Finished by Friday

Look at what leftover Joel Dewberry fabrics can make:

The quilt is 36x40, because that's how much fabric I had. I used Mountain Mist White Rose batting. It's a lot thinner than I expected, but it's super soft. This quilt has an incredible amount of drape. Once it's done serving time as a class sample, some baby will love it. Confession, I did buy .5 yards of new fabric for the binding. I didn't have enough scraps to do even a strippy binding.

I teach longarm quilting and rotate my trunk of samples regularly. This one is going into the trunk as a sample of meandering:

My trunk is full of scrap quilts and quilts from kits I've picked up over time. Making myself change out the quilts every 3-6 months is a great motivation for me. When a feathered quilt has to retire, I look through the sewing room for a quilt that would look good with feathers on it. Then I take the time to piece and quilt it. When quilts retire, they are usually given away. I figure in about 150 years, I'll make a dent in the fabric that is already in the sewing room. How did it all get in here?

So this is the dining room?

My husband bought me patio table for my birthday. My birthday is before Mother's Day. After endless days of too hot, too rainy, too humid..... we finally got to eat outside. It was delightful.




My I'd-much-prefer-to-be-inside-thankyouverymuch cats were locked outside with us. After a half hour of cringing in the corners, they almost relaxed for a minute.



Looking at these photos makes me realize just how far from magazine perfect my house and yard are. I live in the woods, so my house is much closer to 'Outdoor Life' than it is to 'Better Homes and Gardens'. I know that, but sometimes I want the 'House Beautiful' version. Bathrooms that aren't Harvest Gold, Avocado, or Robin's Egg Blue. Windows that don't fall down and smash your hand (that would be my hand and yes, it hurts). A perfectly manicured lawn that someone else takes care of. And much, much more.

Sigh.

__________

Quilting Progress: I finished piecing the blocks for TQTSNBP #4. I also cut up scrap fabric for an hour. Barely made a dent.

I'm not cool

I was trying to be cool like, "Yeah, so I have a quilt in a magazine. Yawn", but that doesn't work for me. A quilt that I quilted is in a magazine and I'm rather excited.

Check it out. (scroll down to Summer Breeze)

Or, buy The Quilter Magazine September issue and turn to page 32.

Funny-looking birds

I looked out my front door this morning and found a funny-looking bird in my tree:

After six years in this house, we're finally getting rid of the scariest of our trees. Scary as in "will fall on the house and destroy all within," not "spooky" scary like this:



(but this tree is gone now, too). See?:

Being the proud owner of a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old, I've deluded myself into thinking that my industrious children will turn this (and all the other downed trees) into firewood:

We'll see how that goes.

In case you were wondering, these make a lot of noise:

__________

Quilt Progress: I pieced the blocks for a third TQTSNBP. I also cut through some of my scrap basket fabric. I think someone sneaks in my house at night and adds scrap fabric to the pile. Does this happen to anyone else?

Not a big fan of change

My son is home from college which means our family milk consumption has increased by a factor of 10. I bought milk 3 days ago. It looked just like this:



Today I bought milk again, but it looked like this:



Was the change necessary? Did all milk jugs change, or just the ones at SAMs? Does it remind anyone else of an elementary school-sized bottle of Elmer's Glue?
__________

Caffeine withdrawal update: Better, but I'd still run most people down for a Diet Dr. Pepper. Maybe tomorrow will be better? My family truly hopes so.
__________

Quilting progress: I quilted a simple sample to add to my teaching kit. I will post pictures after it's been bound.

A day that begins with the dentist....

.... has to get better, right?

Let me start with

"I hate going to the dentist."

In most areas of my life, I'm a grown up. I do things I don't want to do and try not to complain too much. I can clean bathrooms, do my taxes, and accomplish many other unpleasant things, but going to the dentist is in a completely different category. I can't stand having my teeth touched. By a sharp metal object. And scraped. I have good teeth. I've never had a cavity. I can't imagine having bad teeth and having to endure this torture more often.

Today's torture was even more effective than usual. They used a high-speed water-shooting whirring thingie on my teeth. I had to stop Heidi several times to give me time to shake and whimper and curl up in a corner. I love making a good impression like that. I'm sure she's going to bring a video camera next time so she and all of her friends can have a good laugh at my expense.

I wasn't very awake when I went in first thing this morning hoping to semi-sleep through the trauma. I was in jeans and a t-shirt and a wet-hair ponytail and wasn't wearing any makeup. After the water-torture, I was glad that I hadn't taken any time on my appearance. My face and hair were soaked; I'm so glad I was only going home!

Since I was out of the dentist's office by 9:30 am, the bars weren't open yet. I had to find some other way to put my ordeal behind me. What would a quilter do? I took an hour and cut up my scraps and sewed some completely unnecessary blocks and enjoyed myself immensely.

