I'm So Excited...

As you may know, I've been working to lose some weight. I get a reward for each 10 pounds! The first was a book, the second was a PC game. I finally reached my mini-goal of 30 pounds and I was planning on taking a quilt class. However, two weeks ago, I discovered there was a new LQS with a demo/presentation/BOM for Eleanor Burns "The Underground Railroad". It was so timely because I have been coveting the book quite a bit the last few weeks. Not to mention I find that time period so intriguing! You can read all about what is offered here...
The Quilting Barn. Anyway, it sounded so great and informative that I begged my hubby to let this be my reward... keep in mind, that means I went from one class to twelve. And from a store down the street, to one quite far away. Well, he finally said YES! He called to reserve my spot tonight and I'm so happy! It sounds like so much fun, with the re-enactment actress and everything. I can't wait! It is still over a month away, but I'm so excited I just had to share the news. However, hubby did suggest that my next reward be on the small side. :cP

I finally decided what to add to Hailey's block for the Round Robin I'm in. I hope to find time to do that this weekend. I still need to set up my bedroom for "school" before Monday though.

I'm making that slow and steady progress on Gentry's quilt... P thru Z are finished! And the cross-stitch is over half way done. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

And I want to apologize to all of you wonderful ladies that I haven't been posting on your blogs lately. I do take a few moments to stop by look, just haven't had much time to reply, so please forgive me. I'll be better when things slow down a bit, I promise!

Sink or Swim...

I'm probably sinking with everything I have going on right now, but I'm definitely trying to swim! LOL!

I still have not finished quilting Gentry's quilt. I was so hoping I could get away with only quilting along the sashing and borders, but I realized I really did need to also quilt inside the blocks. I didn't want to, as I don't want the quilt to be about me and my quilting, I wanted it to be about him and his coloring, etc. So, after many attempts, I'm finally quilting with invisible thread on the actual outline of each picture and letter. You can't really see it, but it does give just a bit of pleasant puffiness to his work. However, I'm not a free-motion quilter, so it is stitch, turn, stitch, stitch, turn, stitch, turn... well, you get the idea. LOL! And it is a pretty heavy and decent sized quilt, with a little machine. I have only done three of the 26 letters and I think I averaged about 30 mins per block! Okay, I know I am slow, you don't have to tell me. And after I do one, it takes about an hour or so to lessen the pain in my neck and shoulders. So, I have to ask myself... is he worth it? Well, yes, of course he is! ;c)

And if the quilt weren't enough, I've also started a little cross-stitch picture for him. I couldn't help it. He saw it on my sister's ebay site and just had to have it. (She is also selling some FQs if you are interested.) Anyway, it has Lumpy and Roo from Winnie-the-Pooh on it. I just couldn't resist, so I'm doing that for his birthday too. And, yes, I know I only have three weeks to get everything done, not to mention planning his party.

I have almost everything relatively planned for home-school... except Social Studies. I have spent so many hours online looking for just the right thing for both kids. And I have found NOTHING. Gentry, I'm not so worried about as he can pick up stuff from what I teach Hailey. However, Hailey will be tested on everything at the end of the year, so I have to teach very specific things! If any of you wonderful ladies are teachers or home-schooling moms and know of something that will cover this list, please let me know. Once I have that problem solved it will just be a matter of getting settled into the new schedule. And what a schedule it is too...

• Bible Study
• Math
• Penmanship
• Reading
• French
• Science
• Social Studies
• Computer Skills
• Language
• Writing
• Art (on Saturdays at the Art House)
• P.E. & Music (with Daddy)
  

The kids are so excited! They have their little bins organized with all their new school supplies!

And, yes, as if I don't have enough going on right now... I signed up for a RR. I thought I would make something for Hailey, didn't know what, and then remembered I had a piece of her kindergarten art work that was printed on to fabric. I had no idea what I should do with it, but this seems like the perfect thing. Here it is... if you can't tell, it is supposed to be a kite. I showed it to her and she announced it wasn't her best work. LOL! Now, I have to add something to it to square it off before sending it out for the first round. I'll post a picture of it as soon as that part is done.

