Gee, I didn't realize it's been forever since I posted here. I never feel like writing but I probably should; otherwise it's all bottled up inside.

Let's see......what's happened since I last wrote? Well, Mike and I found out the Precious Twins(you remember them, don't you?)are going to make us grandparents in April!!!! Trust me, once that happens you'll get sick of seeing me.LOL

I went to a Ricky Tims Super Seminar last spring and it opened my eyes to so many possibilities. I'll probably always make traditional quilts for our beds but I'm very intrigued by art quilting and all it can represent. I finished and entered 2 quilts in my guild's show.


This first one's called Global Warming. I used a convergence for the center and the sun was my own design. I was going to enter it into the AQS online show but I didn't get permission from Ricky for the convergence part in time.















Remember this one? It's my Stone Portal quilt from the Esterita Austin class I took in 2007.

I was blessed enough to get a second place on the Stone Portal and a third on the Global Warming. There were some really awesome quilts in that show, let me tell you.










As for the rest of me, I'm still on Workers Comp and going for another hearing on the 10th. I've had both a physical and a psychological exam to see if I'm still injured and depressed. Heck, I got hurt in 2005, of course I'm depressed. DUH!!!!!!!

I'm still longarming, God is providing and I have a steady stream of quilts. It's down from last year big time but then so is the economy. It's rare to go out and not see "Going out of Business" signs on even big stores.

The main reason I'm writing, other than to let you know that I'm still kicking, is to try to get back into the Stashbusters ring and to make a commitment to Stashbusting in 2009!!! Judy, if you see this, I'm finally ready. Let's go for it!!

Starting Something new again

A couple of years ago, I joined Judy's Stash Quilts ring. I tried, I really did. I just couldn't keep up with all the quilts. This time, I'm not working outside the house, I need some stimulation and I have some really cool Orange fabric I want to put into a quilt.
I find that, as I get older, I want to experiment more. I'm so bored with the traditional ways.
So, here I am. I'm going to make Bonnie Hunter's newest Mystery quilt. Wish me luck.

Still Kickin'

Here's a quilt I've started, It's a convergence quilt from the Ricky Tims book.

I've not been interested in blogging. I've really got nothing to say. I have never been one to journal or write in a diary. I'm going to keep it going in the hope that I will write again someday.

My computer crashed a few weeks ago and I lost my address book, passwords, everything. So I'm working my way back into the virtual world.

If you want to get in touch with me, please email me. I'm still here somewhere.

Using my Stash!!

Finally. I pulled, washed, pressed and am going to use a few fabrics from my stash. I'm making a convergence quilt from Ricky Tims' book of the same name. It's not a lot but hey, it's something. I have had major computer problems the past few weeks, so I lost all my pictures. They're locked in the hard drive of my old cpu. Dang!! Plus now I've run out of internal memory on the camera. I am going to have to learn how to work with that too.
I'm using 1 3/4 yards for the center of this quilt. I won't know about the border until this part is done. So stay tuned. If we can get all our little electronic ducks in line, I may even be able to post a picture.

Blogging

I'm sorry that I haven't written much lately. It's hard for me to type, I transpose letters, forget what I'm trying to say, and a multitude of other very frustrating things. I'm not looking for pity or anyone feeling sorry for me.
I have fibromyalgia in addition to my work injury. It makes me foggy sometimes, and at other times I just ache all over.
So, if you don't hear from me, be patient. I'll be back.

Stashbusting

I'm going to try to join Judy L's stashbusting group. It's hard, since I haven't touched my own fabric since Christmas week. But I did put together and quilt a little panel I picked up at the Somers show a couple of years ago. I'll post a picture when Mike gets home. Once of these days I'm going to have to figure out how to get the pics from the camera to the computer all by myself.
I still want to organize and use what I have or get rid of what I don't want. Will that count too, Judy?

Speed limit

Yesterday my husband was kind enough to tell me that I had finally reached the speed limit age. No, not 65-the lower one. Yuck.
Anyway, age is an attitude and mine is a smart-ass 40. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I've already messed up on my goals for this year so I'm starting over. I figure that's better than giving up, right? I have got to get in gear so I can make a profit this year. I don't know what's going to happen with the WC so I'm going to work as if the quilting will be my only livlihood. I'm not going to include DH's salary; that' a given.
See ya later.

Goals for 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
It's so hard to believe it's 2008. My goals for the new year are:

1. To finish what I start.
2. To get as healthy as I can.
3. To run my business as a business and not a money making hobby.

I figure if I keep the list short and sweet, it'll be easier to follow through-which is my biggest shortfall. Like this blog. Even if it's just a sentence, I want to journal for me

Merry Christmas

Just wanted to stop by in case y'all thought I disappeared off the planet. I'm still here, just have nothing to say right now.
I'm planning on journaling more in the new year, so stand by.

Oh yeah-Happy New Year!!!

What Color Christmas Tree should you have?

You Should Have a Blue Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent a time of calm, understanding, and peace. You avoid family fights, and you don't get too stressed out - even when things are crazy! You like to make Christmas about making everyone's life a little bit better. You don't get caught up in greed or commercialism. You're too sincere for that. Your blue tree would look great with: Lots of silver tinsel You should spend Christmas Eve watching: It's a Wonderful Life What you should bake for Santa: Chocolate chip cookies

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

It's Done!!!

This is a picture of a friend's Harvest Spice quilt that I did on the LA for her. I finished my top, or flimsy as some have come to call them. We started this together about 2 years ago as a BOM. Obviously, mine was not a BOM. But I'm done!!!! And it's now on the to be quilted pile so I can move on to the next UFO.

It's been a while since I've written here, as one internet friend reminded me.

Mom is doing better, having PT come to her apt. We've decided to have her stay where she is for the time being; she has so many support services at her fingertips living in a larger city. If she moved here, she wouldn't have that. We are exploring having a cleaning service come in once or twice a month to do a thorough cleaning, which neither she nor I can do. Keri and I will go down on the alternate 2 week period to take care of things like laundry.

I'm still home on WC, but quilting my little heart out. It doesn't hurt like driving the bus or even my car at this point. I'm going to the doctor today for a followup, and they're recommending I have carpal tunnel surgery ASAP. I'm a little sick of this by now. Oh yeah, two weeks ago, the rheumatologist confirmed the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Hey-life goes on, right?

I am very blessed. I have my Mom still with me; she'll be 89 in March and still sharp. I have the most wonderful husband who supports me in everything, no matter how harebrained. Keri is graduating with honors in 2 weeks!! This has been a roller coaster ride, but I wouldn't have skipped any of it. Dave and Alicia, the precious twins, are great. We had Thanksgiving at their place with her family. I love holiday tables with lots of talking and laughter. We sure had that. Her Mom is going through some stuff right now, and we're pulling together like one big family. I'm an only child so having more family is like Christmas for me.

I've been reading a friend's blog about organizing. You can read it here: http://anitaestes.blogspot.com/ She has lots of tips for LA quilters and I think quilters in general. I try to read it every day for inspiration.

That's enough for now. I have to get ready to go to the doctor.
Have a great day!!!!