__________

Caffeine withdrawal update: My family is threatening to hold me down and caffeinate me against my will. It's like they think I'm grumpy or something. Harumpf! Like a second day of a killer headache wouldn't leave any reasonable human dying for a Diet Dr. Pepper.
__________

I did make some progress in the dining sewing room today. The other day I finished piecing The-Quilt-That-Shall-Not-Be-Photographed (hereafter known as TQTSNBP). Today I finished piecing the blocks for a second TQTSNBP. Once I can show photos I'll show several of them, I'm sure. I have plans to make at least 5 or 6 of TQTSNBP. Yeah, I'm not at all well.

Caffeine Withdrawal Rocks!

This is about the 10th time I've had to withdraw from caffeine. Each time I swear it will be the last.

May the headache end soon and may I not be stupid enough to get hooked on caffeine yet again.

If anyone needs me, I'll be resting in a dark room.

__________

My quilting progress today was interrupted by my incredible headache. I did manage to finish binding an old class sample, though.

A day of firsts

Today, for the first time ever, I watched a young man hop across a four-lane road with his pants around his ankles. You read that correctly. He pulled his trousers up once on the other side of the road, but they fell down again shortly after. His boxers were blue, in case you wonder.

Also for the first time ever, I sat in my kitchen for 10 minutes and watched a deer sneeze. Loudly. Repeatedly. She kept shaking her head and scratching her nose. I'm not sure if she's suffering from the same allergies as the humans in this area or if she was having a serious issue with an insect. My daughter sat with me and watched for a while. And you wonder why we don't need television? "Must-see TV .... the involuntary reactions of wildlife". Ok, so that doesn't really work.

About now you must be asking, "Where are the pictures?" Well, the first event was so shockingly sudden that I didn't have time to get the camera out of my purse while driving. The deer sneezing incident wasn't captured due to failing batteries (even though they were new batteries just yesterday).

Enjoying the wonder,
Debby

__________

Today's quilting progress was to simply piece the backing of the super-bright quilt. I'll post photographs when it's completely done, binding and all.

It's starting to look like a quilt!

My daughter suggested that I might be able to tone this down with a calm border. Is it really that loud?

I'm thinking yellow border and quilting. We'll see how it goes.

More pictures later.

__________

Today's progress was piecing the top pictured above and adding the yellow borders. I showed my husband the quilt with borders on it and asked if they had the hoped-for calming effect. "Nothing is going to calm that down," was his reply.

for Jenny

The quilt pattern I've made the most of is one of my own. It's terribly simple. I make 160 four-patches from my 2-inch square basket and then set them with 160 off-white squares. There are 20 rows of 16 squares. I add 6-inch borders and the quilt is 60x72 inches, a perfect size for snuggling in a college dorm. I've probably made 15-20 of these quilts, just because the scrap bins keep overflowing.

This one is for Jenny:



I have 3-4 more of these tops just waiting to be quilted.

I know I should retire this pattern at some point, but it's so easy and there are so many little scraps of fabric longing to be part of a quilt someday.

And yes, my son came home from college on Saturday for the sole purpose of holding my quilts for photography.

__________

I'm trying to finish up a bunch of sewing projects that have taken up my dining room table for far too long. My hope is to make some real progress every day.

Today I finished piecing a quilt top that I cannot show you yet. The second I have permission to do so, I shall. My husband says it looks just like me. I'll let you wonder if that's good or bad.

Quilt Pix

I am a gal who loves to nap. Well, I used to love to nap. Now naps are mostly a fond memory. One of the earlier quilts I made was a red/white/black nap quilt for myself. It's lived on the sofa for several years. It's traveled with me to many hotel rooms. I love that quilt.

Over the winter I saw P&Bs Pop Parade fabric line and thought it would be the perfect Nap Quilt II. I pieced and quilted it and let it hang as a sample in the local quilt shop for a while. It's been part of my teaching trunk show and now it's bound and ready to be used.

Today I was quilting by 6am. I stopped for the day shortly after noon and decided on this very rainy afternoon that it was time for the maiden voyage of the Nap Quilt.

Darkened living room... check. XFiles season 1 on the DVD player... check. Nap QuiltII ... check. Cue eerie theme from the television. Ready, set, ...... phone rings. I answered and was fairly abrupt with the caller. Rewind dvd. Ready, set, nap .... for 10 minutes. Then the phone rang again and I had to get up and have a long job-related conversation.

But for 10 entire minutes, I napped. It was glorious.

Here's the quilt:

The pattern is called Splash. The pattern uses 2.5-inch strips of fabric and looks completely different depending on the fabrics selected.

