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.

Meme and Stash Quilts

Since I'm reading about so many people, I thought I'd give this a try. Since I'm typically very longwinded, this was harder than I thought.


One Word for -
1. Yourself: searching
2. Your partner: methodical
3. Your hair: growing
4. Your Mother: resigned
5. Your Father: deceased
6. Your favorite item: books
7. Your dream last night: unknown
8. Your favorite drink: tea
9. Your dream home: ranch
10. The room you are in: cluttered
11. Your pleasure: reading
12. Your fear: falling
13. Where you want to be in ten years: shore
14. Who you hung out with last night: Mike
15. What you're not: proactive
16. Your best friends: hysterical
17. One of your wish list items: peace
18. Your gender: female
19. The last thing you did: binding
20. What you are wearing: pajamas
21. Your favorite weather: autumn
22. Your favorite book: none
23. Last thing you ate: ice cream
24. Your life: okay
25. Your mood: calm
26. The last person you talked to on the phone: Keri
27. Who you are thinking about right now: /David

I also want to thank Judy L. for approving me to be a member of the ring. It's fun being part of a group so you can talk quilting for as long as you want. I like the fact that our lives enter into it too. I've taken up Vicky's challenge, so there will be no fabrice purchases for the month of August. I have one quilting book on order already, so I'm committed to buying that. But that will be it for the month.(crossing fingers here)
Have a great day and talk to you soon!

I just came from Judy L's blog. I hope I didn't break any rules by clicking to join her new ring. If I'm still on the waiting list, I'll remove it until she tells me otherwise.
Judy's gone back to the original ring. I've taken the new info off.

My Mom called me yesterday to tell me my aunt Helen from Las Vegas passed away. She was my Mom's last remaining sibling, and 5 years younger than Mom. It hit me harder, I think. I'm an only child, and so are both of my cousins. So I don't have a lot of family. Mom said that my aunt had been reclusive for so long, living out west, that it didn't hurt so bad. That makes me so sad. I just wanted to note her passing. She leaves behind one son, my cousin Gary, who is 5 years older than me. He was married for a while but no kids. I'm going to try to maintain contact with him. My one other cousin, Tom, lives in NC and doesn't talk to any family at all. Mike says I'm lucky, and I know I am, to have him and our kids. They are MY family. I also have his family(he's one of six)-and we're a big, loud Irish American family. So I'll count my blessings.
On a happier note, a friend of mine opened a new quilt shop in North Chelmsford, MA. It's called Mill Girl Quilts. She and her sister took over the business from another lady. If you get a chance, they do have an online shop too.
The 2 photos are of a BOM I participated in a couple of years ago. I did 5 blocks and got bored out of my mind. So a friend of mine finished the piecing for me in exchange for me quilting one of her tops. Then I quilted and bound it. I have to say, I love the Baptist Fan and it goes so good with almost everything. I'm putting it in our local show at the end of September. That's the quilt that started me thinking that I don't want to just follow along anymore. Of course I got sucked into another BOM this year by the same friend. And she has offered to finish the Harvest Spice quilt for me. Think she wants to barter again? I've decided that Harvest Spice is going to be a wedding gift for my son and his fiancee. So I'm going to do the whole thing myself. And I swear, I won't buy any more kits. I still have 3 Jinny Beyer kits I bought at her studio/shop 4 years ago. One is a tote bag, so I should at least do that one. The rest I may just put into my stash.
Dang, this got so long, I'd better stop.
Melanie asked about my longarm. I'll talk about that in another post.
Even though this forum is basically anonymous(we don't really know each other) it's still a way to reach out and I feel better. Thanks.

I just tried to leave a comment on Nancyquilts blog but it bounced back. Told me that it was because of an SPF she has. Here's what I wrote:

I just finished reading your archives and all I can say is WOW! What a prolific lady you are. I have to tell you-I noticed your birthday. Mine is Jan 8th, so we're kind of like soul sisters, right?I love all the quilts you've made and reading little bits of your life. You are very good at describing the everyday things. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better through your blog.Thanks for the experience.

So, Nancy if you read this, please let me know how to correspond with you.
I'm still hoping to be accepted into the Stash Quilts blog ring, so maybe that will make it easier to write to more people. I try to leave comments on most of the blogs I read, it's kind of like answering someone when they speak to you, I guess.

Started physical therapy yesterday. My neck does feel better this morning, I have to admit. I've not been feeling too well this morning, so I'm running behind getting upstairs to another customer quilt. This one was made with denim and home dec fabric so it weighs a ton.
My new sewing table that I ordered from an online office furniture site has a dent in the top. So now I have to call them. I have a 5 year limited warranty on it so they shouldn't give me a hard time, I hope. I can't wait to actually have a sewing room, I've never had one before. Maybe once everything is in one place, I'll be able to enjoy sewing again.
Well, I have to get my butt in gear and go to "work". If anyone can tell me what the SPF stuff means, I'd sure appreciate it. Till later......

