Another Ornament Runner

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year and got lots and lots of goodies, especially quilting goodies. I did not get one quilty thing. I guess my family decided I had enough. LOL! Never!

Here is a picture of another Ornament Runner that I made........this one in Christmas fabrics. I really liked how it turned out.

I took this whole week off as vacation time and this morning, I am so glad that I did. I am tired after the last few days. I got up yesterday morning at 6:3o to get started on Christmas dinner.We had to eat right at 12 as youngest dear daughter and new hubby had to go to his family after lunch. I had gotten a good head start on Monday.......I made 2 pumpkin pies, one pecan pie, 5 pounds of fudge, pecan pralines and had a lasagna together waiting to be cooked. The lasagna was for oldest grandson, who loves lasagna! However, I needed to bake a ham yesterday morning. I got my coffee and got woke up and got started. I got my ham in the oven and got all the ingredients out for the cherry sauce. I then went and got my shower, dried my hair and about that time oldest dear daughter called me. She was nearly hysterical. I could hardly understand her. I finally got her calm enough to tell me what was going on. They had received a phone call from her mother-in-law that her father-in-law was unresponsive. Sandra could not wake him up. Anyway, they needed to postpone our Christmas as they needed to meet Sandra at the hospital. So, I called youngest dear daughter and told her to go ahead do her in-laws first and we would play it by ear for ours. So, my husband and I finished dressing and drove over to oldest daughter's (40 minutes away) to pick up her children. We brought them back to our house. But, everything turned out okay. Stefani's father-in-law was diagnosed with too much ammonia and was treated and sent home! That is a miracle in itself. So, everyone finally got to our house about 6:00 and we had a Christmas supper instead of lunch. Then we did presents and visited for awhile, watched RV again which oldest dear daughter and family just love and snacked on all those pies and candy I made. Thank God dear daughter's father-in-law is okay and having a delayed Christmas celebration turned out okay too. I bet all my grandchildren were asleep before they got off our road last night!

Everyone have a great day!

My First Project On My New Machine!

Ok, I am finally getting around to posting a couple pics of the first project that I did on my new machine. What a sweet machine she is!! I had so much fun playing around. I took six blocks that I had and made a small runner. It measures 25x18 finished. I used silver metallic thread and just played with several different stiches. The runner is a crazy patch of stitches!! :) I used several different ones......a herringbone, bells, flowers, stars and penguins. I think it turned out rather cute. I gave it to my youngest daughter, Courtney who actually used blue/silver and snowmen as her Christmas theme this year. Perfect for her!


The second picture is a close up of some of the different stitches that I used. I hope they show up well enough.








I really wanted to do some more sewing on her, but I had to get out and get some Christmas things done and I had to get started wrapping Christmas gifts. I am not big on gift bags for the kiddos as I like to watch the kids open their gifts, so with 4 grandchildren, I have lots and lots of wrapping to get done and only a few days left to do it. Ack!! How did Christmas get here so quickly this year! I am usually more prepared than this year.

Oh, I almost forgot. Elna called me yesterday to verify my mailing address. They shipped all that thread yesterday so I could have it by Christmas!! Isn't that just too much!! I can't hardly wait to get it.

So, anyhoo...............make it a great evening!

Christmas Came Early!!!

WoooHooo!! I got the most marvelous, fantastic, stupendous early Christmas gift!! Well, it's actually my Christmas, anniversary and birthday gift....but that's just a technicality. Here is what I got this week:

An Elna Quilters Dream II!! I am so excited I can't tell you. I have sewn on a cheapo Brother or a vintage Singer (which actually sews very well, but had no features) for so long that I think I am in Heaven with this new baby! She has 200 stitches! It's going to take a while to try all those out! Plus, all the feet that came with her! She also came with a nice padded bag to carry her places and I got a nice extension table for half price. Plus.........when I send in my registration card, Elna will send me a Maderia thread chest valued at $199.00............60 spools of thread! It's like getting another $199 off the price of the machine!

I'm telling you that I won't be doing any house cleaning today! Today, I am sewing on my new baby!!

See y'all later!! Make it a great day whatever you do!

Ornament Mat......and Other Things

Wow!! I didn't realize that I hadn't posted in so long a time!! I have been busy and I guess time just passed by faster than I thought.

Anyway, here is a picture of one of the little Ornament Mats that I made. I did not do a Christmas theme.......but, rather a fall theme for Thanksgiving. I also did not use flannel as the lining, but used muslin instead. I needed to practice my free motion quilting, so I free motioned quilted the mat with gold metallic thread. I thought it turned out okay. I put it on my dining table with a ceramic pumpkin on it. You can't see the quilting in the picture, but it is there. :)

Tomorrow, the Christmas tree is going to be put up and some of my Santa collection. I don't think I'll put them all out.........just some of them. Now, to find some time to go Christmas shopping for everyone.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the holiday weekend and make it a great day!

Back Home Again!