Please ignore the laundry pole. In addition to naps, I love to hang laundry. It's the simple things in life, really.

Here's a closeup of the quilting. The continuous curve is freehand and therefore not perfect. I

love it anyway. It's PINK!

And here's the back:

The quilt shop didn't have enough yardage of any one fabric for a back, so I picked four brown and pink fabrics and like it even better this way!

May your life be filled with quilts and naps.

Reading is FUN

damental. Does anyone else remember that old commercial? RIF. I remember, and I also remember how to read. Here are some of the books I've finished lately.

Lady of Desire by Gaelen Foley. Read from JFK to Dulles to Salt Lake City. I was friends with the author in junior high and high school. We lost touch when I moved away after graduation. Last year I happened on her name on the NY Times Bestseller list and then purchased all of her books. They rock! OK, so they are Regency-era steamy romance novels, but they are good Regency-era steamy romance novels. I read one each time I fly. If her books were available on audio, I'd be finished with them all by now. As it stands, they are a nice treat when I travel. Like chocolate.

L.A. Outlaws by T. Jefferson Parker. I listened to this one while driving to and from western Pennsylvania. I really enjoyed it, but I'm meh about the ending. The more I think about the ending, the more I like it. I guess the fact that I'm still thinking about the ending shows it was better than meh after all.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. Teenage werewolf books? Bring them on! My daughter read it and really enjoyed it, but part way through I had to IM my daughter with a "we need to chat" message. Words every 17-year-old loves to hear from her mother, I'm sure. I needed to chat about finishing the book. Some situations in books and movies make me very uncomfortable and I have to stop reading/watching. I was hitting that point in this book, but my daughter assured me it was OK to continue. She was right. Does anyone else have problems like that? No? Just me? Thought so. Oh, and my daughter told me under no circumstances should I watch the movie of the same name. Apparently it's stinky.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This is probably the best book I've read this year. It was written for young adults but it's obvious that the author respects his audience and wrote for them something that is real and desperate and hopeful and lasting. You should check out this little book. Run to your local library. Now. I'll wait.

Are you back from the library? Good. Now I can explain by my booklist is so short this week. I worked an absolutely insane number of hours last week and even so didn't finish many audiobooks. That is likely explained by the fact that I watched listened to seasons 1-4 of NYPD Blue while I worked. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that show when it was on TV. When oh when will they release season 5?

The Joy of Sewing

Since there are 12 million things I should be doing, I decided to start a new quilt instead. I found my overflowing baskets of five-inch squares and pulled out the bright and happy ones. I'm not sure how I ended up with so much fabric that wasn't bright and happy, but I did and the unhappy squares are safely tucked back in their baskets. The bright fabrics, however, are spread all over the dining room.

I sewed them into random nine-patches:






Then I cut them up:





Tonight I hope to sew them back together in a pleasing arrangement. More pictures as I progress.

I don't have a specific source for this pattern. It's been published under a few names and tutorials are all over the internet.

A quilt in time saves....

.... me having to shop for a baby shower present.

I was just invited to a baby shower for a gal in my Bible study. It's in 7 days.

A year or so ago, I loaned a local retailer some quilts for a display. Unfortunately that retailer just went out of business. Fortunately, they returned my quilts. This was among them:

Baby shower present? Check!

In case you are interested, this pattern is from Confetti in the Corner by Terry Atkinson. I adore this pattern and have made several quilts from it. One of them just returned from Bolivia with my son's girlfriend. She brought her quilt so she would be less homesick.

Awwwwwwwww.

Public Service Announcement

If you have the opportunity to watch Alien Versus Predator: Requiem, opt for the root canal instead.

In the spirit of finding fun in all things, the subtitles were hi-larious. "(approaching whirring noise)" "(brooding music playing)". Here's to you, Mr. Sub-Title Writer. Strive for excellence even in the most B of B-movies. May you never misplace your thesaurus.

Dear Santa,

For Christmas, can you bring me two new cats? Mine are broken.

Spike:

Kermit:

Cats are weird.

Happiness is....

... Piecing.

I dove into the messy dining room after dinner tonight. I cleaned a little. I pieced a little. I listened to a book on my MP3 player. It was wonderful.




My 1.5-inch scrap bin is overflowing so I've been working on whittling that down. I've made a quilt like this before. I think one of my son's roommates has it. It uses tons of strips and the simplest quilting finishes it nicely.






I also finished piecing a 4-patch scrap quilt. I've probably make 15 of these quilts over the years. Usually they are made from my 2-inch square scrap box. Sometimes I make them with 1.5-inch squares in a nine-patch. In the past I've used a consistent beige and am using scrappy off-whites lately. I think I have three of these tops done now, waiting to be quilted. Several of my son's college friends have these quilts. They randomly pull them out to show Kevin their new favorite fabric. "Look, there's a chicken on this piece." It's so great to know that the quilts are loved.