Just another day on the planet

My Mom had her surgery last Thursday, and they were not able to repair the rotator cuff. It was a very large tear and parts of it were older so there wasn't enough muscle to pull across to do the repair. The surgeon did scrape(isn't that an awful word?)a lot of the arthritis out so she'll be more comfortable.
I am very frustrated with New York State and it's Medicaid program. My Mom is a retired nurse and does not get any money except her SS, yet her income is too high for her to have an in home aide from now on. She's entitled to one while she's recuperating, but not afterwards. She'd have to pay over $300 a month!!! I don't have the resources to pay out money like that either. It hurts that I can't help her more. She doesn't want to live with us, our house is almost 100 years old and she's always cold when she comes to visit. So there's no way she'd live here. I called the county office for the aging and every single senior complex here is full with a waiting list. Even the brand new ones-the lists started before construction. So for right now, she'll have to stay where she is-which is about 85 miles from me.
Keri's graduating college in 32 days. What's weird is that the school is holding the ceremony before finals. Her graduating's not in doubt, but what about those who are? Keri's going to be magna cum laude! I am in awe of her mind at times. Then she'll revert back to being my Pookie and just cuddle with me.
Dave and Alicia have a kitten. His name is Riley. He's supposed to be part ragdoll but that seems to be changing as he gets older. They got him from the local shelter and he is a cutie.
I seem to be in a funk again with the customer quilts. I've gotten several skewed backings lately and they're making me crazy! Why can't these manufacturers exercise some quality control? I'd rather pay a few dollars more to have fabric made in the US than some rag from Asia being passed off as quality goods. Can you tell I'm a little steamed here?
Gotta go add some borders to a lady's Mom's quilt that I'm finishing.
Have a great day.

Update on Mom

My son David drove me to my Mom's today. I got to speak to both her doctors and the social worker. She has a very large rotator cuff tear, which she will have the surgery for on Nov 1st. Same day surgery, and outpatient PT. She lives in a senior building that's associated with a nursing home and there's a PT facility in the nursing home. So she'll just have to walk across the garden. I thinkthat's great-she's very settled where she lives.
I finished frogging the quilt that I messed up the other day. Now I can get it back on the machine and get it quilted. Gotta keep on keepin' on. Know what I mean?

Where has the time gone?

Anita wrote on the 2nd about my schedule that was supposed to start on the 1st. Well, that got shot to hell. I'm just running to catch up all the time. Too dang much time on this 'puter!!! I can only blame me-I'm losing all sense of discipline.
Wednesday was our 25th anniversary! No fanfare, just the comfort of knowing I'm still with my best friend. Dave and Alicia took us out to dinner; Keri was up in Albany. She came home yesterday and this morning we found a beautiful card from her. Awww. I'm very blessed with my family.
Yesterday afternoon I had an overwhelming urge to call my Mom. Turned out to be gut wrenching, but it's a good thing I did call. She's not doing well. A few weeks ago she hurt her shoulder closing a window in her apartment and had to have an MRI. That report says her shoulder is shot and she has to have surgery. Mind you, Mom is 88 years old. She broke down on the phone because she doesn't know what to do. David is taking me down on Monday. We'll get her laundry done and do some house cleaning for her. She has to see her own doctor to make sure she's in good health before surgery can be scheduled. I asked her if she'd had PT and she told me she went 9 times before the insurance denied it. I thought Medicare took care of seniors, so I'm going to be making some phone calls on Monday.
Mike and I are going down on the 22nd to help her out. I told her to make her doctor's app't for that day and I'll go with her. I need to understand what the heck is going on.
I should have stopped quilting once I spoke to her. I was very upset and angry at the whole medical system. But I thought doing just one more row would help me focus. It was the 2nd row of a panto-I didn't need to reposition anything. The laser light must have moved because now I'm frogging the entire row of stitch regulated stitches and the quilt is 84" wide. Smart me, huh?
Thank goodness for my zippers. I can get another quilt on the machine today. Mike's got drill weekend so I can work. I can't when he's home. I want to spend time with him, even after 25 years. Isn't that great?

Finding the Muse

I just read an enewsletter from Laura Cater-Woods. In it she talks about finding the time to go into the studio and get something, anything done. It's all a matter of scheduling. I've made up my mind to get my house in order this week and really start to plan my days. I'm setting October 1st as my launch date, and writing it down here makes me accountable.

It's going to be sweltering here in the Hudson Valley today-90 degrees! Where is autumn? I don't want to have to keep running the AC, but I can't breathe without it. Plus, woke up this morning with a little sore throat. I thought that if I wasn't on the bus, I wouldn't get the bug this years. We've always complained that the kids make us sick. Oh well..............
Gotta get upstairs.

What time of day are you?

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Blue Monday

It's been a while since I've written but that's only because life has been pretty boring lately. I'm going through a slump where I don't want to do anything-not even work on customer quilts. Fortunately for them, I need the money so I'm working. Maybe it's because I'm not sleeping well. I do a lot of tossing and turning. Too bad it doesn't count as exercise. haha
Keri has switched what she wants to do. She's not changing majors, she's a senior graduating in December. She's been on the fence between school psychology and clinical. She spoke to an advisor who told her that what she wants to do is more in the social work/welfare field. So she's researching schools that have an MSW program. I just want her to be happy with her choice and happy in her life and work. She's had a tough road, and she deserves the best.
Do we ever stop worrying about our kids? David's married and now I worry about him AND Alicia. I've gone from 2 kids to 3. I hope that's normal. It's how my Mom and MIL have always treated inlaws.
I'm rambling, just trying to fill space so I'll say good night.

What color is your soul painted?

Your soul is painted the color yellow, which embodies the characteristics of joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, gold, hope, liberalism, sociability, friendship, death, courage, intellect, confidence, communication, travel, movement, attraction, persuasion, and charm. Yellow is the color of the element Air, and symbolizes the sun, grain, and the power of thought. http://www.quiztron.com/tests/color_is_soul_painte_quiz_23687.htm

Life Changes

I had a preliminary hearing at the Workers Comp Board today. We are going to continue everything the way it is. I'm going to keep up with the physical therapy and going to the doctors.
I hired an attorney on just about everyone's advice so that I couldn't be railroaded.

But now I have to make a decision. The company policy is that we are allowed 60 work days medical leave. If we go over that, we lose our seniority. I missed 45 days in the spring so I only have until September 26th to go back. I don't know if I'll be ready by then. The surgeon has me out until November 5th, so I'll definitely lose my seniority. Even if I do go back, it'll only be 2 days a week so I can quilt full time. Otherwise, Mike wants me to guarantee that I'll double my quilting income and I won't have to drive at all. With all the ups and downs of this business, how can I guarantee anything?

Sure, I have plenty of quilts now, but the phone isn't ringing very much. August is a very slow month for me every year. I have to figure out what I'm going to do on my art quilts, and I have a double wedding ring to quilt for my new DIL.

Do I have the courage to go for it? I can always go back to the bus. There's not a line out the door for people willing to do my job. This is very hard for me. I'll talk more when I've made a decision. Or not.

I'm in Love!!!

I am officially in love with King Tut thread by Superior. I used it on a quilt this morning and had only one thread break in the whole quilt. I used a cone of "Temple", it looks like natural by PermaCore. I didn't have a lot of lint either. I can see a lot of this in my future. For 7 years, I've been afraid of using anything other than my old favorites. But now I'm FREE!!!!! Ahhh......what a rush!

What to do?