Yay!! I got to bring the big guy home yesterday evening from the hospital! He and I were both soooooo glad that he got to come home. We still don't know what its wrong exactly, but should find out soon. They did an MRI yesterday before he left, so maybe it won't be long until we can have the results. We do know he did not have a heart attack, anuerysm or pulmonary embolism. WHEW!! Any of those would be bad, so I am very grateful. He did give us a scare and I threatened him should he do that again! :)

Friday afternoon I actually sewed a bit........I made a Christmas Ornament table mat, like Texas Jan (http://quilterjan.blogspot.com/) made. I was planning on making some more Saturday and making a whole table runner from them......but, that did not happen! I had the next one all laid out on the ironing board and it is still there! I'll try to finish them this weekend and post a pic! It sewed up really easily and I am anxious to finish at least one runner for the holidays.

I am just sick when I see the price of gas keep going up and up. It seems so ridiculous and I am hearing stories of people having to stop buying necessities to pay for gas or having to quit their jobs because they can't afford gas anymore. It's just not right. Something needs to change.

Okay, enough of that.......make it a great evening!

Husbands......A Stubborn Lot!

I have spent the weekend in the hospital with my husband. He is much better, but he sure gave me a scare!

He has been feeling bad for a couple of weeks, but he only told me about it last weekend. So, Monday morning (Oct. 29th) I made him a drs. appt. He was diagnosed with bronchitis/pluerisy. I thought okay........maybe that's why his back/arm are hurting so. The back/arm pain is why he went to the dr. He has been hurting on the left side right by his left shoulder balde, midway and radiating down his left arm. We also thought he might have a little cric in that muscle by the shoulder blade. However, the dr did no give him anything for that. He hurt all week, so Friday I was going to make him another appt, but he called me from work (hasn't missed any work) and said not to.......that it might be a bit better. So, I didn't. He had a horrible night Friday night, so Saturday morning I told him to go to the Sat. morning clinic and let someone see him. He went and came back home rather fast. He said they would not see him when they heard his symptoms because they are cardiac also. They told him to go to the ER. I called my nurse daughter and was talking to her when he told us he threw up on the way home! Stefani said, "Mom, get him to the ER now." So, I took him. They called him straight back, started an IV right away and a dr. came in to talk to us. They had him in a little bitty room which is like an urgent care, but not ER. Around 5-10 minutes after starting the IV, which was very, very messy because he bled everywhere, the dr was talking to him and I noticed he didn't seem to be paying any attention and next thing I know, his head falls over and the nurse is over him, yelling at him, dropping his bed down so his head is lower than his feet and the dr is grabbing things. I stepped around the corner to call Stefani and she assured me she was on her way. I couldn't get hold of our younger daughter, so I wanted her to try for me. I go back around the corner and Travis is gone!! I looked in the next cubicle and was turning around looking when someone told me they took him to a bigger room to have room to work. I went in there and there are 6-7 people in there, starting more IV's and stuff. They had stabilzed him, but they told me he would not be going home today! His blood pressure dropped from 149/105 to 70/50 in 3 seconds time. He was in extreme pain, sweating, short of breath. They drew lab, had an x-ray done, gave him some nitro and morphine. Our girls finally arrived, the youngest bawling her eyes out. I had to tell her to get ahold of herself.....that her daddy was okay and she could not do this in front of him! We got moved to a room finally and they continued over the weekend, doing blood work and EKG's. There was talk of moving him to Dallas because our hospital does not have a cardiac unit, but since he was stable we stayed in Greenville. His blood work and cat scan showed no evidence of a heart attack, no pulmonary emboli and no anuerysm, which were 2 things that had been thrown out to us also. He is feeling better and is ready to come home. He is seeing a cardiologist this morning and we will go from there as to whether he will have more testing done. I plan on bring him home today and then taking a long, long nap!!

OK....make it a great day everyone!

Funky TIme.....

I have been in a funk for the last couple of weeks. I have done absolutely no quilting during this time. None. I have had problems in the past with tendonitis in my wrists and have had a attack in both wrists. So.........no sewing/quilting and very little computer time as I needed to rest my wrists after working all day. I had been trying to open a jar with a very, very tight lid and actually felt the tendon pop as I strained to open the jar. Silly me.....I should have just stopped, but really wanted that jar opened!! I'm not sure what happened with the other one.....it started aching a couple days later. My husband (God bless him) is getting very used to the smell of Ben-Gay!! LOL!! He has also been very helpful with the things around the house. What have I been doing, you ask?? Well, I've read several books that have been on my "to be read list" for a long, long time. I have also spent some time browsing through my multitude of old quilt magazines for applique patterns. Boy, did I see some quilts that I really want to make! But, I must finish some from my UFO's first!! Back to applique..... after doing the DFW Challenge blocks, one of which was an applique block, I want to get back into applique. I really did enjoy it when I used to do it and would love to do more. I need to go to the quilt shop and look at a couple books too. I am planning on finishing up some UFO's first, but just wanted to look for some patterns. I do have a goal set to get some quilts past the pieced stage.......I am a world class piecer, but not so good at getting them quilted and finished. I seriously need to look at buying some sort of machine quilting setup. That would be so great.........then I could really crank out the quilts! Of course, I need to win a HUGE lottery first!! LOL! Some day..................

Make it a great day everyone!