Tomorrow I'm teaching all day, but it's not too far away so I'll get to sleep at home. Then I get to see my boy!!!!! I miss him a lot when he's gone, and it's always wonderful to see the man he's becoming. I'm not sure how I could be prouder of him (but I'll probably give it a try).

What to do with a sore ankle?

I just received an email from my dear friend asking where on earth I've been hiding lately. I told her I was nursing a sore ankle and she actually laughed at me.

I am a high-volume longarm quilter. I work every day. Every. Single. Day. That's normal for me. Sometimes things get even busier than that. In those cases, I joke with my friend that I'm chained to my longarm machine. Hence the sore ankle.

After several days of 12+ hours quilting, I pulled a 25-hour quilting marathon this Wednesday/Thursday. I try and avoid that whenever possible, but the photographer was waiting for the quilt. After a wake-me-up shower, I delivered quilts and taught a class. Then I collapsed and spent 16 hours blissfully unaware of the world in my cushy, comfy bed, under one of my wonderful summer-weight quilts. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

Once I was rested and fed, I returned 18 phone calls (yikes!), worked on paperwork, and did some end-of-school celebrating with my daughter (one year left!).

Now I'm bored. I could clean, but I probably won't. I could cook, but my husband started dinner in the crock pot this morning while I was still unconscious (no, you cannot have him). I could start another customer quilt, but my sore ankle........

My son is coming home from college tomorrow and bringing a friend. I could spend tonight cleaning the dining room, I guess, to make it look nice for company. Since I have 2 longarm machines in my sewing room, I sew in the dining room. Cleaning might look a whole lot like piecing a scrap quilt. It'll make it feel cleaner, at least. I think I'm not bored anymore.

Off to sew!

Word of the Day

Skadoosh!

Home n'at

I'm originally from Western Pennsylvania and I used to have the accent typical to the region. I moved away after school and have been battling that accent for nearly two decades.

This past weekend I taught a quilting class in western PA and guess what..... it's baaaaack.

I'm gonna go "warsh my tahls n'at and hang 'em ahtside"*, and once again try and kick my old accent. Wish me luck.

(*translation: launder my towels, etc., and hang them on the line to dry)

Don't have a cow!

That's my daughter's advice. She's a vegetarian.

But when the beef is this yummy, enjoy it!

We had some ah-ma-zing grilled steaks at a work dinner on Monday in Utah. I sure do love my job!

Dear Utah,

I owe you an apology. When I first visited in February, I wasn't terribly impressed. You were bleak and dreary and not so attractive. Your residents were very proud of your mountains and I couldn't understand why. I think I was comparing my mountains in the summer to your mountains when covered by the inversion.

I just returned from visiting you again. I take it all back. My mountains are special to me, but yours aren't bad at all.

Fondly and apologetically,

Debby

This was the view from my hotel parking lot. Cool, huh?

The mountains out there are so different than at home. Mine are lush and green and tree-covered. I love to hike in the shade and protection of the forest. Out in Utah, however, they are rugged and bare and grand and snow-peaked. We don't have snow-peaked where I live.

I'm going back in October for work and play and look forward to seeing the mountains dressed for yet another season.

What every hotel needs....

... is a carnival in the parking lot. Especially when it's after 9pm and you've driven about 500 miles and just want to shower and go to bed.

If I worked less....

.... I'd read fewer books.

Yet another book finished today: Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff. It's another young adult book and it wasn't bad. An 11-year-old boy is trying to solve the mystery of his past. Again, I'm not sure how this ended up in my library bag, but it did and I read it and I'm returning it in the morning.

I'm Regressing

I just read Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. I think it was written for middle school boys, but it ended up in my library bag somehow. It was short and cute and I'd love to recommend it to my nearly 13 year old nephew. Since I don't have children that age anymore, I'm not sure it's appropriate. The main character was kind of a smart mouth and I don't want to give my nephew ideas (or make my sister angry with me). He's read all the Harry Potter books, so maybe he can handle it? Ideas, please!

Do you re-read books?

I just finished The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. While reading it, I realized that I'd read it once before, only it was called The DaVinci Code when I read it the first time.

One of the characters is Danish and the narrator spoke with a wonderful accent that was just like my husband's co-worker. So at least that was good.

Product review

Red, itchy eyes. Sneezing and runny nose. Wheezing.

A cold? Hay fever? Nah.

The Furminator.

The cats have much less excess hair, but they are hiding under the furniture now. The three humans in the house are all suffering from holding the cats while using our new toy.