Food for thought...

You know your husband must be feeling rather guilty when not only does he make your dinner, but he serves it like this! Either that or I really am the love of his life. :c)

Jane, in answer to your question... it is Grilled Garlic, Herb & Butter Fish, Grilled Zucchini and Peach Slices. It was actually a perfect meal for me as I'm on a weight loss program and this meats all the requirements. It tasted so good too. Then again, I love zucchini, it is probably my favorite and the fish was very flavorful with a nice texture.

Still plugging along...

Just working on quilting Gentry's quilt. I hope to at least move on to the binding soon, even though binding is my least favorite part.

I have found out about a BOM at a LQS that I just really want to participate in. Just trying to talk the hubby into it. Being that he works all the time, it would disrupt his schedule. As of yesterday there were still 12 openings, so I just have to wait and see what he decides. But I REALLY want to do it!

Been busy preparing for home-schooling. Still have a lot to do, but most of the supplies and books have been taken care of. :)

I'm also working on a counted cross-stitch thing for Gentry for his birthday. It is only a 5 x 7 project, but I'm slow. He will love it though as it is Roo and Lumpy from Winnie-the-Pooh. Now, if only I could make days that had at least 36 hours to them. LOL!

Sunflowers

Inspired by Anne's blog post, I decided to change my "calendar quilt" a week early. Here is my August wall-hanging. The picture in the middle is actually a mirrored version of a picture of my daughter when she was just over a year old.

I have been slowly quilting along on Gentry's quilt. It would be nice if I had it quilted in a week as I really want to get the top to the Raspberry Tea quilt finished before school starts. And boy does school start insanely early around here... 2 weeks from today!

Sweet Man of Mine...

Yay! Gentry's quilt is getting basted as I type. ;c) I snapped this pic of the hubby trimming the batting and backing. He threatened to quit if I did it again. LOL! He is such a sweetheart sometimes! And if doing the basting wasn't enough.... the youngest wasn't feeling well, so I had to stay home and my dear man went out and picked the backing fabric and thread for the quilt... both in the "perfect" shade of green to match! I'm definitely counting my blessings tonight!

I finished the log cabin blocks, changed the layout, decided it will need some applique here and there, and decided to call the whole thing "Raspberry Tea".

Back on track

I'm back to the log cabins and half of the blocks done! I hope to get them all finished before I start quilting on Gentry's quilt. And, no, hubby hasn't basted it yet, but then he is still working right now. :c)

Busy, busy, busy....

I feel like it has been forever since I posted, when really it has only been a few days. I did manage to work on my log cabin blocks on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon (when I was with my friend). I have only one side left to sew on them, but haven't done a bit of sewing in over 48 hours. I'm just too bogged down with life right now that I can't seem to get in the mood to sew. Before the brain fog rolled in though, I did manage to make a test block of the pattern I plan to use on my Paducah Charms quilt. I liked the way it came together so I think I'll stick with it. But I don't get to work on it until I have at least one of the tops quilted. And yes, ladies, I do plan on quilting them! I have never let them pile up before. My sweet hubby promises me that we will get the backing and batting and thread tomorrow and that he will also baste it then too! Now, I love my dear husband more than life itself... but, he does tend to break a lot of promises, God love him. So, we will see.

Yesterday we discovered that the Heffalump birthday supplies my son was hoping for (for over 6 months now) was no longer available anywhere! We went to 5 stores looking. So, we had to start over and I really wanted him to find something he could be excited about and look forward to having for his birthday. Finally, at the last store of course, he picked Curious George! I'm going to have to rethink all the plans, but they had a whole lot of different things so it shouldn't be too hard! Besides, I am fond of that little monkey myself. :c)

Took my dear daughter to her very first eye appointment today. She needs glasses. She is only 8 and it can be hard when they are so young. I was the same way. She did really well with the appointment and had fun trying on different frames. She initially had her heart set on a purple pair of frames, but when she looked in the mirror decided the gold ones matched her hair better. LOL! Oh, it is starting already!!!

