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!