I dream of a house without cat hair everywhere.

Three Dog Night?

No, but it has been a Three Book Day.

Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder was a mixed bag for me. I absolutely adored Power Play when I read it in the fall. Sometimes I have to work all night and listening to a book helps the time pass more quickly. That wasn't the case with Power Play. I didn't have to work all night. I started listening to the book late in the day and had to stay up and work until 3-4am so I could finish the book. It was that good. Killer Instinct was more uncomfortable for me. It had a 'Very Bad Things (movie)' feel to it. It resolved itself by the end. I almost bailed on it a few times and I'm glad I stuck with it. I almost finished the book yesterday when driving to and from New Jersey and brought it to the studio to finish while working today. Oh, and one of the discs was scratched. I had to get the book out of the library to find out what happened. Can you imagine? Actually reading? What's next?

Abigail's Story by Ann Burton. It was the story of Abigail from the Bible. OK, so it was the author's loose interpretation of what might have been her story. It was an interesting take on the situation and I enjoyed listening on my MP3 player while cutting up fabric last night. I finished this book today while working as well.

School's Out -- Forever by James Patterson. I waited over a year for this cd set from the library. It's a great series about genetically recombined teenagers. Worth the wait. If you haven't started this series yet, why not now? Start with Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.

I have more work to do tonight, so I have another book lined up. Hopefully it will carry me through the evening. Did I mention that I have quite a bit more work to do tonight?

I'm taking a couple of long flights in the near future so I'll catch up on my sleep then.

I wasn't kidding...

... when I said I read almost a book a day.

Last night I finished White by Christopher Whitcomb. I randomly found Black on the shelf at the library when it came out and was blown away. It was intriguing and fantastic. I was so excited when I saw that Mr. Whitcomb had written another book. Reading it, however, left me much less excited. It was entertaining but lacked the impact of his first book. When it ended I was left feeling rather "so what."

I listen to several books at a time --- one in the car, one in my studio, and one on my MP3 player. My impressions of those three so far are: mixed, fantastic, undecided. I'll post reviews as I finish them.

Dang

I just realized that even with my recent birthday I'm too young to retire. Guess I'll have to keep working for a few years. That means little time to quilt, little time to hike.

Fortunately, I have plenty of time to read. I listen to books when I'm working. When I'm really busy with work, I get through nearly a book a day.

The most recent read was The Chase by Clive Cussler. I am a rabid Dirk Pitt fan, and this wasn't a book featuring that most lovely man. This was about bank robbery, antique cars, steam locomotives, and turn-of-the-century detective work. It was kind of predictable, but enjoyable anyway. If you get to listen to the book, Scott Brick is the narrator. That man is amazing and I'd listen to him read his grocery list. Seriously.

Now for a few personal notes.....

Being a native Pittsburgh-er, I have to root for the Pens in the Stanley Cup. Sorry S and A. We can be friends again next week.

Welcome to my new book buddy, L. Just in case you were wondering, this book isn't anywhere near as good as Twilight. Even if Edward is too young for me.

______
Happy weekend, everyone. Do something fun and think of me while I'm working, ok?

Happy Places on Mother's Day

Where I was supposed to hike to:




Where I actually hiked to:



I had a truly ah-ma-zing hike today. Since I'm breaking in a new pair of boots, I was only going to go out for a short hike; once I was out there, however, I couldn't NOT go to the lake. I encountered two very cute little dogs taking their humans for a Sunday stroll. I also met a college-aged young man on his way to Vermont. He's got quite a few days ahead of him. I hope he's somewhere warm -- it's pretty cold tonight yet.

When I returned home, my family treated me to takeout Pad Thai. We're about a 1/2 hour from the restaurant, but the food was yummy enough to justify all that driving. I will admit to ordering spring rolls just so we could eat them on the drive home.

I'm now sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop while my daughter is icing a cake she made for me. She's an incredible baker and wants to learn to make her cakes look as yummy as they taste. I bought her some cake decorating stuff for her birthday and she's breaking all the bags and tips out for this cake. There may be pictures later. After that, there may be only crumbs.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be (especially S and A). I hope that your day was as relaxing and special as mine was.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Plague, part deux.....

Twice in two months is simply not fair.

Q: When is it OK to look down on your husband?

A: When you hike above his workplace!

Also, the trail today was RIDICULOUSLY crowded. OK, so not Rockefeller Center at Christmas crowded, but quite crowded for the woods. I was out for 2 hours and met:

1. the same 50ish hiker dude as the other day
2. 2 really loud Fran Drescher wannabes who were behind me on the trail cackling loudly until I sat down and let them pass so I could unclench my teeth

3. a woman with 2 gorgeous and energetic black labs

4. a family -- mom with baby in a sling, dad who screamed a lot with a voice that carried for miles, and 3 rambunctious little boys

5. the woman with her 2 dogs again

6. the same 50ish hiker dude again

So basically, my time alone in the woods was spent listening to other people's loud conversations.