Now, on a personal note.... meaning totally not quilt related so feel free to just gloss over this part. We have decided to homeschool again this year. However, it won't just be my daughter this time around it will be my son too! I know it is best for them both and I'm a firm believer in doing what is best for my kids... their needs before mine! However, a small part of me was hoping to be able to spread my wings a bit, maybe take on a part-time job or something. Hubby works morning, afternoon and evening, so I could really only do something when the kids would have possibly been in school. And we would never even think about daycare around here!!! So, that just leaves me. Now, that I have gotten over my initial selfishness, I have become completely overwhelmed at planning the curriculum for two, and at such different levels, and such. I know I will do it... just haven't figured out exactly how yet. And I do tend to be a perfectionist so I know I'm putting way more pressure on myself than probably necessary. I complained to hubby that all this "thinking" was the reason for my lack of sewing. He surprisingly promised that on Sunday he would get together with me and work it all out. Again, I know all about his promises, LOL! But the thought was nice and appreciated. One definite good thing though is that the kids will be going to "The Art House" one hour a week and I will have the whole house all to myself! I'm looking forward to it already!

Oh, and just between you and me... another reason I haven't been sewing is that I have become addicted to a BBC show that we rented through Netflix. I have only watched the first season, but am hooked! It is called "Monarch of the Glen". It is great as I used to watch Ballykissangel, but that show has been over for some time now and this kind of has the same light drama type of a feel and some great humor as well.

Sampler of Psalms Top Finished!

Yes! Another top done! I wonder what I will work on next??? I have several online mysteries that I should probably tend to, or also my log cabin. Hmmm. I guess I will see where my mood takes me tomorrow. As for tonight, I'm done! Sweet dreams to all the quilters out there! And to quiltpixie... thank you for the well wishes... you gave me a good chuckle!

Framed blocks...

Back in the swing of things today. I think I was motivated when I received a package from Quilt in a Day with all sorts of notions and things. I got a new rotary cutter (much needed as I've been using glue and tape to hold my other one together for several years now. Sounds strange, I know! So, I took a picture to show where it was broken (from too much use). This could be the reason for the design change between the side button on this one and the buttons on the newer versions. I couldn't wait to break the new one in! So, here you go... four framed blocks. It is amazing what a difference adding that lighter blue makes! Next stop, putting the blocks all together!

Sampler of Psalms Q & A

I didn't manage to get a thing done today... hubby and kids and stuff took up all my time. So, nothing to post in that regard. However there were a few questions regarding the Sampler of Psalms quilt...

Quiltpixie... I wish I could say that I designed this myself, but no such luck. It is from an online mystery at Quilters' Neighbourhood. It is the third of her mysteries I've done. The first was a simple Christmas tablerunner, then the Rejoice! quilt... pic posted somewhere in the archives here, and now this one. She has a current one that is posted that I would also like to try and is thinking about doing another Christmas one.

ForestJane... The larger image is actually comprised of the first six months of the mystery, the tree was the first one and then there are four more blocks in the corners that were four other months, then there was putting it all together in addition to the broken dishes border. I believe that was the sixth month. The smaller image of the Peace and Plenty block is one of 6 more blocks... the others are again posted somewhere in the archives here, that will go on the top or bottom of this center design. The quilt is very rectangular in shape... a banner actually. Last night I worked on Part 1 on the completion by adding the purple border. Some of the last 6 blocks are a couple inches smaller than the others, so the next step is to add borders to them. There is a picture of the completed version here. There is actually a larger version, square, but I am so behind on everything that I made the executive decision last night to just have the banner size. :c)

Psalms Center w/ Border

Okay, so I was going to wait until "tomorrow" to work on the borders. But it is well after Midnight so that counts as "tomorrow". I have the border around the center done now. After I get some sleep I'll work on the borders I need to put around 4 (not 3) of the 6 blocks. Well, those are the plans anyway. Hubby is always home a lot on Sundays and the kids aren't as well behaved when he is home, so between the three of them, who really knows what I will manage to get done. LOL!