A very good friend told me today that her husband has been drinking. He was involuntarily retired in December from the ANG because he turned 60. He actually ended up in the hospital a few months ago with alcohol induced hepatitis. She's an RN and has tried to tell him what can happen to him, but he just doesn't seem to listen/understand.
I'm at such a loss. They're both friends and I hate to see her hurting like this. He's so unhappy being retired. He does have a part time job-every other Saturday-but I don't think it's enough. He has to feel like he has a purpose in life.
She says he needs rehab but she hasn't got the guts to do it. I just wish there was something I could do.

Creative Quiz

Well, this makes me feel a little better.

***You Are 79% Creative***
You are beyond creative. You are a true artist - even if it's not in the conventional sense of the word.You love creating for its own sake, and you find yourself quite inspired at times.
How Creative Are You?http://www.blogthings.com/howcreativeareyouquiz/

I'm not completely out in left field when I think and visualize.

Vacation!!!

I'm going to Williamsburg, VA for a week. I never did get the pics of the other quilt up, but I will when I get back. Our Boy Scout troop band is playing tomorrow in Colonial Williamsburg, and I'm going to visit Bob and Carol Lyons. They're a quilting couple that we met a few years ago and I'm in awe of them and what they've done with their business.
I'm hoping a week away will stoke my quilting fires. I don't know if we'll have internet so it may be very quiet around here for a while.

How should I quilt this?

This is the quilt top I completed in my art quilt class. It's a pattern by Esterita Austin. How should I quilt it? I want to do it justice, after all it came out really good, IMHO.

My daughter says I should do a meander, but that doesn't seem right to me at all.

I've been working on my still life also. I've got most of the primary pieces fused together, but I'm having a problem with the background. It's suppose to be some stuff sitting on a table. I want to create the illusion of a corner of walls-two walls meeting behind the table, and I have some fabric that looks like wood but I can't seem to get the angle right. Should it be straight head on or should it be at an angle? I'm stumped.

Hopefully, inspiration will come. I'll try to get a picture later today. Maybe seeing it through the view finder will help.

Art quilting

I took a class at MQX with Robbi Joy Eklow this year. I still haven't finished the class project, but I will. It's a still life in great colors.

A friend and I took a class with Esterita Austin in May. I actually finished the quilt top but I have no idea how to quilt it. The picture shows our classroom at the 1889 Greenville Inn in upstate NY-it was a converted carriage house. It was a 3 day class, with gourmet meals. We're going back next year for a landscape quilt class. Can't wait. I'll post a pic and maybe seeing it online will help me decide what I want to do.

I have so many ideas crashing into each other in my head. It's just hard to get them out, ya know? I've got to find out how other people fit inspiration into their days. They all seem so productive.

I have a goal-the still life will be fused onto it's background this week!! So there.

Hi Again

It always seems to be a long time between posts. I'll try to do better, I promise. I tend to write in a stream of consciousness, but right now, I feel unconscious. I found out last week that I've been scammed. I feel so stupid!! I'm in the process of going into the t-shirt quilt business to supplement the longarm so I don't have to go back on the bus. So, last November, I was surfing the web looking for companies where I could build my own website, and lo and behold, one called me! I fell for it like a ton of bricks. I had to QUALIFY in order to be taken on by them. They got me to authorize monthly payments for 4 years in a non-cancellable lease for credit card equipment and all I got was a 256K laptop. I did the training, and now that it's time to build my site, they're nowhere to be found.
The Dallas BBB revoked their membership because of them not answering inquiries and taking care of business.
So now I've filed reports with Ripoff Report. com, the FTC, and my state attorney general. I went to the bank and put a hold on my account.
I'm royally p@##@%!!!!
Stay tuned for developments.
On the quilty side, I haven't accomplished a dang thing. My brain is fried with all of the other stuff going on.
I'm going to VA at the end of this week so I have a lot of customer quilts to finish. I'll try to post some pics later in the week.

One wedding shot

Here's one picture from the wedding. I'm the one in the blue shimmery dress. It has a jacket and it's made of washable silk. The lady in red is one of my very good friends, and you can see David's back and Alicia dancing next to us. Can you tell we're having a good time?
They went to Sandals in Antigua for the honeymoon. They ended up having to change rooms 3 times because of mold in the room. But they still managed to have a great time and they looked really good when they came to dinner last week.
My machine came home last week! It's back on the table and I even got to play a little yesterday. I'm going to take it slow for now, even though I have customer quilts up the yinyang.
Mike and I have decided that I'm only going to drive the bus 2 days a week come September. I'm working on a t-shirt quilt website and I'm taking in enough flimsies to offset the paychecks. If I can, I'm going to quit soon. It's getting harder to drive the bus anyway. People expect us to just let their little angels do what they want without consequences. Sorry-not on my watch.
I finally finished all the pieced blocks for my BOM Harvest Spice quilt. The months it was supposed to be done were 2 years ago. Okay, I'm a little slow. Maybe a lot. I get bored after the 4th or 5th block. So I'm not going to make big quilts anymore. I'll stick to wall hangings from now on. Everybody has a quilt or two or three on their bed, so I've covered that. haha
I'm going to try quilting a panto this afternoon. Something simple and not too big.
I want to get back into blogging so Judy will let me back into the ring, but it'll have to wait until I catch up on my life. I miss everybody and I'm trying to read but everyone keeps writing so that just when I think I'm almost up to date, I'm not. Oh well, I'll just keep plugging away here.

Healing

We got home from Florida on the 30th, and I had my neck surgery on July 2nd. They went in from the back this time so the scar is under my hair.
I am getting my machine back tomorrow, thank goodness! It won't have the IS anymore, it'll be a Gammill Classic Plus. Unfortunately, I can't quilt until at least next week. I can't even drive right now.
The guild is having a sit and sew this evening. I don't usually go, but I have to do something! And no-I don't want any cheese with my whine.

The Party's Over

It's Monday morning and the kids have been in Antigua since Saturday. My feet still hurt!
The wedding was absolutely wonderful!!
Alicia looked like a princess in her gown, and all the girls, including Keri, were beautiful attendants. David was so nervous that he needed Advil before the ceremony. The girls' limo was late because the driver had a little fender bender with a stone wall on her Dad's property. At 6:34pm, David was freaking out, saying the ceremony should have started, where was she, what was happening???? Kind of funny, actually.
The pastor was great, and the ceremony was very nice, very spiritual without being too religious. Mike's brother, Jimmy, played the bagpipes during the cocktail hour, and our side went crazy! I told Alicia's parents that it was one of our traditions.
At the reception, her side really didn't get up on the dance floor much, which was fine; it wasnt' too big and our family and friends filled it. For 2 kids who said they don't dance, David and Alicia were up there a LOT! The love just shines from them, and we were so blessed to be there to share it.
The buffet was delicious, but a lot of people couldn't identify what was on there-it looked so fancy.
Anthony's Pier 9's staff could not have done a better job. They looked like Secret Service with their earpieces and walkie-talkies. Everything we wanted was done before we knew we wanted it. There was even a suite for the bridal party with a private bathroom. All locked up so our stuff was safe.
Alicia's little sister told Keri she's her new "Sissie" now. So Keri didn't just acquire 1 new sister, she's got 2!
I can finally concentrate on quilty things. My machine is leaving on Wednesday for an upgrade. I figure that it'll come home about a week after surgery, and I'll be ready.
Have a great day!!! I know I will.

