Just 3 months later!

I'm always trying to remember when things happened, cuz my memory is so bad!  I can never pinpoint anything, not even close, to when it actually happened.  Sometimes I'm months off!  It's so frustrating!  And even more so, when a much-older person starts telling me a story, and they can say stuff like, "Back in May of '56, we blah blah blah."  How do they do that?

Anyway, my reference to just 3 months ago, is the pic I posted on here of my Christmas cactus in full bloom.  (Thank goodness I blogged about it, cuz honestly, I couldn't remember when it bloomed!  Sheesh!)  When I asked my hubby back then how many times it bloomed a year, he said 2.  I thought it was more, and at this rate, we're talking 4!  HA!  Here it is today, 3 months later, not in full bloom, but a good try!  Love it when plants give a good try!  It's so endearing!  Makes you want to give em a little pep talk!  Yeah plant....go go go!

I've been quilting my brains out.....the Sue and Sam top is finished, and the pieced back is finished (finally), and will sandwich it tomorrow, cuz I need to get this thing quilted ASAP!  We leave for CA in 15 days!  Yeah, I love deadlines!  They work for me!  It's the only way I ever FINISH one!  Otherwise, I just keep starting new ones!  I guess that's my thing.....I really like the process......think about it......look at a gazillion pics.....finally pick one.....dig through the fabrics and scraps......cut like a maniac......get the top pieced......put it away, and start a new one!  I probably have at least 2 dozen (or more) tops just waiting for the quilting and binding.

I think this is where I'm supposed to make the commitment to finish _____ (insert number here) UFO's this year.  But even with my new machine, and my fondness for FMQ, I really love the piecing part the best!

And I know a lot of people (most of my quilting friends) who send out there tops to be quilted, and they love that!  But I'm too much of a control freak to think to have anyone else work on one of my quilts!  It's just not me!  And it wouldn't feel like 'my' quilt if someone else quilted it!  Yeah, I have had help before on a quilt.   My dear friend in Massachusetts (she's 90 now!) helped me piece a drunkard's path.  We worked on blocks one afternoon while I was visiting with her.  She didn't have a project started, and she didn't want to waste any visiting time trying to think up something to do, so we worked on mine, and we had a wonderful visit.  I cherish that quilt (still a top! lol) because Rita had a hand in it!  My cousin saw it years ago, and said she'd love to have it, and I thought ok, but I've since worked up a plan for a different quilt for her, cuz there is just no way I'm giving up the one Rita helped me on!  That one is staying put!  But other than that, I just don't think I could have someone do the quilting of one of mine.

I guess I just need to get busy.....make a list.....and get some of these done!

Ok.....that's the plan.....and now that I've posted this.....I'm committed!  You're a witness!  lol

As soon as I get the Sue and Sam quilt done, I'm going to organize the UFO's, get a plan, and get started on them.  Oh, and the Sue and Sam quilt has turned into a monster!  It's the biggest quilt I've ever made!  I wasn't paying much attention to the size of it, cuz really, when I'm piecing on point, the math is too hard, so I just wait til the end and see what happens!  Well, oh boy!  The top is 80 x 100!  Holy crap!  Who knew it could get that big!?!  It didn't look that big on the design wall!  But it is.....and that's why the backing took so long to piece!  It had to be a monster, too!  Sheesh!

Ok.....so I'll post pics tomorrow of it pinned.  Can't wait to get started on the quilting!

Have a great day!

regan

Adding to the Stash!

I've nearly got the Sue and Sam quilt ready for sandwiching....just finishing up the pieced backing tonight.  Will sandwich it tomorrow at the town office (on those really big tables....sweet!), and then I'll get pics of it.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the latest fabric purchase.....and I don't feel guilty at all....cuz they were all $1.99 a yard!  YEAH!  We have this outlet shop, mostly for upholstery yardage, but they have a section of cottons, and it seems they LOVE to put stuff on major markdown, to move it out!  And I'm so obliging, that I feel I 'must' help them out!  I'm doing them a favor, right?  lol

It was kindof funny.....when I had all these flatfolds in my arms, heading for the cutting tables, my hubby was getting fabric cut too.  (He makes kites, and they have his ripstop at this place, as well.)  So the gal finished his stuff, and I said "I have these to cut, too!"  Well, each piece she took out, I'd say a yard, or two, and as she was unfolding to measure, there would be about 1/2 of a yard more than what I asked for.....so I said, "oh, I'll just take the whole piece."  Why leave a 1/2 yard behind, right?  Well......that happened for EVERY piece of fabric!  She never had to cut anything!  Of course, my husband is standing there......rolling his eyes......and we're all laughing at each 'I'll take it all' comment.....it was quite fun!

