Georgia-Girl Quilter

October Retreat at A Scarlet Thread Quilt Shop

2011-10-24T18:51:00.000-04:00

Another fun and successful sewing retreat hosted by my LQS . There were about 25 folks there all having a grand time, sewing, eating, sewing, laughing, sewing, sharing, sewing, making new friends, and sewing, eating......etc, etc, etc!

This was a project completed by Harriette. There was a circular bargello class taught by Peggy Barkle the day before and many were working on there projects. They were all stunning! Check out other bargello pics and retreat pics and strip club pics on the blog.

I elected to work on smaller projects. I did this little bag...not quite done yet. I need to serge some deco thread around the edges and make a flower using Clover's new kanzashi flower maker (which I bought at the retreat).

The group at work. We all had such fun! I believe January's retreat only has 4 slots available! It fills up very fast!

Thanks for visiting. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

WOW...months are running by...quickly

2011-09-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

What has happened to the year!? Can't believe it's already the last day of September. We need to be drawing those Christmas names rather soon.

I was going to reflect on what I have accomplished this year, but I think I will wait since I still have 3 more months to get some items completed. There is always more things I would like to do then what I have months to do them in. I guess it will always be that way.

My LQS haven't yet put up the pics to our Jelly Roll 1600 race but check out the YouTube video here to get an idea of how it works. I need to start taking more pic with my phone and posting them...pics are always more interesting then just words!

Tomorrow is Strip Club day. We have so much fun. I sometimes have to watch in what company I say that, but never in the company of quilters. Our format is changing and I think for the better..check it out. I will remember to take pics and post them.

Have a blessed Friday and thanks for visiting...Happy Living, Happy Quilting

Fun Time at Retreat

2011-09-18T19:06:00.002-04:00

Had a great time. Sewed from 9am to 9pm on Saturday. LQS owner, Karen, is always a great host. She kept us laughing and fed all day. I worked on several small projects and participated in the

Jelly Roll 1600 race. I placed a close third using my serger. Top winners were only 20 seconds or so apart. It was fun. I finished my quilt top in 34 minutes. For information visit YouTube and search jelly roll 1600. May have to do more with this method. Didnt' take pics, but I sure pics will be posted soon on LQS blog. I will update soon.

Thanks for visiting....

Happy Living, Happy Quilting.

DeAnna

2011-09-15T20:35:00.001-04:00

Come join the fun....Friday Night Sew-In

Quilt retreat coming up

2011-09-14T20:36:00.003-04:00

I signed up for Saturday's quilt retreat at my LQS. I went in July and we had such a blast. Sewed, laughed, ate, laughed, sewed, ate, laugh, ate, sewed...from 9am to 9pm. Check it out on my LQS blog. There are also pictures of my Honeyberries quilt that I serged using deco thread and a picture of my gold and silver serged table topper. I even made the tassels on my serger! The site has some great pics. I'm looking forward to this Saturday. I'm back in school trying to earn my Master's of Science in Nursing...and working full time. Just finished up with a course and I have a week and a half off before starting again....I NEED TO TO SEW!

My new sewing technique and personal goal is to become a serger diva. My last few projects, I've done on the serger...I even did mitered corners on a border...I held my breath and let the machine do the sewing an cutting...it's the best mitered border corner I've ever done! (Done on the gold and silver table topper). I embroidered a pretty gold ornament on the center block.

Everyone...please a have great evening and rest of the week. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Quilting, Happy Living!.....DeAnna

I hope to Be Back

2011-08-12T19:30:00.002-04:00

Well...well...well.....I hope to be back. Life has been so busy. I'm still quilting, but now I've added embroidery to my adventures. I am currently embroidery on my quilts to quilt them. Look me awhile to figure it out and get comfy with it. I progressing right along. I will get comfortable with one or two designs on the quilt...then try something new on the next one. My sewing room looks like a Baby Lock showroom with 3 of their great machines.

Hope to post pics soon of my quilts.

Happy Friday, Happy Living, Happy Quilting.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2010-05-09T11:42:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all. Hope your day is filled with love and happiness ....

......and you get to relax
......and do whatever you want to do
......and play on the computer
......and make up silly little e-mails
......and go shopping
......and pittle in your sewing room
......and eat whatever you want
......and..... not gain weight
......and get to watch TV with the remote in your hand
......and don't have to clean your house or do laundry
......and don't have to cook
......and don't have to feed the animals
......or the kids
......and don't have to clean up after hubby graciously offers to grill or cook since.....
IT IS YOUR DAY
......and hope when you offer to help with the making of the hamburger patties....
hubby says "Not on your life. I'm not giving you future ammunition"

......and win the lottery so that you can take your other mom friends on a Mother's Day Weekend Retreat to escape the reality of what it means to be a MOM...but only for a day or two.....any longer....the world would just fall apart.