June 14th

Last night we had the rehearsal and dinner. What a great group we have for this wedding! The rehearsal was quick and then we went to a local Irish place called "Harp & Whistle". We had our own server, and they cordoned off a whole section for us.
Great food, great conversation. I sat back and just looked at everyone having a good time. I read a couple of poems to the kids that I had gotten off the net, and there were some tears.
Most of the groomsmen have been part of our lives/family since early childhood. It feels so good now.
I love Alicia for loving David. She's the new daughter of my heart.

Tomorrow's the wedding. The ceremony is at 6:30 and the reception will end at midnight. The catering place is so elegant, I think we'll have an awesome time.
I've had my doubts over the past months about my baby boy getting married so young. He's only 24. But like Mike said this morning, "Just because we weren't ready at 24 doesn't mean he's not."
God bless my children, David, Keri and now Alicia.

Posting pictures

I want to upload a picture from the workshop I went to, but when it tells me that it's uploaded and to click on "done", there's no "done" to click on. What am I doing wrong?

another week

I just can't keep up with a daily journal, so I'll post when I can. I hope I don't offend anyone but we all have lives and sitting here puts life aside sometimes.
Anyway, I want to tell you what a great weekend I had! A friend and I went upstate to Greenville, NY outside of Albany. Until I looked up the directions, I had no idea there were at least 3 Greenvilles in NY! We arrived Thursday afternoon, had a wine and cheese reception, a small orientation and dinner. Our room was 1/2 of a cottage and it even had a jacuzzi tub-not that we had time to use it.
Class started bright and early on Friday. We had a short lecture and then began to work. I've never done an art quilt before, but let me tell you-I'm in love. Keri says this is the best quilt I've ever done. I can't wait to get it on the longarm and play. I'll try to have a pic when I can get the camera. I came home with a completed quilt top.
The innkeepers, Mark and Kim LaPolla, were awesome. He's a gourmet chef and she's a quilter. I gave her my business card and she gave me a quilt to do for her. How's that? Every meal was an artistic showcase of his work. (I gained 5 lbs in 3 days!!! Dang. The wedding's next week. Thank goodness I'm wearing a sheath style dress with a jacket. Hides most of the flaws.)
This is the first time I've ever done a workshop like this. If you ever get a chance, you have to take classes at this inn. It's www.fiberartworkshops.com.
The wedding's in 9 days, I have quilts up the yazoo, and we're going away on the 23rd. How's that for bad planning? After the wedding, I'm sending my machine back to Gammill and having the Intellistitch taken out and the Plus put in. Talk about learning the hard way. I make very expensive mistakes and then have to pay lots to correct them. I just hope I'm doing the right thing. The machine is going away between the wedding and vacation. When we come home from Florida, I'm having my neck surgery. The machine is coming home around the 19th of July so I should, according to the dr., be able to quilt right away. I'm also getting the hydraulic lift-that should help my neck from having to be in one position all the time.
This is getting very long, so I'll see you later.
Have a great day.

A new week

The wedding is 18 days away. I have my dress, my hair's been colored. I need shoes, a manicure and a pedicure. Keri needs underwear so my friend can alter her dress. Last night I laid in bed imagining my baby boy saying wedding vows. It's tough. I can still see his baby curls in my mind, all the times he snuggled up on my lap. He was always a small child, so he was able to do that until he was around 12. Now I barely get a hug.
I like Alicia. I'm going to make the best of it-I will not be alienated from my son and any grandbabies that may come. I just miss my baby.
I just realized this morning that I'm going away the day after tomorrow! Dang-where did the time go? I've got a supply list to fill and I have to pack. No pressure..........
Mike and I went upstate to a friend's home on Friday. She just upgraded her machine from a shortarm to a Premier Plus. I love her studio-it's compact, but with space for everything. She's been quilting for customers for 14 years, and put her 2 boys through college with it. I am in awe of all she does.
Well, time to get going. The king size quilt on the machine won't quilt itself.

She's home

I miss Keri when she's away at school. I really do. But I forget how much havoc she can wreak when she comes home. My living room is filled with boxes; she can barely turn around in her room because of all the stuff from her dorm room. And she wants help NOW! all the time. Am I a bad mother because I love the peace and quiet when she's at school? We'll get into a routine, I know. She'll be working and we'll talk like we used to. But for now, ARGHHHHHHH!

I'm going to a weekend class on the 31st with a teacher named Esterita Austin. I want to learn something new, and her quilts intrigue me. It's a full 3 days. I'm going with a friend so I won't have to share a room with a stranger. If anyone has taken a class with her, tell me how you liked it. I'm really looking forward to just immersing myself in it without having to worry about anything. We're going to a B&B with a gourmet chef. How's that for a great class environment?

Customer quilt

A panto designer asked me to test a new pattern. I love the way this looks, don't you? I'm pushing as many quilts as possible through before the wedding and my surgery. It really is great doing this full time.

It's been a long while

I just looked at my blog and realized I haven't posted since February! It's been a roller coaster ride for the past few months. I've had to leave the Stash Quilts ring, but I'm going to try to get back in. Hopefully, Judy will allow it.
I am home on medical leave. If you remember, I had surgery last year. Well, now I'm into the complications phase. There's a bone spur pressing on the nerves in my neck. That causes pain and or numbness down my arm. Several weeks ago, the vertigo started. Thank goodness I can still quilt. Not as much, but some. My new surgery is on July 2nd. I wanted to wait until after the wedding in case I didn't recuperate as quickly as the doctor predicted.
The wedding is still on for the Precious twins next month and I've gotten my dress. I really love the colors-sort of like an opal. I did the right thing and waited for the mother of the bride to buy hers, but finally couldn't wait anymore. And it was the first one I tried on. Phew!!!!!!!! That's one thing off the list. We also booked a place for the rehearsal dinner. I think I'm done.
I've been working on building a t-shirt quilt business. If I'm going to have to make a living from home, then I want to make it work. The website is a work in progress, and I have to get some samples made.
So that's what I've been up to lately. Post some comments so I can catch up with all of you.

Sunday

Well, here it is. I finished this up on my Singer, thank goodness for a backup machine! The outer border looks so dark here, but it's actually a deep, deep green. The pinks are from my stash, so I did do a little busting with this quilt. I'm going to use the border green for the backing and binding.
I feel like I accomplished a little today. I did this quilt, loaded a customer's quilt on the longarm, and did some applique prep. Now I can relax and enjoy the game and the snacks. I know I'll pay for it tomorrow, but hey-you only live once, right?
I've been going around the ring and it's weird. Hitting next doesn't get me around the whole group. Anyone know why this happens?
I'd like to learn how to put peoples' names in my blog as a link to their sites. I'm going to have to research some more.
Well, that's all for now. I hear a jalopeno popper calling my name. YUM!

