Tuesday, January 30, 2007
TiVo woes, more blocks
Four more heartstring blocks made tonight. Now I just need to find the address so I can mail these off. I thought I had bookmarked the site, but, guess what? I didn't. These are so easy to do and they certainly work on my pile of remnant strips. I had to go buy more muslin today but that's ok since I needed some to make the siggie blocks, too.
I decided not to go to the gym tonight. I'm feeling just a twinge of guilt. Had a busy day at work, finished around 2:30, ran to Dad's, sorted his pills for the week, sang with him while he played the guiter, ran to Ben Franklin's and Hancock's then finally home. It is so great to see Dad feeling well enough to play the guitar and, tonight, Robert said he even played his harmonica! Who knows? Maybe we'll get him to the Senior Center sometime soon. Oh, I even caught him doing a cautious little jig to an old song on television!
Here are the first four siggie blocks for Cynthia's swap. These, too, are easy and fun to make. I will definitely keep this pattern in mind for friendship quilts that need signatures.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Making progress
These two pictures show the fabric and the contemplated placement of the blocks Judy sewed a few weeks ago. I liked the one on the left, but she decided that she wants to quilt as you go, so she is putting them together as in the picture on the right. You'll be able to see purple pinwheels in each block and she'll be able to put them together block by block as she quilts them.
She is so excited! She was even late to the gym because she was playing with the color placement! I've created a quilting monster! If she didn't have papers to grade and a class to conduct (she teaches online for the Univ. of Phoenix) she would have much more time to sew.
I've been working on another cowboy quilt. One of the girls I work with (you know who you are!) wants one for a friend of her's. I'm piecing the back with different reds from my stash. This one is a little smaller than the first one so I had to play with the measurements some. I bought some black on black fabric for the borders that I put on this afternoon.
I'm set to have a busy day tomorrow. Usually Tuesdays are slow and I get off early, but tomorrow is going to be a moneymaker, thank you, Lord! So, I'd better get to bed. Jim is going to work tomorrow after a week's vacation (actually recovering from a sore back) so it's an early rising.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Jigzone puzzle
A friend sent me a puzzle of some of my quilted blocks and I love it. This puzzle is a picture of a little top I made last year. Jigsaws are my favorite puzzles. Thanks, Liz!
Looks like I solved my paragraph problem...I just clicked on "Edit Html" and spaced them like I want 'em. Now, why didn't I do this before?
Busy day at work. I'd rather be quilting, but we all know that. Got to bend that hair to make my extra money for my passion. Love my customers. Thank you!!
See ya on the other side of Saturday...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Back to quilt-as-you-go
Good news tonight! My youngest son, Robert the golfer, finally got a job working with a computer guy here in town. He's been working for my sister at Community Homecare, but he was only biding his time there. He's so hoping to be able to put his Business Computer Systems degree to use. This guy is even willing to work with him when Rob starts playing in some of the professional golf tournaments in the area.
Does anyone else have trouble getting paragraphs when posting? I separate them but they don't show up in the final post.
Busy day at work. Two of the girls were out so I was hopping all day. Luckily, Clint made a great beef stew so I had something for lunch without having to beg someone to make a burrito run. I know, I should be brown-bagging it so as to stick to some type of diet, but...
We did make it to the gym again tonight. Feels good after it quits hurting. lol But, I'm tired and have a long, busy day tomorrow. But, a massage at the end of the day will be waiting for me!!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Heartstrings here, too
Hopefully, my friends will take pity on me and help me get the Stash quilt link back up. I was trying to add the flickr.com link when I made such a mess. I thought I was really making some headway working with the html...
Got to work this morning and could hardly work for showing off the cowboy quilt. You should have seen the reactions I got! Everyone thought it was the neatest thing they've ever seen! lol It was kind of funny. Most of the little ladies are well over 60 years old (I know, I'm in my 50's) but to see how the older women react to the quilt is priceless. Even the men thought it was pretty cool.
Back to the Heartstrings...after working on these four, I thought, "sheesh, I could've made four quilted blocks ready to be put together with the reversible quilt method. All I needed was the batting between the muslin and the strips. But, that's another quilt...
Oh boy, Jim just came in and gave me a shoulder rub! What a difference that makes. I had a heachache this morning and Dad made me take an Aleve when I went by to see him. He's doing very well and his cardiac rehab therapist is happy with his progress.
