Yellow quilt

Here are a couple of the pictures I promised of the custom quilt I did. I found some black fabric in my stash to add to the piecer's so the binding would be big enough. This is a memory quilt for a young lady which shows some of the highlights of her life. I especially like the block showing the guitars.
It's hard to blog when I have to go to work everyday, but I promise I'll catch up with all of you this weekend.

One of those days

You know how you wake up and think you should stay in bed? Well, I'm kind of having that kind of day. Started out just arguing with Mike for no reason, I was just contrary.
We went food shopping-just as we were getting ready to check out, David calls and asks if Mike is marching in today's parade with the Scout troop. When I tell him that we're almost done and Dad will make the 1pm bus, he informed me that the bus is at 11:45AM! And that's what time it was at that moment. So we rushed home and Mike had to go catch the bus without lunch.

Our local quilt show is next weekend, and I have one quilt going in. I had to cut the fabric for the sleeve, it's ready to attach. But I don't have a label on it and I have to baste the judging number over the label! I'll figure that out tomorrow. Maybe I'll just write my name and the date on the backing and put the number over it.
Then I ran out of one fabric for my hour a day quilt. Found a substitute, hope it looks okay.

I finished quilting the custom quilt yesterday, trimmed it and measured it for the binding. it came out to 318 linear inches, not too bad. This quilt belongs to a non-quilter. She commissioned somebody to make it, but wanted me to quilt and bind it. The piecer even included the fabric for the binding. Guess what? She didn't provide enough fabric, and she's moved. The owner is the sister of a friend, so I called my friend and asked if I can buy some more or use something from my stash. Obviously, she wasn't going to say no. But I'm stuck because Mike put our old waterbed mattress on top of the bench where I keep some of my stash. It's too heavy for me to lift so I have to wait until he comes home from the parade.
Can you tell I'm really rambling here? I'll post a couple of pictures of the custom quilt tomorrow when they're loaded onto the computer.
I'm going to sew now; I need the therapy. Keep smiling.

Nose to the Grindstone

Just a quick post to say I'm still plugging away at Judy's 1st hour a day quilt. All the stress test info came back negative, but the surgeon looked at my xrays and said my neck has not fused yet. So I'm still on light duty at the bus barn for another 6 weeks. That means answering phones and working the 2 way radio from 6:30am to 9am and again from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. I'm ambivalent about this. As much as I hate being in the office, I am scared to get back on the bus and possibly get hurt again.
Nothing quilty this time. I love the fabrics I chose for the 2" squares.
Hope everyone is having a great week.

This is the last of my fall quilts. I looked all over and discovered I only have 3. I don't even have one for my bed. I got this as a kit about 4 or 5 years ago when the Mancuso show was in Greensboro, NC. One of my sisters-in-law lives down there, so we were able to attend the show and visit her at the same time. It sat for a couple of years until I finally decided to get it over with. The leaves are fused on, and it's supposed to look random like they just fell there. Then it sat unquilted until after I had carpal tunnel surgery. Once the doctor gave me clearance, I wanted to do something simple, so I just did an all over meander and put veins in the leaves. After it was done, it actually looked pretty good. Now I have it hang in the dining area every fall, and I still like it.

I had lunch yesterday with a friend that I don't see often enough. It's hard to fit a year's worth of catch-up into one lunch. We have to try harder to see one another, it's definitely worth it.

I just came from church, they had a luncheon for those of us that help with religion. I'm with the 5th graders this year, I'm the aide for the teacher. Very nice of the ladies to do that for us.

I was supposed to go upstairs and do a customer's quilt, but since it's Sunday, I think I'll work on my own stuff this afternoon.

Hope you all have a great day, and enjoy your loved ones.

Interesting

***You Are 20% Left Brained, 80% Right Brained***
The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.
The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.
Are You Right or Left Brained?http://www.blogthings.com/areyourightorleftbrainedquiz/

Stash Quilts logo, etc.

I just went to my blog and noticed that the Stash Quilts logo isn't showing up. I saw the same thing on several others in the ring, but I thought that maybe they had not loaded the new stuff Judy L. sent out. I did load it, and it was fine yesterday. Anybody know what's happened?

Mel at Covered Porches asked about my longarm quite a while back. I've put off talking about it because I don't want anyone to think I'm fishing for business here. Anyway, here goes.
I've had my machine since September of 2000, and opened my doors for business in January of '01. I love doing everyday quilts, but I also fit in some custom work. I'm always on the lookout for new patterns that look like custom, but will not cost people an arm and a leg. I've taken lots of classes, met lots of great people. That's the icing on the cake for me.
I still drive schoolbus, at least for now, because I've gotten into the bad habit of eating and paying bills ;)
So, Mel and anyone else who wanted to know, that's my longarm story. And now, thanks to Judy L. , my little quilting group, and all of you, I've gotten back into piecing.
Have a great day!!!!

