and it is made of glass, so I'm afraid that it will fall, so I just keep the machine on top of the table. After the sewing machine are the Ohio Star blocks for Bonnie's Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt. These are the blocks that I trimmed to 9 inches and they were supposed to be 9 and a half, so I made two more. Good thing this is a scrappy quilt and I have lots and lots of scraps, cause I was able to create the new blocks still using scraps. Goody for me. Anyway, back to sewing as now I know how to add photos to each blog. Never to old to learn new things I always say. Keep the piece.

Photos of some quilts

Okay, don't know what inspired me, but the quilt block at left is my first attempt at the first block in a Dear Jane quilt. As you can see, my colors will be pink and cream/white. The quilt above it was a quilt I made for my nail tech's first grandchild. They loved it. I know I should be taking photos of all my quilts, but somehow I forget to do that. I made two really gorgeous quilts for my daughter and forgot to take a picture of them before I sent them off to her in New York. Oh, well, I asked her to take a picture, so maybe I'll get one eventually. I am going to post some more pictures under here, just need to see how this works. I think I'm kinda likin' it.

The Mystery Continues

Bonnie posted Clue #6 the other day and I should have known by the hourglass blocks that there would be a star in this quilt. It's okay, the Ohio Star is one of my favorite blocks. I'm still sewing the hourglass blocks together for quilt #2, I'm almost finished and then I can get to the Ohio Star blocks. Thanks to Lisa for explaining to me the math involved, as I am now glad that I did cut out blocks for the replacement of the two blocks that I cut down too small. Yesterday was not very productive as I was on the phone with Directv for almost two hours trying to reprogram my Mom's remote for her tv. What a project. And now the remote is not working again and Dad does not understand anything about how to reprogram, lol. So I guess its either calling Directv again today or trying to reprogam the thing myself. When I finish sewing together the rest of the hourglass blocks, I'll give it a try.

I am seriously thinking about going to PODS (Portable On Demand Storage) and getting the eight boxes of fabric that I have stored. There is a lot of browns and beiges in there that I could use on another UFO that I am trying to finish. I have made a vow to not start another NEW project until I finish some of the UFO's that I have laying all around the den. Okay, now it is time to get back to it. Keep the piece.

Day Two

Well, I have gotten another 10 sewn together. I have vowed that even if I have to stay up all night, these 100 hourglass blocks will be done tonight.

Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt

Bear with me, as this is an experiment in blogging. After reading everyone's blog on the Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt I decided to try my hand at this. I have finished steps 1-5 on the purple/white/pink quilt and have to sew together the triangles for the black/white/pink quilt I am making for my Mom's friend. I hope to finish sewing these triangles together tomorrow so then I can be patiently tapping my foot waiting for clue #6 on Friday. Hopefully I can post at least once a day, if I can ever find it again, lol.