My relaxing hike was anything but relaxing. I think I got as upset as I did because I consider the trail to be holy ground. Listening to them all felt like someone swearing in church.

I met someone else on the trail today, and he didn't bother me one little bit:

Update: I showed this photo to the family and we got into a long discussion of frog versus toad. After some research, this is definitely a toad.

Update, part deux: To answer the emails that I know are coming, yes, I do actually have a job. I work weekends so I get to pick which day of the week to take off. I usually choose the ones that are sunny.

File under 'Things that make me happy'

Diamonds? Nope.

New cars? Nope.

Designer clothes? Closer.

Clothespins.

This is the second day in a row that I've been able to hang laundry outside to dry. It's gonna be a great day!

Fourth post of the day?!?!?!?!?

Batman has the Joker. Spiderman has the Green Goblin. Flash Gordon has Ming the Merciless. I have this:

While hiking, I routinely go over, under, and around many fallen trees. This one, however, foils every attempt. There's really thick brush so going around it is out. It's too high to crawl over. And it's too low to crawl under while wearing my pack. I fight with this stupid tree every time I go hiking. Today, I crawled under and my pack got completely stuck. I wriggled and twisted my way loose and fell right over. Fortunately I was annoyed rather than injured. And fortunately, no one else watched me do what was surely a hilarious series of stunts.

On the way back, I took off my pack and crawled under without any problems. I may be slow, but I can be taught.

This is supposed to be a quilting blog, right?

Someone has fallen in love with Glitter thread from Superior. It might be me.



And if you have tricks on how to photograph irridescent thread on black fabric so that it doesn't wash out, I'm all ears. This one was taken with overhead lighting but no flash. The actual quilting is much more vibrant than the photo reveals.

RIP

This car has been parked in my driveway for 1-1/2 years. We bought it when it was 7 years old. It was my car for many years, and then it was the babe-mobile for my teenaged son. We got a better used car and this one was retired.



This is the last I will ever see of our old car:



Good-bye, old friend, I will not mourn thee.

And hopefully someone, somewhere, will give you the love you need.

SIng along with the Brady Bunch!

I've worked several weeks of 12-15 hours days without a break. My first chance at a day off was Monday. It was yukky and rainy. So I worked. Maybe I could take off Tuesday? Nope, yukky and rainy again. Since today looked like this...



...I found myself singing:

I think I'll go for a walk outside now
The summer sun's calling my name
(I hear you now)
I just can't stay inside all day
I gotta get out, get me some of those rays....

Wasn't Cindy cute in her little pigtails?

Anyway, I worked this morning and got some stuff done before I hit the trail. I was also waiting for it to warm up a bit. I'm not that hearty and 50 is cool in the shade. I knew my hike would be interrupted often by my runny nose. (It was.) I had 2 hours 45 minutes before I had to be a mom, so I went to visit some happy places.

They are a bit greener than they were 2-1/2 weeks ago.

Next week I hope to audition this place as another happy place. I didn't have enough time to get there and back today (it's another 75 minutes each way), but I'm checking the weather for next week already.

I met 5 people hiking today. That's unusually high, but I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed that the sun was shining.

The first two men shared my philosophy of hiking. (hint: I go out into the woods to be alone.) When we passed on the trail, there was a quick 'hello', no eye contact, and away we went. I was passed by two trail runners, so they had no time for conversation either.

The final young man was probably in high school or college and he stopped to chat. He asked about my trekking poles and I agreed that they were quite handy. He asked where I hiked to and I told him about the lake. He asked if the trail went to the next town over. I laughed and told him that the trail went to Georgia and that if he turned around and went the other way, he'd eventually hit Maine. He looked a little shocked. I sent him to the library to get information on the Appalachian Trail.

Today I did my part to educate the next generation.

Is it May yet?

I've known for a year that April would be crazy busy. Crazy busy in a good way, but crazy busy is still crazy busy. It's exceeding all expectations at that. Things should calm down to the normal chaotic roar after Sunday, but I decided that I really, really, really need a day off before I go back to the grindstone.

I think I should go hiking. Or get a pedicure. Or have a super sweet sewing day all to myself. Any other suggestions on how to spend a much-needed day off? Or several days off?

Please comment. 100% of my recent comments have been spam. I feel so unloved.

I'm clicking my heels together and saying.....

...There's no place like home!