Reflections

Yesterday was 9/11. Even though it's been 5 years, sometimes it feels like yesterday. Living within the NYC metro area, we knew people who died that day. My husband proposed to me at Windows on the World, the restaurant on the top of the WTC. Just makes you think, know what I mean?

This is a little 3D wallhanging I did about 8 years ago. It faces the front door so people see as they come into the house. It's not too big and it fits perfectly in between the 2 closet doors.

I think Murphy lives in my attic. Either that or we're just cursed;> Thursday I ended up being admitted to the hospital with chest pains. All the tests came back normal. They've not been able to figure out the cause, so today I had the first half of a stress test. Then on Saturday, Mike was going to mow the lawn. The mower wouldn't start. He had to borrow the neighbor's rider. Sunday, he found that the shower in the newly remodeled bathroom leaks. Great. Monday, I had to work so he decided to do a load of wash. There's no spin cycle. He wrung out each piece so he could put them in the dryer. And, last but not least, our frost free freezer is no longer frost free. Thank goodness for maintenance agreements. Can anyone tell me what the heck is going on??? I'm looking over my shoulder for the cast of "Punk'd" to please jump out and tell me it's all a joke.
Oh well, tomorrow's another day. I've been trying to keep up with everybody's blogs. I'm reading as fast as I can, so forgive me if I don't comment. I think everyone's quilts are so beautiful, you're all such good piecers/appliquers. I love being able to see a little bit into all of your worlds, it makes me realize that no matter where we live, what color we are, we are all basically the same-we're quilters. And that's enough for me.

Thanks

Jeez, I'm having trouble keeping up with all of you, even with Bloglines! Since I cant' get to everyone to thank you personally, I want to say it here. It's been a rough couple of days, but I am definitely on the way back up.
We took Keri up to school yesterday, and it was a good day. Unfortunately for her, they were having a big welcome back party and the DJ was right under her window. We could feel the walls vibrating!
I've got the panto quilt all prepped to go on the machine. Good thing-the customer wants it this weekend. I go back to work today-but I'll be answering phones. Can you imagine it-on the 1st day of school when nobody knows anything about anybody on their bus. Keep the fingers crossed that I stay the sweet, patient person I always am. Yeah right.
On a quilty note, these pictures are of a table topper I made several years ago. One side is Christmas, the other is for autumn. That way all I have to do is flip it over after Thanksgiving.
Have a great day everyone, and those of you whose kids are starting school this week, be kind to your bus driver-he/she is trying their best to get your kids safely to and from school.

Lazy Day

I didn't sleep very well Friday night, too much going on in my head. The dermatologist called and told me that I do have basal cell skin cancer on my face. The first date they could give me for removal is October 4th. So, since my imagination blows everything out of proportion, it kept me awake.
All this is leading up to me not wanting to work on a custom quilt when I'm over-tired, because I really hate ripping. So I worked on my hour a day-for about 5 hours in between getting Keri's stuff ready for school.
I got 10 blocks done. I work slowly because I'm not the greatest piecer in the world. But I'm happy with them. The other picture is of my favorite block. I just like the colors. I know a lot of people have finished the whole quilt but I'm happy to have gotten even this far.
I even got a block done on the Harvest Spice. I figured I was on a roll, so why not?
Today, I still didn't want to go upstairs. So, after everyone left, I went to church and then called a very good friend who told me to come on over and quilt.
I just got back and I feel much better. I was a little depressed about Keri going back to school, and the Precious Twins possibly finding an apartment. The empty nest thingy is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I realized I've totally identified myself as a mom for over 20 years, so what do I do now? I have to get my butt in gear and get over it! It's just going to take a little time.

I'm going to take the custom quilt off the machine, and load an easy panto quilt that needs to be done by the weekend. Then I'll see if I can reload and finish.
For all the US people, Happy Labor day! For everyone else, have a great weekend.

Not a good day

Have you ever had one of those days that goes from crisis to crisis with no time in between? I swear, the kids had less problems when they were kids. David is out interviewing for jobs and he doesn't even have the clothes to do it! When does he come to me? Half an hour before he has to be there. Keri is packing for school but she just ran out to donate blood in a royal huff, and God forgive us, we're counting the days. I love them unconditionally, don't get me wrong. I just need some down time.
I should be upstairs on the LA. I'm going to work on my hour a day quilt till she comes home and then I'll go up. I read Judy L's blog about procrastinating and man, can I identify. I love doing the pantos, and I like custom. It lets me be a little more creative. I know I sound like I'm never up there, but I do get a lot done-really.
I'm going back to work on light duty, starting Tuesday. I can't drive bus yet(the surgeon is reevaluating on the 19th) so they're going to have me on the phones and the radio. Since I'm really not supposed to drive, they're sending a car for me. So this is my last weekend as a full time quilter.
Oh, and I got an email from a customer yesterday that a quilt I did for her got a blue ribbon in her county fair. That made me feel pretty good.
Into the shower I go.
Later.

We did it!!

Thank you, Vicky for the gold star and for the challenge. It wasnt' as hard as I thought it would be. What's up next?