Paper Piecing Passion

Hello everyone, I know it has been quite a long while since I've posted. Life certainly gets in the way. Lots of things happening. I had to sell my car, we really didn't need to have two cars and paying insurance on both was getting out of hand. So, I finally sold it after lots of negotiating. Didn't get what I wanted, but got what I needed. I was able to buy a new CPU, a laptop and lots and lots of fabric. I have taken lots of classes at the local quilt shop this summer and learned how to paper piece. My local quilt shop owner designs her own patterns and all of them are paper pieced. In order for me to do her patterns, I had to take her paper piecing class to reintroduce me to paper piecing. I have not stopped paper piecing since the middle of August. Thank goodness that I took that class, as I am also doing a pink/white Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt and there are a lot of blocks that are paper pieced. I am working with the new computer now, so bear with me on the photos. I have lots of blocks done on the sampler, at least 26 (and that's out of 140), but the real progress will start in November when I start the SBS BOM with Stitchin Heaven. I think the swapping is going to have to take a time out for a while. I have signed up for quite a few BOM from some of the quilting shops and most of these quilts are gifts for other people. I would like to get them done within the time frame that the BOM runs.

I have joined the Carol Doak Yahoo Group (that's one of her patterns up there) and met lots of really nice women. I have joined in some of the group swaps and lotteries. I am NOT going to join anymore Christmas swaps, as I don't celebrate Christmas and don't quite know what to do with Christmas blocks. I think I will donate them somewhere. If I felt more charitable towards my son in laws family, I would make a Christmas quilt for his Mom and Dad, but I don't. There are just so many times that one can get slapped in the face when one finally realizes that no matter what you do, it will NEVER be enough. So, I've stopped trying. Ally might have to live with them, but I don't and I don't have to be nice to people who are not nice to me. Since I probably won't see them any time soon, I'm not going to worry about it. To tell the truth, I don't care that much. I have way more important things to worry about than those people.

That's it for now. Going back to watch the football game. Have a great day and keep the piece. Renee

Trying to upload photos

Bought the new camera and have been having problems with it since the day I brought it home. Now, this post is an experiment to see if I can upload these darn photos that are in the camera. If I can't upload, its going back. Here goes. Well, that is not what I was wanting to do. I am trying to get the photos out of the camera and I can't. I am going to go someplace and try to figure this out. It is so frustrating. Keep the piece.

Quilty Things

Hi All,

I have decided to make Ally a pink/purple alphabet quilt for Georgie. Seems I was really hoping for a boy and Georgie came out a gorgeous girl. The mostly blue alphabet quilt that I made really doesn't go in Georgie's room, it is pink and white. So, now I am going to make the same quilt for Georgie that I made for Asher, only this time using mostly pink and purple fabrics. Don't know when I'll get to it, but the fabric and the pattern are in a clear plastic bin, just awaiting for me to do it. I also have another pink/purple quilt to make from a Quilt Dash pattern.

Right now I am in the middle of making blocks for a Christmas exchange with one of my Eons quilting groups. I'm doing another block exchange with another Eons group. Lots of the ladies are overlapping groups, so I'm trying to send two blocks out to those, so I'm cutting fabric and trying to sew them up. I've also started a quilt for my niece. She's really funny, my niece. She wanted something with motorcycles and skulls and that Harley stuff, but I just couldn't do it. If she wants the skulls and such, maybe I'll use that fabric as the backing. She has such a pretty room, I really didn't want to use the skulls on the front. I hope she doesn't mind, but then again, anything that comes from me she will love.

I've been trying to save money and I have bought some fabric from Joann's recently. I must say, I will NOT be doing that anymore. The difference between the quilt shop fabric and the Joann's fabric is stark. Joann fabric is so thin you can see through it. You can punch fabric from a quilt shop and nothing will happen to it and you can't see through it. Don't you just love the feel of the quilt shop fabric? And the smell?