Back to the Psalms

With those three quilt tops finished, I need to focus on my UFO's again and decided to work on my Sampler of Psalms. I only had one more block to do before I get to start adding borders and such to make everything fit together. So, here is my Peace and Plenty block. It was easy until the very last seam and it gave me fits! But it is done now. So, tomorrow I'll work on borders for the center and three of the blocks. And then perhaps by Sunday night I'll have another top completed... poor hubby, the work is just piling up on him!

Reached the Top of the Stairs!

Woohoo! Two quilts tops finished in one day. I just added the last border to the Stairstepper quilt. That makes three tops in one week... boy does my hubby have his work cut out for him. He better get to it soon as Gentry's birthday is Aug. 21.
Now I have to get back to some UFO's. I really need to work on my Sampler of Psalms, so I guess that is what I'll do. I should probably do it tonight or else I might not get around to it at all.
The AC man came back last night, "said" he fixed it and left in a hurry. 10 minutes later more flooding. Hubby called him again and he said it must be a clog in the pipe in the wall and it would be lots of work, need to use a special machine, etc. I finally convinced my dear husband that this man was completely incompetent and I suggested that he check out a couple of things himself. Well, it only took two seconds and just half a brain to see that the rubber part connecting the two pipes was all cracked and torn up and obviously was the real reason for the leak... as that is also where the water was coming from. Hubby replaced it this morning... the piece cost around $3. Now we just have to deal with the carpet... but at least I don't have to see that guy anymore!

XY and Z!

The alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end! Okay well, technically the end would be the binding. But the top is finished, praise God! Now, I'm going to cuddle with the kids and watch some PBS for awhile. Then it is back to sewing those borders on the other quilt. I never did get around to it yesterday, I just kept working on Gentry's. I love that he doesn't know those are letters are being put into his birthday quilt. What a wonderful surprise that will be!

ABC Quilt Growing...

Gentry's quilt is growing and growing. It is a bit bigger than I had originally intended which means I'll probably make the border smaller.

Thank you all for your sweet comments. The sad thing is... I'm not a "beginner". I've been at this for 11 years! How sad is that? LOL! That's okay. I know I will continue to try new things and as long as my children get their birthday quilts each year, they will be happy.

We had some loud storms this afternoon. I think we lost power about a dozen times... it was like it couldn't make up it's mind... off, on, off, on, off, on. I was actually trying to sew on my machine at the time. ROFL!

The AC man is supposed to come over tonight, but I think my carpet is completely ruined now and starting to smell. Now, we just have to see what the landlord wants to do about it.

Okay, I have to give my back a rest and then get going on the other quilt. :c)

Food for thought...

Today wasn't quite like I expected it to be. I did get to go see my friend, Jackie. Had a great time! I wasn't too productive though and then in the evening didn't feel up to sewing. Overall though I did cut and piece fabric for the inner border on the stairstepper quilt and sewed it on to the two sides. And I pieced a row together for the ABC quilt. I hope to get a lot more done on both tomorrow. However, I decided to post this tiny wall-hanging I did a long time ago so that you at least have something to look at. The colors are off as the flower in the top right is really a bright hot pink. But you still get the idea.

My room is becoming so "swampy" from the leaking AC. We keep trying to soak it all up and have gone through so many towels. It is hopeless. I thing the carpet will need to be taken up when this is all done. Oh, and the AC guy hasn't returned any of our calls today. I think I'm almost to the point that I'm just resigned to the fact that we will never have AC. LOL!

And now, a bit of perspective. I've been doing a lot of browsing around and have come to the conclusion that I am in need of creativity, talent and brilliance. I am constantly so impressed with everyone else's quilts. Mine are just so basic. I would like to think that I have improved over the years, but I'm starting to have my doubts. And I'm not "putting myself down". I just think I am lacking in several areas. Food for thought...

Top Finished!

I finished the top of my quilt tonight! No pictures though... I'm going to wait until it is quilted. :cP

Okay, so the house was so cool last night and this morning and this afternoon... and then tonight I was walking into my room and found that my carpet was soaked. Yes, there is some sort of leak from the inside AC unit (which is right next to my room). So, I had to turn it off to hopefully prevent further leakage and flooding. I'm going over to my friend's house tomorrow for a bit of quilty fun, so hopefully I won't have to be around to deal with anything.