I need to work on some birthday blocks for February. I'd like to try new patterns for these blocks, but it always seems that I'm in a hurry to finish them so I use the tried and true and fast
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Cow-oh-boys! quilted
Done! Wow. This little quilt was a bit distracting while quilting. lol The bottom picture is the back of the quilt. I had to piece it, again using the diagonal piecing method. The dot you see is not on the quilt, but came from the flash, I guess. This one did take two days to quilt. I've enjoyed working on the last two quilts, but I'm ready to get back to my quilt-as-you-go blocks.
I received my new extension table today. I bought one several years ago at the Houston show and cannot live without it now. Well, last year, while my brother was lovingly packing the car to get us back home after a visit, he accidently broke the table. He was mortified. He made me order a new one right away and I did. I got the new one soon thereafter, but I have not liked it. It was made from a new and more wonderful type of material. But, I was not happy with it. Just didn't fit my machine right and, yes, it was lighter in weight but because it wasn't as heavy as my first one, it just didn't sit right. Anyhoo, they sent me another one made of the original material and I am happy again!
I have sat here all day wondering if I'm going to make it to the gym tonight. Judy and I have not been in a few days since the weather has been so bad. I just asked her if she was going later, I'd wait for her. But, she's getting her nails done so will not be ready for the gym 'til later. Okay, I'll wait...I really need to go.
Jim was home all day. He helped to hold up the quilts while I photographed them. I guess I shouldn't have asked him to do that since he's home from work because of muscle spasms in his back. He's on meds so maybe he'll be ok.
Off to check to see if the mail is here yet. They didn't deliver on Saturday 'cause of the weather. They're late today. I threatened to call and complain. Since Jim is a mailman, and didn't go to work today, I guess I better leave it alone. :-)
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A quilting day
Saturday, January 20, 2007
dizzy log cabins
Tilted Log Cabins
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Mini iron for mini blocks
If I can get Robert over to help me this weekend, I would like to move my TiVo set up into the sewing room. That would definitely require a clean up.
I sandwiched another quilt tonight. This one is made with blocks put together by Kate from QOR. It will go to a child who's family lost their home in a fire right before Christmas. I should've finished this a long time ago. Good thing Kate posted something about these quilts. Others in the group are making quilts for the other children. I think there are four. Since I sandwiched the quilt tonight, I will start quilting it tomorrow night. That is, if I can think straight after the day I have planned for tomorrow!
Looks like snow is predicted for us starting tomorrow night so maybe I won't have too many cancellations tomorrow. If I don't, I will have one around 10 -12 heads of hair. Some are Leota's ladies, too. Oh, Leota came out of her breast reduction surgery around 4:30 today and Brian, her DH, said she came through it fine. She is in a semi-private room so he was headed back to the hotel since she will probably sleep through the night. We can only hope. I can only imagine the pain she might be in. But, they have good drugs these days.
Jim was nice enough to cut up a cantaloupe for me just now. He decided that since he had two Arby's sandwiches around 3:30, he isn't really hungry. That's good, since I didn't really plan to fix dinner! LOL I can just see us now when he retires in October......hey, maybe he'll start doing some of the cooking since I'll still be working! I can dream, can't I?
Dad seemed well today. His blood pressure is finally coming down and the visiting nurse told him he was doing better. I wasn't there when she came by so they probably had a nice visit. She says he's much more talkative when it's only the two of them. Guess he thinks that if we're around, the doesn't have to talk.
I'm off to eat my melon and work on the Midget block.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Interesting...
You Are An INFJ (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging) |
The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. |
I'm not so sure about this, although Leota always says I'm a "frustrated English teacher!" and, I do love taking pictures, especially of my quilts. lol They are right on track when saying I am independent and stubborn, but I can be swayed...easily, it seems. And, being a hairdresser, I have definitely become a listener. Taking care of my dad has taught me patience. I may have complex, deep feelings, but I don't always care to express them. Maybe I didn't answer some of the questions correctly. hmmm...