Dead Viking

I have a Viking Model 415-called the Freesia. I got it in 2003, so it's really not that old. Today, it died. Well, more specifically, the foot pedal died. But before it died, it put on a show. I was sewing along on the baby quilt that I have to bring to a shower in 3 weeks, and the circuit breaker tripped. I thought it was the iron, so I turned that off, and Mike went down to the panel with a flashlight and turned it back on. I tried to press down on the foot pedal, it whined and the circuit breaker tripped again. So down went Mike and turned it on. He played with the wire on the pedal a little, and the darn breaker tripped AGAIN!!!
Obviously, you don't have to hit either one of us over the head, just trip breakers on us. We'll catch on eventually..........
I was so impressed with myself. I was going to do the whole baby quilt top in one day. See what happens when I get too cocky?
So now here I am with a dead Viking in my sewing room. I'll haul out the Singer tomorrow and finish the quilt top. Hopefully, nothing will trip.
I went out to the Viking website to try to find a foot pedal, but lo and behold, my sewing machine is outdated. Surprise, surprise. I sent an email to a LQS that handles Vikings. I'll probably have to have it looked at, since Mike says there's nothing to the pedal so it must be something else. When the machine is turned on the needle does a little jog back and forth. Well, it was doing that on and off all afternoon, so he's probably right. Dang.

Tomorrow's the SuperBowl. I don't know which team I'm going to go for, but Mike's going for the Colts. We're staying home and having our own little shindig. Not a healthy food in sight. I guess the diet will really start on Monday. That wedding is getting closer.

I got the approval for the EMG and nerve conduction tests. There's a ridge of bone near the fusion site that's pressing on nerves on both sides, but the doctor will try to make it so I don't have to have more surgery. The ridge wasn't there before my surgery in June. One of the moms on my elementary run who works with insurance said I ought to sue. She wants to talk to me off the bus and she'll tell me what she thinks.

That's it for tonight. I've got Patti's applique instructions so I'm going to prep some pieces to do during the game tomorrow.

Better Late than Never!

Here's my "flimsy" of the Aug/Sept Hour a Day quilt. It came out pretty good, if I may say so. The green in the border looks very "lime" in the photos, but in reality it's from the Roseville collection, and it just pulled everything together. Now I can start the next baby quilt which has to be done by 2/24 for the baby shower. The baby is a girl and the mom's favorite colors are pink and sage green. I had the pink, but I'm really short of greens, so I had to get some. I'll try to cut the strips one evening this week.

I had my MRI last week, and went to the doctor this week for the results. Unfortunately, the place where I had the test done never faxed over the report to the doctor. Isn't that special? So she checked out my films and said there wasn't anything showing. Well, then she called me to read the report, she was on my voice mail and the message ran out before she could tell me what is going on. All the message said was that there's a ridge of bone near where I had the fusion and it's pressing on the nerves. So that's where all my pain is coming from. We've been playing phone tag, but I think I'm going to call and ask for an appointment to find out what's going on. This has gotten very old.

The Teamsters' union has been voted in at a couple of other bus barns owned by First Student, the company I work for. We're waiting to see what the negotiations get for them before we commit ourselves. But it's already making things very tense at work. People are at each others' throats, not a pleasant work environment. I keep plugging away at my longarm, hopefully I'll have enough business one day to walk away from the bus.

Not much news on the wedding front. Keri and the other bridesmaids picked out their dresses, and the guys will be going for their tuxes soon. I went to a dress shop and the woman told me to come back in April because they're seasonal. That's fine with me-maybe I can drop a few pounds before then.

Mike and I are going to a friend's for a Christmas in January dinner this afternoon. Good friends, good food and good conversation. Can't ask for more than that.

Should I or Shouldn't I??

Every time I click on the dashboard of my blog, it says to switch to the "New Blog". I have to confess, I'm not one of those people who try new stuff just for the heck of it. But, since a lot of you all have switched, maybe it won't be so bad. :)
I finally finished the first hour a day blocks!! It's a quilt top! All I have to do is add borders, which I'll do this weekend. I have another baby quilt to get done. The shower's the 24th of February. I had to buy some fabric for it, I'm very low in the green category. I'll try to post pictures of both by the weekend.
I've been very busy trying not to butt into my son's life. I know he's a grown man. Sometimes I look at him and think, "Dang-I gave birth to him?" But I'm having a hard time letting go. And I like Alicia. Imagine if I didn't like her. Wow!
I'm at an impasse here-not having enough time or energy for all the things I want to do. I had another MRI last Thursday, and I'll see the doctor this Wednesday to find out what it read. I'm having a lot of tingling, pins and needles, pain and spasms on the right side and now I've got a burning sensation up my left wrist, right where that bone sticks out. I can't say anything at work, they're already looking at me funny because I'm driving mostly with only one hand. You're not supposed to do that on a schoolbus.
I've been trying to get around the ring, I think I'm going to have to cut back if I want to stay in touch with everybody.
I know I said I'd do better for the new year, so I figure-better late than never.
Anybody here going to New Hampshire for MQX in April???

New panto storage

Here's my first organizing project for 2007. It's not the prettiest on the block but it'll work for me. Mike and I put up plastic over the wall and secured one side of 2"wide velcro strips to it vertically. This way, if I want to change it, I won't tear my wall apart. Lots of people saved their paper towel rolls for me and I stuck the other side of the velcro to each one. They're up on the wall in alphabetical order, and Mike is making labels.
I can't believe I waited over 5 years to do this. Dang, I AM a slow learner. :)

One more thing

I promise to visit you all more often and to stay in touch. We create these friendships, so I should let you know that I appreciate all of you. Have a happy, healthy, quilty New Year!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No photos today, I just want to add to many blogs I've been catching up on. So many of you have great goals for 2007 that I'm thinking of setting my own. I don't usually do resolutions or goals because I'm such a slouch and procrastinator.
Today, Mike and I are finishing up my new and improved panto storage!!! I've had it with crawling around on the floor for 1/2 hour every time I need a pattern. I'll take a couple of pictures, maybe it'll help someone else who is fighting with all their pantos.
I still have 2 pieced blocks of the Harvest Spice quilt to do, and then I can get to the putting together stage. I want this quilt done, I may be giving it to the Precious Twins as a wedding gift.

My main goal this year will be to stop procrastinating over the smallest thing. I drive myself and Mike crazy because I will put things off till the last minute and then laugh and say that I work well under the gun with a deadline. Well, guess what? This genius doesn't do well under pressure at all! So, I'm going to stop. End of discussion.

I was supposed to have another MRI this past week because this new doctor I'm going to says that she thinks I still have a pinched nerve. I say supposed to since Workers Comp hasn't authorized the MRI, so I'm completely at a standstill. If anyone knows what I can do, please feel free to email me privately or comment on the blog and let me know. I got hurt in May of '05 and I am so tired of not being 100%. If this is permanent, tell me and I'll learn how to adapt. If it can be fixed, then FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Driving the bus just makes it worse, but I'm holding on as long as I can since we're helping to pay for the wedding. If I have to go out on WC, then at least it's 2/3 pay and not taxed.
Sorry, didn't mean to dump all this. Mike tries to understand but he's so darn healthy and in shape, he thinks a little exercise will cure everything.

Linda J was kind enough to send me instructions on how to load things onto my sidebar, and I'm finally going to give it a shot once I locate all my UFOs, flimsies, and UFTs.

Once again, Happy New Year to all my blogger friends, you have enriched me more than you know. I promise to visit more of you and to stay in touch.