One of my local quilt shops is having a summer special. Take as many classes as you want for $100. That sounds wonderful and I did sign up to take four classes. What they don't tell you is the supplies for each class can be as much as $100 too, so you wind up spending way more than you thought. But then again, at the end of each class, I should have some amazing looking quilts. One Block Wonder, kaleidoscope, machine applique and a kit that the shop owner has designed. I'm bringing the Bernina in to have it serviced on Tuesday, so I should have it back in time for the classes in August. I'll bring the Kenmore in for service in August and then I'll bring the Singer in for service in September. Going back to the sewing. Take care and keep the piece. Renee

Sadness and Hypocrisy

Good evening all,

Well, Ally did come down and I did get to see Georgie and boy, she is gorgeous. What a little girl. I think I left lip marks all up and down her body when I was kissing her all the time. We went to see my Mom at rehab and they went to see the rest of the family and it was okay. Ally brought Georgie to the house to see me, without the republican. I never did see him. Ally came over on Monday, 6/8, with Georgie to say goodbye to me as they were leaving that afternoon. She then left to go back to the hotel to check out and then they went for lunch. While at lunch, she called me to ask if Grandma liked California roll and I said she loves it. So, Ally brought Grandma California rolls for lunch and they all had a nice visit before they left for the airport. Now, anyone who lives in Florida knows that anytime after 2PM it will rain like a hurricane. So, Ally decided to go to the airport before the rain came. They left rehab around 3:30 and by 4:45 my Mom was gone. My Dad said she gasped for breath about five times and then just slumped over. So, he comes home around 5PM and tells me and I now have to call Ally to let her know. So I call her cell around 5:10 and of course it goes right to voice mail. I call her two more times just before 5:30 and she finally calls me back a few minutes later. I tell her, she goes hysterical, to the extent that I don't understand a thing she is saying. I tell her to call me back when they get home and I hang up. She called me at 11:30 to tell me that they were home and I told her I would call her the next day and let her know about the funeral.

After many phone calls, many plans, much crying, Dad and I pack for our "trip" to New York. The funeral will be on Wednesday the tenth up in New York. My niece has lined up a friend to watch her two kids, but of course, my daughter is going to bring her baby to the funeral. The reason: her mother in law wants to go to the funeral to be moral support for Ally. Does she not realize that Ally will have ALL her family there for moral support. If she wants to show her support, stay home and watch the baby. Finally, after much talking back and forth, Ally finally decides to leave the baby home. She will pick her up after the burial at the cemetery and come back to Brooklyn to my brother's house where my Dad and I are staying. After a long delay at the airport because of weather, we finally take off after 5PM on Tuesday, the ninth and get in the JFK after 10PM. Thank goodness our bags came out almost immediately and we were off to Brooklyn. We had to be at the funeral home at nine, so the limo came to pick us up. We were there for almost a half hour when Ally finally arrived. There was traffic from Long Island to Brooklyn, that's why she was a little late. The republican didn't even look at me, never mind come over and give me his condolences. My Aunt told me later on that he didn't go over to her either. We sat shiva (Jewish people sit shiva for a week after the death of a family member) at my brother's house. Ally's other family (her in laws) did not come to see us, they did not call us, they did not send a card. So, what can I say about them? Nothing. I will say nothing. A time will come for them to go and meet their maker and they will have to suffer the consequences then. Dad and I stayed up in New York for a week and we are now home for a while. We will go back up at the end of October for Pearl's one year birthday. I will probably go up alone for Georgie's as hers is at the end of January. Dad and I are doing fine, we have each other and we have the dog. He keeps us busy. And we have those grand kids. Three of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen.