Dancing With the Stars........or Not

Is anyone out there in blogland watching the show this season?? I am actually watching it this time around. I have seen bits of it each season, but I got it from the first episode this season. I am enjoying it too! I sure wish I could dance like those pros.....they do such a great job! Who am I rooting for? Well, it's a toss-up still. I think that Wayne Newton definitely needs to GO.......he cannot dance! Mark Cuban is trying so hard that I am pulling for him to stay a while longer. I know he can't win, but he is putting a lot of effort into the show and I am amazed how well he is doing so soon after hip replacement. I think Helio will be the top guy. Of the girls......I am really pulling for Marie Osmond. I don't know if she can win against Cheetah girl, Sabrina but she is doing good. Jane Seymour is just so graceful and elegant. I don't think she'll win, but she looks good on the floor. Tell me who you want to win if you are watching.

I wish some cold weather would blast through here. I am ready for some cold!! Snow would be so awesome, but maybe a bit later in the season. :) I was thinking about firewood today and wishing it would turn cold enough to start the woodstove.

I still haven't taken another pic of the little wallhanging, but hopefully I'll get that done sometime this weekend then I can show it to all of you. :)

Ok, make it a great evening everyone!

Sunday Thoughts

Well, here it is Sunday and once again, it has been a few days since I have posted. I am trying to do better about that. :) Bear with me.

I think I got too tired with all the reception stuff last weekend. I realized Friday that I was tired! So, I have spent the weekend just resting. I think it finally all caught up with me.

I was going to sew this weekend, but have not. I have so many projects going on and it is my goal to get some finished and off the "To Be Finished List." That particular list is far too long! I must get some finished, but I have 10 I want to start! What to do??

I was going to post a picture of a small wallhanging that I made several years ago to practice machine quilting, but I don't seem to have it on my computer anymore. I'll take another one in a few days and post it.

Ok, off to get things together for work tomorrow. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

A Few Thoughts

My last post regarding the wedding reception was pretty brief, I realized later. So, here are a few more random thoughts.

I don't think my feet have ever hurt so much!! We (me, hubby, oldest daughter, best friend, son-in-law) worked for hours Friday to decorate the fellowship hall at the church for the reception. Before we started we had to move loads of stuff that was stored in that area of the church! My poor hubby thought he had been transformed into a pack mule. And, then all that walking and standing on concrete did a number on my feet! I could hardly sleep Friday night after we got home.

It was not a perfect reception, as we had a glitch or two. Hopefully, we will laugh about it later!! One glitch was that somehow in the hustle and bustle of getting everything out to the food tables, we forgot to put napkins on the food table! Yikes!! LOL!! I realized it about 20 minutes into the reception and scurried off to the kitchen for some napkins. I had bought some really nice napkins, they just didn't get from the kitchen to the food tables.

I also wondered if there are some folks who always arrive early at such functions. I came around the corner 25 minutes before time to start, taking something to the food tables and there stood a friend of my new son-in-law. Twenty five minutes early! I still was in my fuzzy house shoes!! I expected people to start arriving 10-15 minutes early, but 25 was a bit too early I thought. Oh well, I sent hubby to talk to him.

I never realized how strong a scent that stargazer lilies have until I took all those lilies home that we had on all the tables. I think my house smells like a funeral parlor!! But, gosh they sure are pretty!

I spent the day Sunday, on my tush resting my poor feet and working on my applique block for the DFW Quilt Gang Challenge. I did get it finished and in the mail yesterday to Debi. I had to get that finished as the deadline was fast approaching.

Make it a great day everyone!

Wedding Reception

Saturday evening, by husband and I hosted a wedding reception for our youngest daughter, Courtney and her new husband, Josh. They got married in July and since they would not wait for us to do a wedding, we thought we would just do a reception to celebrate. Below is a picture of the bride's cake. Isn't it pretty with the stargazer lilies and the roses? My friend, Sherri decorated it.


Here is a picture of the groom's cake, decorated with strawberries and crystallized grapes. It was so pretty too.







And, here are the lovely couple, cutting the cake. They were looking at the other photographer, not me. :) Oh, well.



It was a lovely reception, but I am so very glad that it is over with. Now, life can return to normal and that is a good thing. :)


Lastly, here is a picture of the bride's table. I thought all the tables turned out very pretty.