The only thing quilt related I did this weekend was to make one more Midget Block. I have thirteen made and only six behind the posted blocks. Oh, and I did piece the back in order to sandwich the Cow-oh-boy quilt in preparation for quilting. I made the backing from a piece of fabric that was too small to use as it was so I tried John Flynn's method http://www.flynnquilt.com/freepattern.html of diagonally cutting the fabric and re-sewing it to get the right size. I would really like to try to quilt this one on my EZ Quilter and Deborah has generously allowed me to borrow her Bernina so I can try it. That way I don't have to tear my machine away from other, daily piecing. I'm not usually one who needs 4 or 5 hours to do a particular job, but I would like a good stretch of time to work with this. So, I'm not sure when I'll get to it. Especially now, since Leota will be leaving the shop for a few weeks for her surgery. Gotta take care of business - her's AND mine!
When I got online this morning, I had a message from Judy saying it was 5 a.m. and she was on her way to the airport in Dallas. Sure hope that girl gets home today. What a mess this ice storm has caused.
Robert and I hit the gym last night with a vengeance. My muscles didn't know what hit them by the time I got home. I'm a little sore this morning, but I figure that's what I get for slacking off like I had. I've got to be more diligent about working out. Maybe even watching what I eat. Okay, I say that even as I finish eating two, yes, two, blueberry muffins that I made this morning. I just had a hankering for muffins today. Reminded me of when my boys were home and I made a batch of muffins at least once a week.
Time to get a call from Dad and jump in the shower. Clint, at work, decided we'd do lunch at the shop today to bid Leota a good surgery farewell. I was too tired last night to even think about what to take, so I guess I'll run by Wal Mart this morning and see if they've got something I can bring and claim as my own. lol
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Icy days, quilty nights
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Back of the bras and Dad
Here's the back of the bra quilt. The borders are not on yet since I still need to quilt them. Actually, I think I'll attach the front and back and batting before I quilt. Sometimes it's easier to do the borders after they're on.
The trip to Lubbock was a good one. The heart doc said that Dad doesn't need to return again until next month. That's only because his blood pressure has been up and they've increased his Lopressor. Before they knew about the increased blood pressure, the doc had said we didn't need to go back for three months. Sure glad Judy reminded me about the B/P. The doc's visit was so fast and we discussed medications and what he should be doing and I flat forgot to mention the blood pressure. Strange thing is that they didn't even check any vitals during the visit. But, the doc said that the results of the heart monitor that was attached to Dad a few weeks ago was ok. That was good news. So, he will begin cardiac rehab here in Clovis and was instructed to get out and walk at least once a day. He's actually been out walking twice nearly every day except when the weather was bad. I think he's ready to start driving soon. We'll see...
Did not work today, but should be in bright and early tomorrow. Well, at least by 9 a.m. LOL I'm so lazy these days. I hope I'm busy, but I also want to get home to finish this quilt. I'm going to drink my Sleepytime, watch Reba and go to bed.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Flat tire day and red bras!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Judy's 2nd quilt!
So, since Judy is bound for Chicago on Wednesday, this project will be put on hold for a few weeks. She'll be headed to Arizona the next week so there goes that weekend. It will be waiting for her when she returns. In the meantime, she's almost finished with the binding on her first quilt. I'm taking it tomorrow if I get to go to the monthly quilt meeting.
Friday, January 05, 2007
January birthday blocks
I'm mulling something over in my head right now for a new quilt and will share with you when I get it together. It will be a gift so I can't reveal it just yet. (ooohh, the suspense! lol)
It's Friday and I've been to the gym three times this week. I only gained 2.5 lbs. so I am feeling much better about the holiday eating. It's not been too hard to get back into it, except that I'm having a small problem with my right foot. I think my heel spur is acting up again.
Dad sounded really well this morning. His blood pressure has been on the rise and we're a little worried about that but we have a call in to the doc. And, we go to Lubbock on Tuesday for a check-up. Hopefully, they will find just the right BP medication for him. His leg incision looks much better.
I wish I could stay home and work on some projects but I'd better get my butt to work. It's been a bit slow, but that's how January usually is. I'm going to have to introduce a price increase on the first of February and I am not looking forward to that. I've put it off as long as I could but operating expenses just keep going up and up. Sure hope everyone understands.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
EZ Quilter
Monday, January 01, 2007
New Year's Day, 2007
Which is the reason I no longer make New Year's resolutions! LOL We have had an uneventful start to 2007, thank you, Lord. Some of us have runny noses and sore throats and an incision that is taking it's time to heal, but, other than that, we are all doing fine.
Before Judy came over today, I worked on putting the lotto blocks together for the QOR comfort quilt. I still need to put the binding on since I decided it is big enough and probably can go without borders. I want to hurry and finish so I can send it to the recipient.