Here's a couple of photos of the Country Cottage Quilt. The first one shows the center, and the next is the whole quilt. The customer just came and picked it up, and said she liked it.
This is why I haven't been able to do too much of my own thing this past week.
Other than this, I'm still working on the binding for the animal baby quilt. At least the weather has broken for a few days-the weatherman is saying it'll be lower humidity and temps in the '80s until the middle of the week.
I've been reading lots of blogs this summer and I envy everyone's enthusiasm for quilting. I'm trying to keep mine going, believe me. It's hard not having the time or energy to piece or applique. If anyone reads this, I'd love to hear how you all keep the spark alive.

Although my picture is kind of dark, this is a little quilt I made from scraps in my stash. I put this together to show some friends how simple it is to make a quilt. I won some fat quarters as a door prize last year, so they are the rails, and luckily I had some nice fabric to make a couple of borders.
I don't have pictures of a lot of the quilts I've made, but I'm trying to do better.
I'm still working on the custom quilt, just wanted to take a break.

Nothing quilty going on here lately. I've been busy with a customer's quilt since Monday. It's the Countryside Cottage BOM from Joann's. She wants it exactly like the picture on the pattern. Can I say I hate custom??????????
Yesterday was Mike's birthday, and he had a great day. Our son and fiancee joined in for the gift giving, she's definitely a keeper. He and I went to the Monticello Raceway Casino, and came home only down $70.00. We had dinner at the buffet, and it was an all-round relaxing afternoon and evening.
I've got the binding sewn onto the front of the animal baby quilt, and will start hand stitching it down this evening.
I can't wait for the bathroom to be done, then all the stuff that belongs in there will be out of my sewing area. Mike and our daughter are painting as we speak, a nice soft yellow. All new fixtures, right down to the floor.
My eyes are dilated right now so the screen is shimmering in front of me. I was in the eye doctor's examining room for over an hour, having tests done to make sure I don't have glaucoma and that the floaters aren't getting any worse. They have all sorts of new machines to test vision now, it's gotten very precise.
We're going out to dinner tomorrow evening with another couple. The husband has the same birthday as Mike. We're doing dinner and a movie. Not only are they "going out to dinner" friends, she's started quilting, and wants me to machine quilt her tops. She's in my group that meets once or twice each month.
That's about it for now. I'm going to try to show some photos soon. They're all in Mike's computer, so I have to email them to mine.
Have a great evening.

This and that

Mike keeps telling me I have to practice time management. I've even taken classes at MQX on how to schedule days so I can do the stuff I want to do. Sometimes, I think its' hopeless.

Anyway, not too much quilty to talk about. I had to go to the Quilt Basket shop yesterday to meet with customers. 2 dropped off and 2 picked up. So it was a good day. Since I'm still getting light-headed when I drive(the surgeon says it's not related to the spinal fusion surgery), Mike dropped me off, went to his mom's, and then picked me up. We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch as a treat before going to West Point for food shopping. But, I'm getting off the subject here.

Whenever I'm at the shop, I wander up and down the aisles. This is a beautiful shop-light and bright. I see something new every time I'm there. However, since I've made up my mind to try to use my stash, I wander and nothing hits me. The kits look too perfect, I prefer a pattern where I can use what I have. I was talking to one of my customers and told her that I was making the Harvest Spice quilt and that it's my last kit for a long time. She looked at it and remarked about how many scraps I'll have left over when I finish it. Dang-she was right, and I make piles of the triangles I get from it for leaders and enders. That way, they're not just orphan pieces, and maybe, just maybe I'll use them.

Sitting here, I'm thinking about the animal baby quilt. All I have to do is machine sew the binding onto the front, and I can hand finish it in the evenings. My friend's daughter had the baby on Thursday-a little girl, Jessica Ann, weighing in at 6 lbs. Not bad for being over 3 weeks early. So I have to get on the stick and do that binding. Then it will be done and I can get on with other things. I have a custom quilt that I have to get done this week, fun.

Time to shower and get ready for church. Then, we have another graduation party this afternoon. It's supposed to be near 100 degrees-I hope they have AC.

It's addictive!

I find myself reading so many people's blogs everyday! I love this little glimpse into their lives. Only problem is: I sit here when I should be working. A customer called yesterday and asked if her quilt would be ready for me to meet her this Saturday at the Quilt Basket, and I said sure...
Then I went up and looked at the dimensions. I have to do it. My bank account requires it. lol
I just have to eat breakfast, shower and get my butt in gear.