What a Week.......or 2 Weeks!!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. The last 2 weeks have been extremely busy for me and I just didn't have time or the energy. :) I got through the 1st week of training to transition to a new software application at work. I started off last Monday, bright and early to catch up on my "real" job and it turned out to be almost surreal. Nothing and I mean nothing was going right or working right. We have some very old office equipment, one of which is a 20 year old dot matrix printer. This printer decided this week to finally die! Arrrghhhh!! Why this week? Ok, after taking 200 or 300 deep breaths, I had to find a way to work around this. Bright idea!! Download some "fill in yourself" forms from the Internet!! This was a workable solution, but oh soooooooo slow when you have to manually type in all that information on each patient. I knew there was no way the printer was going to be replaced, especially since we are going to a whole new system in Dec. So, I proceeded to try to catch up. Then, I got sick.............nasty old stomach virus which caused me to have to stay home for 2 days, fretting over how behind I was and knowing the trainers will be back this week!! But, you simply can't go to work barfing, so home I was. I went in Friday since I was feeling better so I could get some more done. I am usually off on Fridays, but have worked the last few. When I got home Friday night (and it was night) my poor Buddy had been sick all over my bedroom! He has been feeling really good, so I was very surprised. My wonderful husband had cleaned it all up. I had to get up several times Friday night to let Buddy out as he continued to be sick. But, thankfully he is feeling better today. Did I mention that on top of all of this, I have also been taking care of a wedding reception that my husband and I are hosting for our youngest daughter, Courtney who got married in July. So many details. My head is spinning and my body is tired, but next Saturday we will have the reception behind us and maybe life will slow down then. I am very thankful for my good friend, Sherrie who is a whiz with flowers and decorating and she is helping me with the reception. But, I looked at a million tablecloths, table toppers, runners and centerpieces I know! Sherrie works for a place that does showrooms for companies and is able to get all the tablecloths and table runners we are using at a very reduced rate. She is also making all the centerpieces and is decorating the bride's cake with fresh flowers. What a gal!!

I do have some work done on my applique Challenge Block. I still have a few days (thank God) and may well be the last one finished. :) I will get it done though! I do like the design I chose and can't wait to post pics when it is finished and all our turned in.

Ok, that's all for now. I gotta go get ready for church and after church we are going to Sam's to but a ton of stuff for the reception next Saturday.

Make it a great day!!

Challenge Block

I finally know what I am going to do for the applique block in our DFW Gang challenge. I posted the fabrics for this challenge a few posts back. I can't tell what I am going to do, but I'll post a pic of it when we can. I am excited because I was thinking and thinking and going through old quilt magazines and nothing hit me. Then, when I wasn't even really thinking about it, I knew what I was going to do. Now, to get it done! :)

Well, the big project (switching to a whole new software application) at work kicked off today. The ladies they sent to work with us from Atlanta were both very nice and we got a lot done today. But, it was a long, tedious day of building dictionaries, explaining our work processes to customize the software for us and just being out of my normal work routine. It will be great once we get it all set up, but the getting set up is a real job!

OK, that's it for now!! Make it a great evening!

Memories

We remember today those who died so tragically and horribly 6 years ago in the World Trade Center. I hope that I will not soon forget the horror that I felt that day as I was glued to the coverage, first at work then at home. It was unthinkable that such an act of outright murder could be perpetrated on innocent people. As an American, I pray that such a thing will never happen again.........not just in America but the world over. No one should lose a loved one that way. I hope all of us will take a moment out of our busy lives today and pray for peace.

Where Has This Week Gone?

Wow, it's been days since I posted on my blog! I have had a very busy week and the blog fell into last place. :) Hopefully, it won't happen too often.

I ended up working Friday and feel like I really haven't had my weekend yet. I normally don't work on Fridays, but occasionally I have to, even though I do not like it. I got a lot done, but then I was behind at home. My Fridays usually consist of getting all the laundry done and housecleaning plus plain old resting. Some Fridays it's just resting depending on how the week went. I did do one load of clothes before I went in on Friday.

Yesterday, I spent the day working on the reception my husband and I are hosting for our youngest daughter and her new husband. They got married about 6 weeks ago on very short notice. Nope, she's not pregnant and this is her first wedding, so her dad and I decided to go ahead with a reception so she would have something to remember. I had lots of details to work out, a food list to make, guest list to get straight and just a ton of other stuff to deal with. Isn't the bride supposed to do some of this? She has just left it with me to work out. She wants certain flowers, well.....calla lilies to be exact and they are oh so expensive. But, I have a dear friend who can get some silk ones which I think we will go with as they won't be as expensive. The florist quoted me $18.00 a flower!! for fresh ones. I love you daughter, but...........that is a little pricey! :) I will be busy with this for a few more weeks also, so the blog might get neglected some days.

I didn't get any sewing done at all this week. I was hoping to sew some yesterday but never got to. I am going to try to at least do a string block later on this evening. I will be having withdrawals son.

One of my other hobbies is genealogy. Well, I got a letter this week from a lady in Michigan who thinks we might be related through my dad's people. She has gotten my curiosity up now, so I am going to be checking that out as soon as I can. I love doing that, but it can take up tons of time to wade through all those records and stuff. Any other genealogy buffs out there?

Cooler weather is on it's way and I LOVE that!! I hate, hate, hate Texas summers! That is why I have land in Colorado and will be moving there when my hubby retires. I am sick of this Texas heat and humidity.

Make it a great day!

Comfort Quilt Block

I got some new batteries for the camera. Here is a picture of a block I made for a comfort quilt for a sweet lady from the Quilting Passion forum on Delphi. I love the color scheme that was picked out for it.....cream, rose and green. Very soft and feminine. The block is nice too and was not hard to make at all. The quilt should be very lovely indeed when it is finished.


I am planning on doing some sewing today. Unless DH needs me to help with his project for the day. Hopefully, he won't need me.

Okay, off to start sewing! I hope everyone has a great Labor Day and see you later!


Make it a great day!

Look What I Won!