I have to admit.....my hubby is really quite a good sport about it all.  Of course, his ripstop stash is overflowing the room he uses for sewing.....so he can't really say anything!  One day, when it's sunny out, I'll take some pics of the kites he's made.....they are really quite beautiful!  And he does really nice work.

So, I'm getting more time for quilting now.  I've spent the last week typing two books for a local author, and I finished the drafts today.  He writes out his draft in longhand, and I transcribe it.....and his handwriting is almost illegible.  I've gotten used to it, but it still makes me really ponder what the heck he's written sometimes.  The worst part about it.....he likes to make up words!  Seriously!  And I've argued with him.....until I'm blue in the face.....but he insists that 'its his style' and he makes me leave it in, wrong or not!  He's self-published, so he doesn't have an editor.....which he really needs, but refuses.  What an ego!  The thing is.....when he's writing about his game warden days, and stories about the woods.....it's really quite good.....and interesting!  But he gets on these weird ideas, and sometimes sex scenes, and all I can do is scream, "Nooooooo," the whole time I'm typing them!  Thankfully, those scenes are extremely mild, and very quick.....but it's just not something I want to be discussing with this guy!  That's just creepy!

Gratefully, he works with my husband, so I can pretty much just send stuff with him when he goes to work, and I get revisions back.....and I hardly have to talk to this guy!  Good thing, cuz he makes me crazy!  He's just so weird sometimes......this is the guy who used to put a little bleach in his drinking water....cuz he wanted to kill the bacteria and keep himself clean inside!  Can you imagine!?!  And he smelled of beach.....a lot!  I used to refer to him as "Bleach Boy"!  HA!  Thankfully, his doctor made him stop that craziness!  But the thought of it just reminds me how weird he is!  Oh, and he's the biggest male chauvinist pig you've ever met!  He's been married 3 times, and thinks he's an expert on women, and thinks all women are lowly, scheming, conniving, evil-doers....  and his books reflect this attitude!  He's such a pig!

So why do I do this typing......cuz it's pretty good money, and I have lots of trips coming up!  Each time I finish a book, though, I always say....."This is the last one I'm doing for this guy!"   We'll see what happens.

Anyway, that was my week, and I had way too much birthday cake, so I'm up 2 pounds!  Dang!

I need to go sew, and stop eating!

Have a good day!

regan

Another chance to win one! Woohoo!

Anita at BedofRosesMQ, is having a giveaway of Bonnie Hunter's book Scraps and Shirttails II!  Thanks so much Anita!  We love giveaways! 

 

You can enter until Friday the 25th.....so there's still plenty of time!  Sweet!

Do ya feel lucky?......well, do ya?

regan

What was I thinking???

I've had the Sunbonnet Sue/Overall Sam quilt pin basted now for nearly two weeks.  Have I even touched it?.....No!  I was dreading it!  I had come up with an all over heart-on-a-vine type quilting design for it, but that was a far as I had gone.  Didn't even want to think about it!  And I put in the spare room, and closed the door!  Didn't even want to look at it!  Sheesh!  Something's wrong here!  But what!?!

Then I got on the blogs this morning and it hit me like a lightening bolt!

You know how sometimes you just have to hear someone else say it.....and then it all makes sense.  You can be thinking the thoughts, but they are all jumbled in your mind.....but the minute someone else says it......there!  That's it!  THANK YOU!

There I was on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog, and over the weekend she was making a baby quilt.  And (I think it was Saturday) she was having a devil of time making sense of the sashing.  She was feeling obligated to incorporate the minty green color scheme of the baby's room.  And it just wasn't happening for her.  The green didn't look right, and colors to complement it didn't work either.  No matter what combo she tried, it just wasn't good.  Kindof put her at a standstill.

And then she realized she needs put her own look to the quilt, so she could be happy with it.  And it turned out beautifully (of course it did!....her quilts always looking amazing!)

So I was really thinking about the Sue and Sam quilt after that, cuz I KNOW the reason I don't want to deal with it is because it is not ME at all!  Nothing about it is anything I would normally do.  I was totally trying to make a quilt my MIL would think was pretty.  And was second guessing myself the whole way, cuz let's face it......her comment on receiving it is going to be "Well, it's about time!".....so does it really matter what I think she might like!?!  NO!  I should be making something I want to work on.....with choices of fabrics that I would normally pick......so I can love every minute of doing it!  This was my lightning bolt moment!

Then, I was still browsing blogs, and came across a new one (to me) and whammo......another bolt!  Karen at Little Pieces of My Life had a Sue and Sam quilt right there for me to find.....and love everything about it!  Oh my goodness!  I'm so very happy right now!