Okay, now for the hypocrisy. Republican hypocrisy. If you are going to spout family values, live by what you spout. If you cannot live up to being faithful to your wife, maybe you should just get a divorce. Maybe you shouldn't be spouting off about other people. Maybe people who throw stones shouldn't live in glass houses. This makes me sick. When Clinton was in office and he had the Lewinsky thing, the republicans were calling for him to resign. RESIGN they all said. What Clinton did was horrible. Well, they couldn't get him to resign, so they "impeached" and censured him instead. Now, we have a governor and a senator who had intercourse with women who are not their wives, and are they going to resign? Nope, they are not. The governor did get censured, but the senator has decided to run again. I guess the republican motto now is Do as I say, not as I do. When Larry Craig had his bathroom stance thing, resign they said. When Vitter had his little fling with the DC Madam, did he resign? Nope. What is it about republicans? Do they not know how hypocritical they are? Do they care? No, I don't think so. I hope the republican party can learn from all these incidents and maybe come up with a better platform than just family values. Now the republicans want to say that marriage is a private thing and we should just leave these men alone so that they can work out their problems. Well, if marriage is private, then why are they so scared of gay people getting married? What is it about gay people getting married that will make straight people getting married different? Or mean something different? Why are they so threatened? Well, time for me to get off the soapbox. I'm tired and I really need to get some sleep. Hopefully I can get back to some quilty things soon. Keep the piece.

It's been a while

Hi Everyone,

I know its been some time since I've been here. Life seems to get in the way sometimes. It's not been such a very good time for me. My daughter and her family are coming down here tomorrow and I don't think I am going to get to see my granddaughter. It seems that it is too much trouble for them to stop here at my house to see me after going to the rehab home to see my mom. The hotel that they are staying at is north of my house and they have to pass my house in order to get there. But...it is too hard for them to stop here. I really think it is just that they land at 6:30PM and they are renting a car and then they are going to go see my mom and of course my dad will be there and it will be dinner time and why should they have to worry about paying for dinner when grandpa will? And by the time they finish dinner it will be late and Georgie will have to go to sleep, so it is too much for them to stop here. And you know what? It's quite all right with me. I don't ever want to see that republican again, so if my daughter ever decides to come to Florida with her child without him, that's just all right with me. I have this feeling that this little girl is not going to know me and she will find out about me when she's a teenager and then she will turn to her parents and treat them the same way they are treating me. I can only hope. I just want my little girl back, not this thing that the republican's family have created. I'm really tempted to tell them to just adopt her and be done with it. I've also decided to just do QOV quilts from now on. My little girl doesn't seem to see the value in what I do, so she and the family will no longer be endowed with my handiwork. I will make quilts for people who are much more deserving and appreciative. That's it for now. Renee

Quilty Things

Since I don't do enough piecing, I have started a BOM with my QuiltingForAll group. Since I am having trouble posting my photos on the group site, I will post them here. I caught up this afternoon with the first April BOM. There they are. We are doing two blocks a month, so I am using the same pink fabric for the two blocks. Each month I will use a different pink fabric. I am trying to use the same white fabric and green fabric, but I am running out of green, so as soon as I have 12 blocks, I will change the green fabric for the last 12 blocks. I am also going to be doing another BOM with my Eons quilting group. This one started in August, but with no swapping. I think we are getting ready to do a BOM swap starting soon. I'm also doing at least two Bonnie Hunter scrap quilts all the while, so I'm keeping busy. The job market down here in Florida for older people is very slim and with the way the economy is going, I don't see myself getting a job any time soon. So, thank goodness I have parents who let me live with them and help them out, otherwise I would be on the street. So that's it for now. Watching the Yankees play the KC Royals with my Dad, so I'm going back to the game. BBL.

Thanks for the support

Thanks to all who have e mailed me and commented on the blog. I really do appreciate all the support that you've shown me. My relationship with my daughter is there, although strained. They are coming down to Florida in June and I will get to visit with my granddaughter for at least a day. They are coming for a weekend only and since I do not wish to spend any time with the person she is married to, I have requested that the rest of the family make their own plans with them if they want to see them. I have also requested that they do not confront her or try to make things right. She is conflicted enough. I do not want her in an uncomfortable position with him being right there. So I will end this by saying things are getting better, but things are definately not resolved.