WooHoo! I recently was a winner on http://katesquilting.blogspot.com/ just for posting on Kate's blog. Well, I got my winning in the mail on Friday. Isn't it just gorgeous? I think it is going to make a lovely decoration for wintertime. Thank you very much, Kate!!

I have an update on the DFW GANG challenge. I have finished my pieced block. I can't post a picture yet, but I like it. Now, to think of something for the applique block. I needed to get at least one of them finished before I become swamped at work this month. I didn't want to be feeling crunched at the end of the month. I am browsing through some old quilt magazines looking for inspiration for the applique block.

I made a block today for a comfort quilt and wanted to post a picture of it as I really like the color scheme and the block pattern. Wouldn't you just know the batteries died in my camera after taking the postcard picture? *sigh* I'll have to post the block picture later after I get new batteries for the camera.

Make it a great day!

Challenge Fabric

Here is a picture of 4 fabrics that I received on Saturday at the Plano Quilt Show. Each lady in the DFW GANG received the same fabrics, except for the coordinating color. I got a golden yellow which is very pretty. I am to make one 12" pieced block and one 12" appliqued block by Oct. 1st. The blocks will then be put together, quilted and donated to the East Texas Project Linus. Any suggestions from anyone as to the applique block? I think I know which pieced block I am going to do.

I was going to post these earlier in the week......but ya know.......best laid plans and all. :) I have a HUGE project starting at work and have already been busy with that this week. I like knowing that my director thinks I am capable, but I hate the stress. It's a cache 22 I do believe.

Update on my Buddy: Well, he seems to be back to his old normal self. Now, that is absolutely great news, but I would like to know what made him so ill in the first place. Maybe I will never know. However, I sure I glad to see him healthy again! Cooper is glad too! He has his playmate back.

Make it a great day!

Bullseye

Here is a picture of a Bullseye top that I put together from a long ago swap. I am trying to use up some of those million or so swap blocks that I have! I am open to suggestions on how to quilt it. I don't think I should quilt very heavily, if at all on the edges of the bullseyes since it is supposed to rag out with washing. I didn't sash this, just put the blocks all side by side and now there isn't much room for quilting. I guess I should have done a little more thinking about it before putting the blocks together. :) Anyone ever quilt one of these?

I mentioned that I needed a mountain fix the other day. Well, I've been browsing some vacation pictures and wanted you to see why I need a mountain fix. I took this picture last summer in Colorado. Is this not gorgeous?

Make it great evening!

Coffee Thoughts

Right now it is 6:30 a.m. here in NE Texas and I am sitting here with a cup of coffee attempting to wake up so I can go to work. I was thinking I would love to be drinking an early morning cup of coffee in the mountains, watching the sun come up. My dear hubby and I have been talking about going out to Colorado soon. We didn't go this summer, but I sure need me a "mountain fix" and I think he does to. :) We are going to have to do some serious talking about it this very week and firm up some half made plans.

I didn't get any quilting done this weekend. I meant to, but kept getting waylaid. I did however get my refrigerator and stove thoroughly cleaned. That made me feel good that I had that chore out of the way again. I am in the process of finishing packing up all of Austin's toys that got left here when he and his mom moved out. How can one child have soooooo many toys?? I worked on that too this weekend. Most of them are going straight to Goodwill as he hasn't played with them in years, but a few will be going back to him. I will keep a few here for him to play with when he is here also.

Ok, make it a great day!

Sunday Musings

I went to the Plano "Labor Lof Love" Quilt show on Saturday and met the DFW gang there. Besides me, Debi, TexasJan, Sallie and Brenda were there along with Maynard, TexasJan's husband. He quilts with Jan and is pretty darn good at picking out fabric also. Shelly was there too, but she was actually working in the Texas Quiltworks booth. I had a blast. I saw lots of pretty quilts and even managed to buy a few things, which wasn't so hard. :) After the show, we all went to lunch and Sallie brought Debi the comfort quilt that the ladies of the Quilting Passion forum made her. It is a beautiful blue and yellow quilt and I think she really, really liked it. It was great seeing the ladies again and going to a quilt show. I hadn't been to one in quite a while, so I was overdue. Maynard gave us all the neatest handmade pens that he made. Thank you, Maynard and Jan! Debi presented us with a challenge as we officially declared ourselves a guild. She gave us all 4 FQ's......a focus fabric, a coordinating fabric and 2 background fabrics. We are to make one pieced and one applique (groan) block and return them to her. She is then going to put the top together, quilt it and donate it to the East Texas Project Linus in our group's name. How cool is that?? Now, to think of blocks to make.

My dear hubby has been down all weekend with a nasty stomach bug. He is not sick very often and he has felt bad all weekend. He is very good at helping me with the housework and all, so I have had more to do this weekend, like taking out the trash which he usually does. I drew the line at going to Wal-Mart though. Not with school starting tomorrow and all the last minute shoppers! No way! Whatever is needed from there will just have to wait! Surely, he will be better tomorrow though. I made him some yummy potato soup after church today and that made me long for some cooler weather. Making potato soup in 98 degree weather just isn't right! :) Know what I mean??