It's been awhile

But I'm still here. Isn't it amazing how time flies-even when you're not having fun. Anyway, I've been working on customer quilts and I finished the t-shirt quilt that I was commissioned to do. This young lady goes to Georgetown University in Washington, DC and her Mom had me make this as a Christmas gift. When she came today to pick it up, she actually started to cry! This is only the 2nd time in almost 6 years that that has happened.
I've been trying to read some of the blogs I normally do but Bloglines tells me I have almost 2000 to go through! So, if I don't leave a comment, forgive me.
I also want to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy Holidays to all my blogger friends.
By the way, David is still engaged, and I've decided that since she loves him and I love him, I'll just accept her the way she is. I only hope she doesn't change him too much.

Turkey Day

Just a short post to let you know I'm still here. The turkey's in the oven, I finished a bear of a customer quilt this morning, and now I'm going to pick up my applique. The part I'm doing now is reverse applique, and I'm not very good at it. So I'm going to use some fray check and hope for the best.

Hope this finds all my buddies in blogland happy and healthy and for those that celebrate Thanksgiving-may your day be filled with love and fellowship.

Lazy Day Sunday

I thought I'd get upstairs and work on a customer's quilt today. Well, that didn't happen. I sat down and read just about everybody's blogs and even got to comment on some. One that I came across was Quilting Daze's post about not wanting to quilt. I've been where she's at, so I can really feel what she's going through.
Another blog I read was Nancy's-where she made comment about going around the ring to read. So that's what I did and guess what? I found some I'd not read before. Like Smokey in the Netherlands. I got hooked on Bloglines and missed some great posts.
I read Jeanne's posts about Jan Patek and checked out Jan's quilts. Love 'em but have too much on my plate right now. What's funny is-I was just standing at my kitchen sink getting ready for dinner and looked at my AP&Q '06 calendar. There's October staring me in the face and the quilt pictured is by Joined at the Hip quilts. Very similar to Jan's style. Well, duh. I got the patterns for all the quilts with the calendar, so I can give it a try when I'm ready and I won't have to spend a dime.
Nothing on the quilty side except I straightened out my sewing area. I say area because I've lost part of the room to just about everything that has no home in my house. I swear this junk multiplies while I sleep.
Anyway, just wanted to touch base and say hi.
By the way, Judy L's November quilt looks like it'll be fun. Hope I can join in, but I do have to finish August's first. (Sigh)

A Meme

I have ...
1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Only 52 out of 150. Dang, I have to get out more!!!

Consider yourself tagged.

October's almost gone

There's less than a week left to this month, and I still haven't finished Judy L's August hour a day quilt. I was supposed to get together with my little quilt group last Friday, had everything packed before I went back to the bus barn in the afternoon.
My daughter had a routine doctor's app't, so Mike picked her up in Albany and brought her down. I walked into the waiting room at 4:30 and my cell phone rang. It was her, calling from the examination room, asking where I was. I told her and she said Mike and I were to come back to where she was. We walked down the hall and ran into the doctor who said he was scheduling her for an immediate CT scan. Apparently, her heartbeat was 140 and she's on some meds that can cause blood clots in the lungs, so he wanted to make sure she was alright. So we went over to the radiology department and we had to wait because it was a "wet" read. Everything was negative. By the time we got out of there at 7:30, all I wanted to do was crash at home. Keri's fine, it was some kind of fluke. She's been monitoring her pulse all week and it's been between 80 and 90.
So all my quilting stuff got unpacked and it's still sitting there. There's always this weekend.
I wanted to show you my little quilty group, but Blogger isn't cooperating; so I'll try again another time.

What season are you?

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Well, I guess this is timely. At least they got it right. One of my favorite things to do is drive down a country road, and just watch the leaves blow out of the way when I go by. I used to love doing it on my bike, now I love doing it with my car. It just makes me smile!!!

Hi-Remember me?

Okay, it's been a while since I've been here, but here are my hour a day blocks. Obviously, they're from the August one. I'm in the process of putting the top together, so stay tuned.

I got my stitches out Wednesday and I can finally get back to longarming. I contacted some of my clients about being behind, and let me tell you, quilters are the best people. Oh yeah, the face doesnt' look so bad either.

It's been weird at work. I'm on light duty so they have me in the office. Definitely NOT a happy place. I think if everyone spent some time in there, they'd understand why some of the people are so miserable. I stay out of all the politics, and tell them "I'm a temp, I'm going back on my bus".

I'm still hand stitching the binding on that yellow quilt. Can't wait to get it out of the house, I don't like doing bindings on my own stuff, never mind anyone else's.

I've been re-reading Sylvia Landman's book, "Make Money Quilting". I swear that whole book will be highlighted before I finish. Such great advice. It's available from her website, and I think Amazon.

Well, gotta go quilt. Have a great day, and weekend, if I don't get back to ya.

It's been a long week

I wasn't going to post about the basal cell surgery, but some people have told me that they've been praying for me, so I want to let them and you know that it's all gone. Mike drove me to the dermatologic surgeon's office Wednesday morning. I had a place on my left cheek that had biopsied positive back in August, so it was time to get it out. The biopsy site was the size of a pencil eraser. The final area done was the size of a quarter. They had to pull from my ear/cheek area to stitch it. 13 internal, 56 external in the shape of an upside down L-across to my temple and down the side of my nose almost to my mouth.
But the cancer is gone!! And since I can't work on the longarm, I've been making good progress on the August/September hour a day quilt. I'll have to ask Judy L. if I can still send her a picture. :)
I've been reading everybody's posts and it looks like fall has come everywhere. I know it's here in the Hudson Valley. Wednesday we sat outside at a picnic table at the doctor's office, and yesterday and today we need jackets! I love the colors, and I love wearing sweaters, heavy socks and turtlenecks. So this and spring are definitely my favorite seasons. All that's missing is the smell of burning leaves-we're not allowed to do that in the village.
I'll have some pics to show over the weekend, promise.

It's October-WOW!!

I can't believe it's October already. This year has flown by. Dave and Alicia are getting married in June, and I wanted to lose 30 pounds by April so that I wouldn't have to buy my dress at Omar the Tentmaker's shop.
So here's my new goal: I am going to try to lose 4 pounds a month from now until April. That will be 6 months/24 pounds. I can live with that. I figure if I write it down, maybe I'll stick to it.
I've seen other blogs where you've listed your October goals, so I'm going to do that too:

October goals:
1. Finish last 3 pieced blocks for the Harvest Spice quilt.
2. Get started on t-shirt quilt for customer.
3. Get binding done on yellow quilt for customer.
4. Finish piecing the August hour a day quilt.
5. Work on my applique UFOs-one by Piece O'Cake and one by Pat Campbell.

I don't see these as too ambitious, do you?

My local guild had it's biennial show this weekend. My Thimbleberries Quilter's Garden got a 3rd place and 2 of my customers' quilts got a 3rd and an Honorable Mention. There's another local LAer who had at least 10 quilts in the show and she did very well. I told Mike that is because she gets to do it full time. I'm not jealous, just wishful. I'd love to be able to quilt full time. But it's not in the cards right now. Oh well. I am very happy about my ribbon, haven't gotten one in a while. And in her comments, the judge liked my binding!!! Woohoo!! I have never gotten good comments on my bindings before.