I also finished tracing the letters/pictures for Gentry's quilt today. He has two left to color, but he didn't get to color today as he was very naughty this morning with his crayons. So, I had to punish him. :c( And we probably won't have time to color tomorrow as I'll be gone a lot. That's okay though. I can work on sewing the other rows if I want to. Besides, I still have over a month before his birthday.

I didn't work on the Stairstepper borders either. Perhaps I will do them tomorrow. Or maybe I will work on my little charm quilt. I'm going to use a different variation of the twin sister's pattern from Eleanor Burns. Oh, so many quilts... so little time. If I were really going to be a good girl, I would finish up another UFO top. I can't do any quilting on anything yet as I'm minus backing and batting for them all. But I could finish up those tops so my hubby could baste several of them at the same time. Yes, that's right, my hubby bastes my quilts... mostly anyway. He spray bastes them for me (as I have asthma and am sensitive to the spray) and then I go fold up the edges and secure the quilt further with some safety pins here and there. He bastes them in the kitchen so he has to move out the table and chairs. So, it is best if he can just do several at once. It is so easy to love them when they are this nice. :c)

What A Great Way To Start the Week!

It is always nice to have a good Monday, isn't it? It didn't start off very well, but finished wonderfully. We called the AC man several times this morning and he said he didn't get any of the messages we left on his cell phone. We finally reached him in the afternoon and he came by about 7:00. Apparently he had some wires attached incorrectly that kept causing the unit to overheat or something like that. All I know is... it has been working wonderfully since then! It is actually chilly in my house right now. The real test will be later this week when it gets hotter. In the meantime, I will sleep well tonight under cool sheets!

I finished the center part of the Stairstepper quilt. I have two borders I still need to put on it. It seems a bit narrow for me, hopefully the borders will make it significantly wider.

I also planned out the borders for my own quilt and Gentry completed "X" today. So, I feel like I had a pretty productive day today. :c) I guess tomorrow will be all about borders.

Quiltpixie, as far as the pattern for the basket liner... it already had a liner in it, that I wasn't supposed to take apart. So, I ironed various pieces of freezer paper on the different parts and sort of traced around them. Then I cut out the pieces (there were only three - one bottom, two sides) and ironed them on to the new fabric and cut around them. It was probably not the best method, but I managed.

Jane, no please don't give me any "spoilers"... I refuse to even read book jackets as I think they tend to give too much away. I like to just let the story unfold without having any clue of what is to come. However, I am not sure, but I think it is possible that Earlene may have given too much away with the title alone. But don't tell me if I'm right or wrong! I'll let you know when I finish so we can talk about what we thought.

Are you kidding me???

Okay, I'm really not an extremely angry person by nature. I am a bit impatient though. Would you believe the AC quit working again?! We are talking about a brand new unit! He came out, said he knew what was wrong, spent five minutes on it and then it was working again... for a few hours. Now it is too late to call him... or so my husband says, I'm tempted to do it anyway. It is hot and I know the kids will be waking up soon complaining about the heat. I'm probably going to have to stay in my room tomorrow if he comes out again and let my hubby deal with it. I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to hide my irritation over the matter. I do hope he comes early as it is after midnight and already 80 degrees in the house. By the afternoon we will all be melting.

On to positive things now that I've vented sufficiently. I was able to sew all the rows together and the center is now complete. I'm not going to post a pic as I'm waiting until the whole thing is done. Tomorrow I will start to work on the border, at least the layout of the border. Maybe I'll let the kids help to decide as it is a "random" type of thing.

So, now I'm tired, feeling like I had a productive day afterall. I'm going to literally crawl into bed and curl up with the latest Earlene Fowler book. The jury is still out on whether I will like it or not... I'm not too far into it yet and I miss all the characters from the Benni Harper series. And I don't think there has been even the tiniest mention of a quilt yet... hmmm. I hope she at least threw in some quilt referrences for her devoted fans.