Speaking of school starting tomorrow.......all of my grandchildren are going back to school tomorrow. Austin, my youngest grandson will be in kindergarten. Brandon will be in 4th grade and my wee Val will be in 7th grade. Wow! I am either getting old or I started grandmotherhood really early. Hee-Hee!

The next few months are going to be really busy for me at work. I work for a home health agency and we are going to a whole new software application with which to generate nurse notes, bill, etc. For some unknown reason, our agency director has made me (rolling eyes) the project lead! So, that means lots of phone calls/prep work ahead of the company coming out to Greenville to set up our dictionaries and stuff. I am usually off on Fridays, but I foresee a few Fridays in my future between and now the "go live" date of Dec. 1. I printed off 245 pages of instructions for various components of the application the other day and almost got sick. That is not my idea of light reading!! But, I suppose we shall get through it and one of these days all the before work will be just a memory and hopefully not a bad one!


I better go tackle that basket of towels. They haven't learned to fold themselves yet, but I keep hoping they will. :)

Make it a great day!

A Boot..........but not for walking

I wanted to show you all a picture of a little cowboy boot wallhanging that I made. I got this little kit at the Dallas Quilt show last year and made it up for my husband, Travis. Travis loves anything western and he liked this little wallhanging too. I have a collection of 30+ cowboy boot blocks from a swap that is on my list to get made into a quilt just for Travis.

Austin is spending the day with me again as his school is closed today. I am planning on doing some sewing after I do some housework this morning. He can entertain himself now so he shouldn't be a problem.

I do enjoy him spending Fridays with me and he won't be able to anymore after today as school starts on Monday. I won't get to spend the day with him anymore unless it is on Saturday or school is out.

Buddy continues to improve. He is still a bit swollen over his liver area, but his appetite is back and he is barking again and interested in what is going on. I am tempted to take him for a second round of tests, except it costs so much. Blood work and x-rays for dogs is darn near as expensive as it is for us.

Make it a great day!

Great News!!!

My Buddy is feeling a lot better tonight. When I got home from work he met me at the door, which he always used to do, but hasn't done in a couple of weeks. His tail was wagging and he had some sparkle in his eyes. He also ate tonight........he hasn't been eating but he wanted to eat tonight. I am so excited and so happy! I will be cancelling his vet appt tomorrow. :) My grandchildren came to see him last night and my oldest grandson, Brandon told me later that he prayed over Buddy. Well, I'm seeing his childlike faith coming to fruition before my very eyes, I do believe. Don't ever underestimate the power of a praying child for they surely have a special place in the Father's heart. Dr. Waters wants to see Buddy again next week and I think he is going to be very, very surprised. Praise the Lord!!

I am going to a quilt show in Plano Saturday (will be in a much better frame of mind too) and meeting some quilter friends there. I am looking forward to seeing them and getting lots of ideas and inspiration while there, plus doing some shopping.

Make it a great day!

Update

I took my sweet Buddy back to the vet yesterday and after a multitude of different tests and an x-ray the diagnosis is in. It seems that my precious baby has liver cancer. I am devestated. I have cried and cried and cried. He is such a part of this family and has been my sidekick for so long. I cannot let him just suffer however (and he is suffering) so I have made the decision to have him put down on Friday. I just hope I don't fall apart at the vet's office. I wanted my grandkids to be able to all come and see him one last time and they will be able to. I will post something more cheerful in a day or so.

Sweet Buddy

Today has been a strange day for me. I had to take my sweet Buddy to see Dr. Waters this morning. Buddy has not been feeling well for about a week or so. I kept telling my DH that something was wrong with Buddy and he kept telling me that he was just feeling neglected. What do men know? Anyway, I knew something was wrong with Buddy as he hasn't been eating and he has been shivering a lot and moving very, very slowly. I remembered during the night that dogs in pain will often shiver. I was so upset because Buddy had extensive back surgery 4 years ago and my first thought was that his back was going out again. The surgery was very expensive and I had already made the decision that we would not do that again. But, it was tearing me up anyway. Did I mention how attached to Buddy I am? I know some people think it's silly, but I love that dog so much. So, I took the day off (thank God my supervisor is an animal lover) and took Buddy to Dr. Waters. He did a very thorough exam of Buddy and told me that Buddy is indeed sick. What he is sick with he is not sure. He says Buddy's liver is enlarged and that there is something hard in his abdomen. He asked me a million questions about Buddy. He had a temperature so Dr. Waters gave him an antibiotic injection in case it is some kind of intestinal infection. He wants me to bring him back tomorrow so he can do more extensive testing and draw blood for blood work. He needs to check his liver enzymes and his kidney function. Buddy has been hunkered down under his favorite fleece blanket all afternoon. He is not feeling well at all. Please say a prayer for my sweet boy. I tried to sew a string block, but I am far too antsy and emotional today. My daughter the nurse says it could be something really simple and it could be, but Dr. Waters looked a little too concerned for me.

Our other dog, Jax who injured himself last week is nearly back to normal now. That is a good thing. I thought I was going to have to take him in to see Dr. Waters too for a few days, but he is doing good.

Some of my Projects

I thought I would post a few projects that I have going on today. I hope you enjoy looking at them.