I drove home from MQX on Sunday. My car was emptier coming home. Next year, hopefully I can get more shopping done. I chatted with some friends and listened to the end of Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince to keep me awake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a drive through New England. And I'm falling in love with my GPS. People have asked me the route I took, and I can only answer that I go wherever the little voices tell me to go!

The show was, as usual, amazing. The quilts were inspirational. The work was fun. I love the people I work with. I taught 5 classes and they were a hoot! I learn so much from my students and I hope to have the opportunity to teach there again.

I'm home now, quilting away for customers and putting the finishing touches on a quilt retreat that I'm teaching this weekend.

If anyone knows about a lost-and-found from the show, I lost my voice. Think I could get it back before this weekend?

One of these things is not like the other...

Dinner Monday: CLIF bar and a banana
Dinner Tuesday: CLIF bar and a banana
Dinner Wednesday: CLIF bar and a banana
Dinner Thursday: butternut squash ravioli and chicken cutlets with pancetta in a frangelica sauce with a taste of cinnamon. yum.

Here's to hoping for dinner tonight. I'm enjoying the MQX diet.

We don't need no stinkin' SUVs!

Baby cars ROCK!

76 and sunny and I'm doing my taxes

Today's very short hike was very awesome, but this picture sums up my feelings about doing my taxes.



This outhouse is brought to you by the Boy Scouts of America. Thirty short minutes from my house you can have the honor of using this fine facility. OR, hike with your legs crossed for a while and enjoy my hideous harvest gold bathroom -- it may be ugly, but it flushes.

I wish I had a camera that captured sound. I was on the top of the mountain and it sounded like a fleet flock herd gaggle lot of helicopters were flying up from the valley. As the noise grew closer and louder, I realized that it was wind. Awesome warm gusts of wind.

I also wish I had a camera that could capture smell. We had thunderstorms overnight so there was a damp, sweet, warm smell that shouted spring.

Back to my taxes. Yuk.

Internal Conflict

Whereas there are areas of my life that need greening, I'm fairly conscious of my carbon footprint. My preferred recreation is hiking in my neighborhood (living along the Appalachian Trail is helpful). We eat fairly low on the food chain and we produce very little waste. We drive very small fuel-efficient cars, and that presents today's dilemma:

I have a large quantity of stuff to transport for my job this week and it won't fit in my little baby car. Am I no longer green if I lust after a large SUV?

It's now time to bore you with hiking photos. It's spring, but not very green yet.

Photo of my happy place (75 minute hike from home):

Photo of a different happy place (20 minute hike from home):

I am so incredibly blessed to live here.

Mother/Daughter time

Not to be confused with Hammer Time. But I digress....

My darling daughter usually remembers that I know how to sew about 2 hours before a birthday party that she has a) neglected to tell us about and b) neglected to buy a present for (I couldn't un-dangle those prepositions, sorry.) The conversation usually starts like, "Mom? What do you have in the house that can be easily embroidered?"

I usually suggest a tote bag or a hat or a t-shirt. Somehow, these are never what she has in mind. Today's simple embroidery project turned into a red metallic pillow with a flange, embroidered in gold. I measured, cut, hooped for embroidery, and my daughter did all the sewing. We're pleased. Hopefully Sarah will be as well.



Note my daughter's PJs. I usually have to be on my death bed to wear PJs at 2pm.

Speaking of death bed, my daughter finally got the plague. Very, very minor case on Thursday night. Who wants it next?

The Plague Spreads......

My son goes to college about 600 miles away from home. He's joined the list of the fallen.

Saturday -- dear husband

Monday -- me

Tuesday -- dear son

Who's next? And why is my daughter locked in her room refusing all contact with us?

What's your favorite color?

Mine is blue. Especially this shade.

We took a quick mid-week trip to celebrate our anniversary and stayed here:



and ate here:



Yes, it's a castle. Really. We ate there for two reasons: 1) it's good and 2) we couldn't afford to actually stay there.

Then we came home and my husband gave me the best present ever -- the stomach flu. I think my new necklace matches my pjs just fine, thank you.

I'm thinking toast now ... maybe?

I've got the power!

(insert dance moves here)

A quick run-down of my day:

Get up
Run a few quick errands
Go to work
Come home and eat dinner
Start laundry
Head to the studio to work some more (where o where are the soap operas and bonbons?)
Lose power
Set up a quilt by candlelight
Hook up generator (ok, so Mr. Man did that but I honestly know how)
Quilt that quilt
Decide to unhook generator and go to bed
Re-gain power
Re-start laundry (but it's still gonna sit overnight)
Check email
Blog
Finally hit the sack (that's next, I promise)

Electricity, I've got a crush on you.

Coming soon to a quilt show near you.......

Handi Quilter Educator? That would be me!