I talked to a wonderful lady at one of the vendors' booths. Her name is Jo Coons and she designs the most wonderful applique designs. Her website is: www.potpourripieces.com I was telling her about a project Mike and I want to do for next year's MQX, and she is going to work with us on the colors for the hand dyes. What a compliment. I asked her how she gets so much accomplished and she told me that she gets all her prep work done and then sits down in the evening to do the stitching. She can just sit and stitch without having to do anything else. I like that idea.

I keep trying to get around to everyone's blog, but life gets in the way. So I apologize. I have a question-how many blogs on your list is too many? And do you try to leave comments on each one? That's what I find the hardest.
I am going to try to remember gratitudes. Here's some for today:

A day at home to quilt
Beautiful fall sunshine
Doing stuff I love

No pics today, sorry. I'll have to get some of the show pics out of the camera and onto the computer.

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?

AARRGH!!!!

I am so not happy with Blogger right now. I'm way behind on reading, I should be upstairs with a custom quilt on the machine, and I can't post comments on anybody's blog!!! Okay, I know my
priorities screwed up. I want to say hello to the people whose lives I'm reading about and IT WON'T LET ME!!! There, I feel better; NOT.
Tracey, Bonnie H, Karen at Passionate Quilter I'm trying to comment. Especially Karen-don't be afraid of surgery. I had cervical disc replacement and I'm very glad I did.
I've got all my squares cut and the lines drawn to sew my HSTs. I'll do that this evening if it's not too muggy.
The sewing room is kind of coming along. Mike and I can't agree on what kind of shelves to put in the closet. And I don't really have any room for a design wall unless I do one That I can roll up right inside the sliding doors of the closet. Oh well, that's for the future.

I'm in a slump when it comes to customer quilts. I love being up there, but I hate going up. Does that make sense? When I'm alone in the house, I don't have it as bad, but when there's someone home, I'm afraid of missing something. How stupid is that? I want to quilt just not when I can be with other people. Hmm....our daughter Keri would have a field day with this in her psych class.

I showed the pic of the Precious Twins the other day. She's living here with us right now, stuff going on at home. I don't have a problem with that. But our son had to call a family meeting on Sunday because her sense of humor is different than ours so she saw Mike's and my teasing as ganging up on her. Alrighty then. We're going to say when something bothers any of us so there's no hard feelings. I thought everything was cool so when she said something last night, I told her it bothered me. Well, that didn't work. I don't want to alienate her and I sure as heck don't want to lose my son. Any ideas? I'm open to just about any suggestion.

It's the weekend!!

Here's a picture of some of the fabrics I pulled for my hour a day quilt. Since then, I've added a few more blues, a purple and a couple of more backgrounds. I don't want this to be a red quilt.
I've cut strips to match up for the HSTs and will start cutting them today.
Patti asked why do we quilt? I've been thinking about that since I read her posts.
I had never even heard of quilts or quilting until a friend and I went to the Amish country of PA when I was 18. We stayed one night with a Mennonite family and slept under quilts even though it was summer. That trip was such an eye opener for me. I saw all the quilts that these women made and was bowled over. Nobody in my family had ever done anything like that. But, since I have the attention span of a gnat, I forgot about it until years later when Mike and I took the kids on vacation to Lancaster County. That's when I found the shop in Intercourse. I went through every single rack and stack of quilts in that place and realized I couldn't afford a single one. So I looked closer and decided I wanted to make one myself. The rest, as they say, is history. lol
I quilt because I have only one thing from my grandmother. It's a thread crocheted part of a bedspread that my Mom was going to toss if I didn't take it. It was in pieces because Grandma died before she finished it. So a friend of mine took it and finished it for me. I'm keeping it for my daughter.
So I quilt. Somebody someday will be able to say "My grandma made this".
I quilt because I like it. I may not finish everything. I love puzzles and piecing quilts is like doing puzzles.
I quilt because it makes me feel good.
This brings me to a lightbulb moment I had when I read Patti's blog. I've been a longarm machine quilter since 2000, and have been concentrating on doing customer quilts at the expense of my own. I always said I didn't need to make my own, I have a private quilt show in my studio every day. Well, guess what? I've been very wrong. I do need to do my own. Just pulling the fabric for the hour a day has made me feel better. On the other hand, I've been doing the Harvest Spice BOM and that hasn't done anything but get me extremely pissed(excuse my language). It builds up like lava in a volcano and I have to put it away or I'll throw it away. And it's going to be a wedding gift for the Precious Twins. So I will plug away at it. But....................I will do the hour a day, and I will eventually do Tonya's challenge because I really want to learn how to do the letters. If and when Judy comes up with more projects, I will do them too.
Because I need to quilt. Not just use someone else's formulae and fabrics like the BOMs and kits. Yes, I'm following a pattern with the hour a day, but I'm using fabrics that I've held, stroked and loved. It won't look like anybody's quilt-it'll be mine.
It won't be easy once school starts. My surgeon said I can do light duty, so I'll be answering phones at the bus barn until I'm able to drive. They're really going to love me when I tell them I may have to have a basal cell removed from my face. I had it biopsied yesterday and will hear next week whether or not it's skin cancer. If it is, it's got to come out.
But I will quilt. Just because I have to and want to. It's become part of who I am. I am a quilter.

Judy L.

You can now find Judy at: http://judylaquidara.blogspot.com/
She's got the instructions for the hour a day there and all the info on what happened to her blog.

Here they are

This is our son David and his fiancee, Alicia. They got engaged on Christmas day and will be married June 15, 2007.
They didn't do too well at the audition yesterday. There was a written test and they were 1 of the 2 couples that didn't pass. I explained that it may not have been the number of questions they got wrong but the question types.
But the way, we call them the "Precious Twins".

It's Monday

Our son is down in NYC with his fiancee. They've got an audition for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". It's for engaged couples. Wouldn't that be so cool? I'd love to show you a picture of them, but I can't get it from my Kodak Easy Share to here. Is there anybody out there who can explain it to me?
My sewing room is coming along. All the stuff from the bathroom is gone, and now we have to figure out where to put the stuff that's in the closet so we can convert it into shelves. I've got most of my UFOs located so I can put them all together in one place. Most of them are WIPs, things I've started and gotten bored doing. I will put up "after" photos when it's really after.
I found a bunch of fat quarters that were supposed to be a Churn Dash quilt from about 6 years ago. I think they'd do great for Judy's hour a day quilt. So I'm going to get them ready over the next few days, and hopefully get started. (Did I mention I have to make a t-shirt quilt for a customer? I can finally do that too now that I have some room to work.) I've been following along with everyone who's been so busy cutting and piecing, so I'm right there with you all. I'm hoping to do Tonya's Xs and Os blocks soon also. Does anyone have enough hours in their day? I sure don't.
Haven't bought any fabric, thread, books, notions. I have a gift certificate from my longarm secret stitcher for longarm supplies but I can't make up my mind what to buy.

Just wanted to check in, I have to go to physical therapy. Oh joy.

Whew!!