First off are some ice cream cones that I have been making here and there for a future Project Linus quilt. I have 10 made, but would like to make 15 for a good sized child's quilt. I don't have a timetable for this one, but hope to finish it by year's end. I will be practicing my machine quilting on this one. LOL! I hope the child who gets it won't mind.

I have also been making string blocks here and there for a string quilt. As with the ice cream cones, I have no time frame to finish this one. I cut up a bunch of scraps that my friend/fellow quilter Debi gave me (thank you Debi!) so that my little grandaughter, Valerie could work on a string quilt too. That is how I got started on making them. :) I tried one out so I could see if I thought wee Val could do it and ended up making some more. I hope Valerie can spend the day with me soon so she can actually make some more. I think she has only gotten one made and that was on a Sunday afternoon after church and she was sharing my machine with her mom who was trying one out too.

Last but not least is the Churn Dash quilt that I am making for my oldest grandson, Brandon. I am working on squaring this quilt up today so that I can get the binding on and give it to Brandon. He has been waitng patiently for me to finish it. :)

That's all for now! Make it a great day!

I spent the day today with my grandson, Austin. I had fun, but boy am I tired! He is so full of energy. We went shopping for school clothes and a new toy. I think we stood in the toy section at Wal-Mart for an hour at least. He could not decide if he wanted a new Transformer, Ben-Ten, Power Ranger or Star Wars toy. He finally, finally decided on a Star Wars transformer. We had breakfast at McDonald's before we went shopping. He ate a hash brown, 1 and a half sausage patties, 1 pancake and some of my eggs with chocolate milk. He can already put away the food. His mother will be at her wit's end in a few years if I remember correctly. :)

I was planning on going to the Quilt Mercantile as he has been there with me before, but after spending so long in the toy section, I decided to just come home. We played with his new toy and goofed around the rest of the afternoon until he had to go home.

I need to get to work on finishing his Spiderman quilt that I am making for him. He has his room decorated in Spiderman. I found some pillow panels on Ebay and am making him a quilt out them. The top is finished, just needs to be quilted and the binding put on. I am not good at machine quilting, so I may practice on something else first before I attempt his Spiderman quilt. I think I'll practice on a new throw for Buddy. He won't mind if the quilting is not too good. :)

I love that we are getting some rain again. I know they don't need it down in the Hill country and down around Houston, but we did. Plus, it keeps the temp down below 100, which is always good in Texas.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and do some quilting!

I am so glad that today is Thursday which is my Friday at work! I get to be off tomorrow and hopefully get some sewing done. I need to square up a quilt I am doing for my oldest grandson and get the binding on so he can have it. I also have another one that just needs a binding.

I am going to go shopping tomorrow and take advantage of the tax free weekend. My youngest grandson, Austin is starting school (kindergarten) and needs some new shoes and a couple more uniforms. I think uniforms are a great idea but since he has never been to school he needs everything related to the uniforms. He is excited about starting school. I just hope he stays excited.

My sweet Jax is still hurting some. He is doing a 3 legged walk now when he gets up. I checked that paw again last night and can find no obvious sign of injury. If he isn't a lot lot better by Saturday, I guess I will take him to the vet. He has a bit more spark in his eyes, but you can tell he is still hurting.

I can't believe I am wanting it to rain after ALL the rain we had earlier this summer, but I am. I am having to water my flowers and stuff now, so I am quite ready for it to rain here.

I have been reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I am on number 4, Drums of Autumn. I can't believe that I have never read this series as reading used to be my only hobby. Who all in blog land has read this series? I might be one of a very, very few who hasn't. So far, I have enjoyed everyone of the books and would probably even read them again in a few years.


I hope all of you have a marvelous evening and a great Friday!

Christmas and Other Things

I was thinking about Christmas coming up at work today and wanted to post a pic of a quilt I made last year. It is called My Brick Road to Christmas. I used the YBR pattern and I really like it. I sent it to Valerie Bradley to be quilted and she did a wonderful job of quilting it. I can't wait to actually use it this year. My oldest daughter, Stefani who does not like quilts even liked this one. She asked me could she have it and I told her I'd leave it in the will for her. :) Some of you have probably seen it partially finished, but here it is completely finished.

Here it is Wednesday and I haven't sewn anything since Sunday. Sometimes, I don't sew any during the week, but I usually always do something on the weekend pertaining to quilting. I might work until 7 at night some nights, so am usually pooped when I get home. I need to retire, I need to retire. :)

I'm looking forward to going to the Plano Quilt Show on the 25th and seeing Jan, Debi, Brenda, Sallie and whoever else comes again. I didn't get to go to the big Dallas show this year, so this will be a treat.

I had to play vet before I ever left for work this morning. Our mutt dog, Jax, who is a REAL sweetheart was just not acting like Jax. I know everyone of my pets habits and how they act from day to day, (but try to convince my hubby of that) like most pet owners and I knew something was wrong with him. When I went to check him over, he had no Jax spark in his beautiful amber eyes. Don't you wish your pets could talk sometimes and tell you what it wrong? Anyway, after a cursory check I knew it was his paw, but couldn't really tell what was wrong, but it was bleeding. I checked for snakebite as we have seen too many copperheads and water moccasins this year. I finally decided that he somehow cut his paw between 2 toes and it must have smarted good. I doused it with hydrogen peroxide and he was licking it all off when I left. He is limping like crazy tonight when he isn't just holding that leg up, but he had some spark back in his eyes tonight. He should be fine in a day or two.