I've just spent the entire afternoon unpinning and then seam ripping the entire top of the Sue and Sam quilt.  It is now back to single blocks, and I'm digging through the stash right now to put some fun colors and patterns with the blocks!  No more solid pink!  Whew!

The thought of all that pink, and all the perfect quilting it would need through the solid parts.....well, it was just a nightmare to me!

And Karen's setting will totally work with my blocks.....each of which is a different size, because of the aging and fraying.  I can add a bunch of rounds like a log cabin block, and still keep them on point with off-set rows.  I'm so looking forward to this now.  I will post a pic when I have some put together.

In the meantime, I've been working on my Roll-Roll Cotton Boll quilt from Bonnie.  I got a late start to the mystery, and only had the first two segments done before it was finished by Bonnie.  But it turned out for the best, cuz I needed to make changes to it, but there was no way to know what to change until it was over, and you could see how it all came together.

First off.....there is nothing king size in our house.....that is just way too big for us!  So I knew I was going to have to scale it down to a queen at the most......and this was where the tricky part was.  How do you know midway in a mystery what percentage of pieces you will need for a different size!?!  There's just no way to tell!  So, I was glad I was late.

As it worked out.....I totally skipped the string blocks and decided to sash the pieced blocks instead.  I also changed some color schemes a bit.....no red.  Instead, I did the 1/2 square triangles with neutral and brown.  And I put them on facing out......which gave the inside blocks a kindof spinning effect!  Love it!

In the pic, I was trying out the different combos for the sashing and cornerstones.  Have decided on the pink sash and brown stones, which is good, cuz I don't think I have enough of the browns for the sashings.

I will still use the border pieces that were cut on the first segment of the mystery!  Love the way they look!  I'll have a bunch left over, but maybe I will do something with them on the back.  Will post more pics when I get more of this done!

Hope you're having a great day!

regan

Best Hubby Ever!

Ok, so yesterday I posted how my hubby John made a fabulous computer set up for me at my treadmill!  And then took me to dinner at our favorite place.  What a great guy!

Well, we had a fabulous dinner, and the dessert was pretty good, but not the cake that I had had back in December.  I was really having a hankering for the Lemon and Berries Cake with Mascarpone filling that I had back then, but they didn't have it last night.  Oh well, maybe next time!  :o)

Anyway, I get home from work tonight.....and John has made me a cake!  And it's chocolate with chocolate frosting!  OH YEAH!  So I had cake first, and then dinner!  It's only right....right?

Oh, and did I mention....he also did the laundry and dishes while I was at work!  (Of course, the dishes is 'his' job usually, cuz about 15 years ago I said one day that doing the dishes makes my 'princess hands' rough, and he said, "I don't mind doing them.".....and I immediately said, "Great.....they're yours now!".....and I've only done dishes maybe 4 times a year since then!  But the laundry.....now we're talkin very cool!

Yep, it's official!  He is the best hubby ever!  Just me braggin a bit.....hope you don't mind!


Have a wonderful day!

regan

Unbelievable!

We are snowbound right now (like a lot of you), and I have pretty much been quilting non-stop!  Sweet!

So yesterday, I'm quilting away, and my hubby comes into the room and says, "I want to show you something."  Well, this could be bad or good, you just never know with him.  One time he said that, and it was a leaky roof, and another time is was a newly painted bathroom!  So, I followed, wondering what I would see!

He takes me to the basement, and shows me my treadmill.....complete with tv and computer setup!

Unbelievable!!!!  I have the best husband ever!

So here's what happened.....about a month ago, my hubby was at the dump.  For those of you in any small town, or anywhere in New England, going to the dump is like a party.  That's where all the guys meet up, tell the local news, sit with the dump guys (the two that run the place), yak it up, and they can do this for hours!  The only thing missing is beer!  Well, my hubby doesn't ever stay long.....just long enough to be thought of when the dump gets anything in the way of electronics.  Cuz my hubby is known as 'the fix it guy'.  Whenever one of our friends has a computer problem.....they call him.  He is always needing to fix someone's computer, cuz these dopes are always downloading crap with viruses!  Sheesh!  They never learn!

Anyway, so last month, the dump guy gives John (my hubby) a laptop that was brought in that didn't work.  He said, "Do you think you could fix it, cuz I'd really like to have one."  So John took it home, and with a new little gizmo (don't ask me....I don't have a clue) for about $10, he got is running fine!  So he takes it back to the dump guy, and made his day!