I love Handi Quilter -- the product and the people. I've worked with them a few times in the last year, but the position is now official.

I spent a week with the company in Salt Lake City, UT. I met five ah-ma-zing ladies who are also new Handi Quilter Educators and we had a blast! We learned all sorts of neat stuff about machines and we quilted every second we could.

My new job will be what is has been for the last year, just more so. I will be travelling to different quilt shows and events and teaching people how to use the Handi Quilter.

I am thrilled and honored to work with this great company.

One of the most important things I learned about my new job is...... always pack a change of clothes in your carry-on luggage. My suitcase caught up to me the next day. I wasn't too worried, but my favorite pair of pumps were in that suitcase!!!

Quilt Tales

My son is a music major at a Big-Ten school (go Bucks!) and had his junior recital. We made plans to fly out for the weekend. My son is a very responsible young man, but he's still a man and doesn't get girl details. I'm sure I drove him crazy with all my questions, like

1. "What are we supposed to wear?"

2. "Do the parents host a reception?"

3. "Are we supposed to pay your accompanist (I really don't know how to spell that word)?"

Minor stuff. The answers were:

1. "Jeans" -- I think not

2. "Yes" -- I think I was looking for a few more details than that

3. "I don't think so, it's part of their grade" -- ok, but are we supposed to give them a gift?

My son and I spoke back and forth for a few weeks on some of these issues. One day he asked if I had a quilt I was willing to give his accompanyist. He happened to ask right after I finished this quilt:

I started this quilt about 2 years ago and packed it away. I finished the top over Christmas and took most of January to bind it. The pattern is from Nickel Quilts and a huge bonnet-tip to Bonnie at Quiltville for the pieced back idea.

I'm as prompt at taking photos as I am at all other things in life. The object to the left of the quilt in the photos isn't a grand piano in a classroom at the music school. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The recipient of the quilt was a darling. She is a doctoral candidate and beyond a fantastic pianist. She is from Greece and really appreciated an American quilt. The music my son chose for her wasn't simple. She did wayyyyyyyy more than hammer out a few chords behind the trombone solos. The piano part was insanely intense and she was grateful to be done with it so she could get back to her own studies. I'm so glad she was a part of that wonderful day and so glad she enjoyed her American quilt.

Is it time for bed yet?

File this under 'Shoot me now!'.

At the local quilt shop, we were working on scrap quilts from Open A Can of Worms. The theme was supposed to be floral, so I of course brought polka dots. Dots are the new floral, right? Humor me here.

Now that the dot/floral matter is settled, I left the shop and went to the grocery store for arborio rice. What is life without risotto? Not worth much, in my opinion. Quick trip in an out and then I was headed to an evening church service.

So, the car wouldn't start. It wouldn't even pretend to start. I've been expecting this since last weekend when a gremlin hatched in my electrical system. Blinking lights, power steering outage, power brake outage, radio turning on and off, clock resetting to 12:00 every 2 minutes. Fun stuff. Once I turned the car off and restarted it, it was fine. I knew it wouldn't continue to be fine, though. How did I know this? My car has over 100,000 miles and is American-made. Need more explanation?

Mr. Man came to the grocery store to jump my car, and, gosh darn it, it worked. Color us shocked. I slammed my fingers in the door drove home with Mr. Man following me while the gremlins played with my electrical system again. My personal favorite was when the transmission suddenly went into neutral. That ROCKED!

Has anyone had the thought process that starts with "I should lose weight" and goes to "I really need to drink more water"? I took that path today. The inevitable end of that thought is "I really have to use the washroom" (just for you Meredyth).

Can you picture this yet? Fingers throbbing, car throbbing, bladder throbbing..... Fun ride home. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I threw the car into park and ran to the bathroom fell on the ice. Yes, I had to do laundry, but only for the mud on my pants and (sob) new jacket. I took care of business then started the laundry then changed into my pajamas then grabbed my heating pad and laptop. Not much to be done for the sore wrists and nether-regions, but the herniated disc that I just aggravated? Heat and blogging are the best medicine. Funny, my smashed fingers din't hurt so much once I threw my back out.

Tomorrow, I get to call a tow truck and see how much the beast my cute little car will cost to de-gremlin. If I can get out of bed, that is.

Sing it with me now.....

Oh where, oh where has my luggage gone?
Oh where, oh where can it be?
With it's black handles and it's wheels that roll.....
Bring back my luggage to me.

Bring.... back
Bring.... back
Oh bring back my luggage to me, to me
Bring.... back
Bring.... back
Oh bring back my luggage to me!

______________________
I think I joined two separate songs from childhood together, but I'm wearing yesterday's clothes and don't really care! Wish me luck at my first day on my new job (in yesterday's clothes).