I've been so busy reading other people's blogs, I forgot to write in my own! I can't keep up with all of you-how do you do it? I was going to subscribe to bloglines, but some people have said they don't get all the updates. So does anyone have any other suggestions?
I so want to do Judy's one hour a day but life keeps getting in the way. The new desktop arrived on Monday-they put a rush on it. Then, last evening while I was at book club, Mike got a phone call from the online store saying they were shipping my desktop. UH OH. Well, we'll just refuse the delivery if another one shows up.
I went to see the surgeon on Tuesday, and he told me that the fusion has not completely taken yet. He saw some movement in the x-rays. So he didn't release me to go back to work on September 5th, he wants to reevaluate on the 19th. I told my job and found out there are lots of state laws that come into play when we can't start work on the first day of school. Welcome to NY-the land of over-taxing and micro-managing.
Then I went to my primary physician yesterday and he confirmed that I have fibromyalgia. Oh joy! I can live with that. I also have to go to a dermatologist because he thinks I may have a minor skin cancer on my face. And an ENT because the surgeon may have disturbed some nerves when he went in so that's why I feel like there's something permanently lodged in my throat. Doesn't slow down the eating unfortunately.
At least the new bathroom is functioning. When we turned on the new shower, there was a leak, but Mike fixed it and all we have to do is hang the towel racks and it'll be DONE!!!!
This afternoon, we're going to put my new sewing table/desk together. So I'd better get in gear and finish the customer quilt on the machine so I can get the next one on and help Mike.
This went on too long, but sometimes it helps to get things written down.

Setback

I thought we'd be putting the desk together this weekend, I really did. But it doesn't look good. Okay, let me go back a little.
I ordered a desk from an online site. When it came, I noticed a hole in the side of the box. One of the support pieces was damaged through 2 boxes and a layer of styrofoam. So I called the company and they sent a replacement. Once we had the new piece, Mike did inventory to make sure all the pieces were there. We saw that the desktop was damaged once we unwrapped it completely. Another phone call, another replacement. I offered to send the top back, but they didn't want it. Yesterday, the second replacement arrived. The box looked as if it had been used by 2 forklifts to play catch. Lo and behold the replacement is more damaged than the original. So I called once again. Now, they're taking a survey on customer service. Do I sound satisfied? When I asked the young man if I could please send back this one, he said it was too expensive for them to reship. He told me that the THIRD desktop should ship today. That means it won't get here until at least Tuesday.
I read that Judy is starting the one hour a day on Monday. I'm going to have to play some catch up, I guess. I want to do this quilt.
On a happier note, DS David is getting married in June. They got engaged on Christmas, and we love her. Anyway, Alicia took DD Keri and me to the catering hall where they're going to get married. The wekking planner took us around, explained who will stand where, and how the sequence of events will take place. I teared right up. Then we went and looked at dresses for me. She has her gown already picked out, and her bridal party's dresses too. I am going to have to lose about 30 lbs. between now and April so that I can get a dress that doesn't look like I should be buried in it. So I have a goal to work for-and I'm extremely goal oriented.
This got longer than I planned, so I'll go for now. I have to figure out how to get a picture from my Kodak Easy Share program to where I can post it, and then I'll show you the precious twins(that's what we call Dave and Alicia.

DUH!

I published my post and voila! All the photos are on the left side. So, I guess I'm doing something right when I click on "left". DUH Again.

In case anyone is wondering what I'm talking about when I say that I am waiting for my sewing room, this is it. I'll call these my "before" pictures.
We're remodeling our downstairs bathroom, and since our basement is so damp, Mike has to use the front room as his workroom.
The white square thing you see in the middle of the first pic is my rolling cutting table from Joann's. The tv stand box belongs to our daughter, Keri. She's going back to college in a few weeks and had to buy some "essentials". On the right is a room long coat closet. Our house was built around 1917, so no closet space. Mike has said that we can take out the hanging rack on the side nearest the big window and put in shelves for my fabric. I can hardly wait!
The second pic shows the shower doors that are waiting to go in, plus the big windows I'll have when the room is mine. This room is the entry to our house, so I'm hoping that will make me kepp it somewhat presentable. At least I'll try. I've never had a sewing room before, just a corner of the dining room table.
The third shows the pieces of the writing desk I bought to have as my sewing table. We can't assemble it until the room is empty. That will be next weekend, according to Mike. I ordered the desk online, and when it came, one of the pieces was damaged all the way through the packing boxes. I called the company and the new piece was sent. When we opened everything up to inventory it, we found that one of the corners of the desktop was a little crushed, as if someone stepped on it. Again on the phone with the manufacturer, now they're sending a new top. I asked if I should send the damaged one back-it's so big and heavy-but they said no. so Mike is thinking he may use it downstairs to build a workbench.
I'll post pics when it's done.
So there's my saga. I've been finding my UFOs and putting them all in one place so I can find them when I'm ready to work on them. So does that count as something quilty???
Oh, on the NO FABRIC front-one of the quilt shops I shop at sent out their enewsletter yesterday. In it was a 20% coupon that has to be used by the 13th. I got so excited for about 30 seconds. Then I remembered the challenge. So off into cyberspace with it. Oh well.......
If anyone can help me learn how to line up my photos down the left side, I will really appreciate it. I don't like guessing where my pictures are going to show up.
I have to say this-I am getting so much inspiration from all the blogs I read. I know I'm spending way too much time reading them, but like I've said before, it's addictive. I love all the different viewpoints and the fact that not everybody follows the same drummer. I feel like a sponge just soaking it all up. Thanks to all of you.

Thursday

I took the day off yesterday and spent it with my DD, Keri. She's going back to college in a few weeks, so I wanted to have some girl time with her. We had a nice lunch at Olive Garden and went to see the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean". We laughed so hard, we had tears rolling down our faces. We both love Johnny Depp.
Since I don't know where the photos are going to land, I'll just tell you this is the quilt that I gave to my friend for her grandbaby. I made the binding a bright yellow to keep with the crayon colors of the whole quilt.
I'm waiting to see what project Judy L. comes up with to help with quilting time. I have to go back to work on the bus next month, so I'll lose a lot of quilting time. I'll be grateful for any advice I can get.
Today I need to catch up. I have a bunch of customer quilts to do before I go back next month. So gotta run. But I will read as many other blogs as possible in between.

Hot!!

Sorry I haven't written in a few days. It's been brutal here, and I don't have a/c in the living room/office where the computer is. The baby animal quilt is done, done and will be delivered today. Mike has to download the photos from the camera to his computer and then share them with me, so I 'll have them tomorrow, hopefully.
Not much going on around here, still waiting for the bathroom to be done so I can work on my sewing area. I am so looking forward to having a permanent place to sew. I even bought a ft writing desk as a new sewing table. Just have to assemble it.
What amazes me about this heat is that we are living in 2006, the 21st century, and the utility companies can't handle it. New York City is suffering through blackouts, fires in manholes and on utility poles! This is unacceptable-why are they still operating with equipment and cables/wiring from the 1950s-60s? I know other major cities are the same. Isn't it sad that a few hot days can bring these cities to their knees? Then they have the nerve to raise rates when they're not doing anything to alleviate the situation. It makes me crazy!!!
Okay, rant is over. I feel better now. Not cooler, just calmer. I have to be extra careful with heat because I've gone to the ER in the past with heat exhaustion and had to be put on IV. They told me then that now I'm predisposed. Isn't that just peachy. So I do as much as I can early in the morning and then just veg out for the afternoon and evening.
I think I'll pull out my Quilted Diamond project this evening. Mike has to march in a parade, Keri is working, so I'll sit with some handwork. As much as I love it, it goes very slow for me. So I'll just keep plugging.
Have a great day and stay cool.