So I told John, if ever they have another laptop at the dump, get it, cuz I would love to have one set up at my treadmill.....that way I could be walking while I'm on the computer checking out my blogs and emails.  That usually takes me about an hour every day, and I've been feeling very guilty about just sitting there, when I really should be walking!  Especially since I've been spending so much time sitting and quilting lately. 

Of course, when I had the idea, I checked out laptops at the stores, and my best bet would have been about $300.  But I'm do damned frugal to spend that, when I could just wait and get a dump one!  I like to be frugal when I can.....ok.....reality is:  I'm cheap cheap cheap!  Yep, that's me!  (That's why I still don't have a new fridge, the one with the freezer on the bottom, cuz our old one that is 40+ years old, is still running!
Sheesh!  But that's another story!)

So.....flash forward to yesterday.....and I walk down into the basement, and there is my treadmill, with keyboard on top, a computer screen on top of a newly constructed shelf, mouse on a pedestall next to treadmill, and a tv, just in case I run out of blogs to read!

Ok.....I know it's not pretty, but it's a basement in a 155 year old house, and the main thing is.....it works!  I was on the treadmill this morning for 2 1/2 hours......yikes!  Ok, half the time was on blogs, the other half was poker!  But the time flew by.....I had no idea how long I'd been walking, cuz I was so busy on the net!  Perfect!  Just what I hoped for!

I'm so happy with my little set up.  And the best part, was that all these components were just sitting around.  John has so many spare parts for computers, and he just put it all together!  Sweet!  Didn't cost a thing!

So, the roads are cleared and John just asked if I wanted to go to dinner tonight.....and all I could think of was the 900+ calories lost from working out......I could have cake!  Yippee!

I'm having such a good day!

Hope you have a really good day, too!

regan

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day!

I was reading my favorite blogs this morning, and Peg at Straight Up - No Chaser was talking about the movie Ground Hog Day.  I personally love this movie, I've seen it a million times!  Love Bill Murray in this type roll (not these dry/humorless/dramatic roles he seems to think are good for him now).  Anyway, Peg asked the question, if you could relive a day over and over, what day would you pick?

So it got me really thinking.  And I started to reminisce about some really good times we've had as a family, and just the two of us, and then just me alone.

First thing I realized was that there were not very many 'great' days of just me alone.  Big eye opener!  Because I always relish the time I spend alone, just quilting, or watching old movies, or baking, or whatever.  But I realized those are just nice times, within a day filled with other people.  Yeah, I like my quiet-alone time, but could I do that 'all' the time.....no!  I need people around; not a crowd, cuz I don't like chaos, but a few will do.

Then my hubby walked in, and I told him what the blog was about, and I said, "remember that 4th of July....." and he instantly knew which one I meant!  I was a really GREAT day for us both!  It was back in 1985, in San Diego, at the beach on the base, and it was a big Navy Family Day.  The kids were 7, 9, and 11 then.  There were grills going all day long with hot dogs and burgers, the kids could run around and play in the water all day, eat when they wanted, tons of fun, and at the end, all 5 of us were laying on the beach, snuggled under a blanket, and the fireworks was going off directly over us!  It was perfect.....almost unbelievable, like in the movies where it all looks too picture-perfect and everyone is way too happy.....but it WAS perfect, and really memorable.  And I loved that my hubby thought the same thing!

Then I realized that we had a lot of really great days like that!  A lot were on vacations, so I could pinpoint the exact day, like at the Grand Canyon, or the reunion in Seattle, but when I really started thinking about it, we've had more good days than anything else!

Oh sure, we've had some really awful days, like when my FIL passed away a few years ago.  Or when my hubby was diagnosed with prostate cancer 2 years ago.  (He's totally cured, by the way!  Yippee!)  But when I think about it, there have been very few awful days.  Mostly good!

And it got me thinking about how everyone looks at January 1st as the day to make resolutions.....things they want to do, things they want to change, new habits to form, get rid of stuff.....all of it!  And it's all with the intent to 'improve' things in their life.

And I looked at my own life and thought.....does it need improving?  I think I'm pretty content.

Oh sure, we don't have tons of money to burn like a lot of our friends.....I still wash out zip lock bags to reuse until they're dead, and hound my hubby to turn off lights, and the heat is waaaay down and we're in lots of layers.  But there's enough food in this house to last until June, and we both have part time jobs to supplement the Navy retirement, and our kids don't hate us, and they don't live with us, and I lost 2 pounds this week.

So I'm sitting here, February 1st, thinking that if I had to relive a day over and over.....it could be any of the last few days.....I got to quilt, hubby and I watched a few movies together, we made Mexican food, it's snowing and beautiful out......yeah.....I could relive these days.....life is good!

Have a Happy Groundhog Day!

regan