Make it a great day!

A New Ride and Other Things

Last week my DH went and bought us a new Mitsubishi Outlander, 2007 model. He had been wanting one for a year at least. When he gets a new car in his head, he can be like a bulldog.......he won't let go until he gets one. I bet a lot of husbands are like that. :) I had said no for quite a while as I really liked my Galant and saw no good reason to get something different. But, he is good to me and never ever complains about all the quilting stuff I accumulate.....so I gave in. I am the one driving it though and I am finally getting more used to it. I had never driven an SUV before and didn't think I would like it, but I do. It handles very well and has a great AC, which is of utmost importance here in Texas with our 100+ days in summertime. I had picked out a blue one, but it wasn't available for some reason, so we got a silver one. I plan on going to our property in Colorado to see how it really handles soon. That should be fun!
Cooper, our youngest doxie is doing great in obedience school. I was determined to have one dog that came when called, stayed when told to, etc. So, he and I signed up for obedience classes. Buddy is pretty good at obeying me, but if he sees a rabbit or something and starts after it, he loses all ability to hear me. After losing our sweet Murphy to coyotes last summer, I wasn't having another one that didn't obey instantly. I was amazed at how quickly Cooper is catching on to everything. He has learned a lot. My favorite thing so far is to put a treat in front of him and tell him to leave it and he does until I tell him he can have it. That amazes my grandchildren too. Travis wants him to obey him to, but since he has spent zero time working with him, Cooper does not obey him. I am trying to convince Travis to work with him too.
It's going to be another barn burner today, but at least I'll be indoors. I am so thankful that I have an indoor job. I could not work outside. I hope to retire in the next few years though and spend more time quilting!

Make it a great day!

What's in a Name?

Have you ever wondered how quilt blocks got the names they have? I know I have. Some blocks are very easy to see how/why they got their names, but some just leave me wondering. Take for instance..........the Churn Dash......which for years was my favorite block and is still a favorite, but how did it come by the name Churn Dash? There is nothing in that block that would make me think of a churn or dashing? I guess I could do some research, but sometimes I just like to wonder what our foremothers were thinking when they named blocks. The 4 patch, 9 patch and most star blocks are relatively easy to figure out, I think, but you have to really stretch the imagination for some other ones. Maybe that's what our foremothers were doing......stretching their imaginations or perhaps they were just expressing their creativity in the best way possible at that time. I guess I will just keep on wondering about it.

Make it a great day!

Some of my Quilts

I thought that I would post some pics of a few quilts that I have made over the years.

First up is a pink/white nine patch that I made for my sweet granddaughter Valerie. I normally really like 2 color quilts, but I was very sick of pink by the time I finished this quilt. Pink was her favorite color at the time so I had to use pink. The WOW has little school icons on it.......pencils, ABC's, schoolhouses. I thought it was a perfect fabric because she was just starting school.

I made this little quilt for my wonderful grandson, Austin. I was going through some old swap blocks one day and he took these blocks and was playing with them. When I went to retreive them, he didn't want to give them back to me. He said they were his. So, I made him a quilt out of them. I used the wonky setting because he was only 4 and I thought it would be a more interesting setting for him. I used red sashing because red is his favorite color.

I made this little Christmas table runner from some orphan blocks. Some of the points are cut off, which is why the blocks were in the orphan pile. I like it though and do use it at Christmas.









I will post more pics later. I have a lot of projects in various stages, but I am trying to finish some things. Maybe getting to post pics of them will motivate me.

Make it a great day!

My Introduction to Quilting

I got into quilting around 1988. I went to a church where some older ladies got together on Thursday morning in the church's family center and quilted. There were 4 or 5 younger ladies (myself included) who were interested and asked if we could join them. They graciously said yes and after some discussion decided to teach us to quilt using the "quilt as you go" method which Georgia Bobesteel had written about. They decided we would use the Dresden Plate pattern. We all went shopping for fabric, scissors, pins, thread.......everything we would need. These older ladies were not into rotary cutting, so we cut all those blades out with a template. Ugh! We would meet every Thursday morning and work on our quilts. Everyone of us finished one. I was so proud of mine and was hooked on quilting. I made a few more quilts, mostly baby quilts and then took a long hiatus from quilting due to the death of my son. I got back into quilting around 1995 and realized right away that those little old ladies (sweet as they were) had not taught us a lot of things correctly........like a consistent 1/4" seam. I started from scratch, relearning so that I would be doing it right. I was much more serious this time around and wanted to make quilts that would last for years and not just through a few washings! I love quilting......it is more than a pasttime for me as it is for most quilters. I still have that Dresden Plate, but I know that it is not going to be an heirloom and that there are lots and lots of mistakes in it. I keep it so I can compare my quilting now with my quilting then. I was going to post a picture of it, but I can't seem to find one on my computer. I'll have to look for one or take another one. Anyway, that is the skinny on how I got into quilting!

Make it a great day!