Happy Day!. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Visiting Mobile Alabama

2010-04-19T17:48:00.002-04:00

Family and I are currently in Mobile Alabama for a few days doing some family things...actually my Dad is here for a National Award....Newspaper Carrier of the Year Award....something he has been doing since the age of 14 and he is currently 75 and still doing it....WOW....how many years is that? Most people change jobs every 5 or so years. Way to go Dad!!!!

The conference ends tomorrow and I'm headed back to Atlanta and rest of family (parents and siblings) are headed back to Louisiana. Hubby has a dinner meeting tomorrow night....which means that I don't have to rush back home from Mobile....what can I do?...I Know!...I Know! How about a Quilt Store shop hop from Mobile to Atlanta...Interstate 65/85. I can check out the stores here in Mobile and Montgomery and others in between that are not to far off the interstate. Sounds like a fun plan to me.

Hope that everyone has a great week. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Happy Easter! What are you cooking?

2010-04-03T10:39:00.005-04:00

Hope that everyone has a Happy and Blessed Easter and that you are able to be with loved ones on this special holiday.

What is everyone serving tomorrow? I would love to hear about your menu plans and Easter egg hunt plans! I'm serving a Baked Ham with a honey glaze, green beans, potato salad, deviled eggs and probably a cheesecake with strawberry topping since that's my hubby's favorite dessert. All this and there are only 3 of us! We will be eating Ham leftover remakes all week long. Maybe my daughter will bring some back to school with her. No egg hunts for us, since it's just 3 of us, but we will probably dye some eggs since it's such a tradition.....there's a leftover idea....ham salad with chopped eggs. I probably will bake some fresh bread too...I just love fresh baked bread and my bread machine and I get along so well together.

Maybe tomorrow afternoon I can get some quilting done. My stash and UFO bin is just growing and growing. I never did finish my husband's quilt for his b-day. Shame on me. It's about 95% quilted. I got sidetracked on totes and Shop Hop. Tomorrow or maybe tonight maybe a good time to finish it up.....alas...I wave bye-bye to another deadline as it has come and gone. At least I will ALWAYS have something to do!

Now it's time to take a nap...I worked all night and I'm tired. Great night until shift change when one of my patients decided it was time to go unresponsive and stop breathing. Being the professional and calm team that we are, the patient is now breathing after loads of medication and several waves of shocks. I always hate a bad outcome, but it's especially worse during a holiday. The holiday is never the same for the family members.....but God calls us when he is ready.

Happy Easter to all. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Tool Caddy turned Art Caddy

2010-03-23T18:36:00.002-04:00

I knew that I wouldn't use the quilter's tool caddy I made and that it would just start collecting dust in my sewing studio...so I actually had a cool idea....turn it into an Art Caddy. I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of crayons, colored pencils and an activity booklet and loaded up the caddy. I gave it to a 3 year old and she loved it...... Mom loved it too! The activity booklet fit perfectly in the top flap and the zippered pockets could hold all sorts of art thingys for a child. I think I like it better as an art caddy than something used for quilting or sewing.

I just finished this tote which I also gave to the 3 year old who just loves purses. Actually, the art caddy fit perfectly into the tote. It turned out to be a nice gift. The tote was easy enough and I got the pattern from the Spring 2010 edition of Quilts and More from Better Homes and Gardens mag. that I picked up during Shop Hop.

Tonight I hope to start on my daughter's UGA tote, then her friends Gone w/Wind tote, which I'm still working out in my head. Tomorrow is the 24th....the night I go back to work after being off for two weeks. It's been a great two weeks...a "doing what I wanted to do each day" vacation. It's been great and I guess it's now time to get back into a routine.

Thanks for visiting. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Shop Hop Day 3

2010-03-21T18:24:00.006-04:00

I'm done. It took me 3 days, but I was able to visit all 11 stores and now I'm ready to relax just like Pooh Bear. That shop's theme was As American as......"a picnic". I logged 425 miles in the car and the weather was great. Sunday, today is the last day for Shop Hop Hoppers and it's rained all day. I'm glad I did it when I did.

These are the items I bought on my 3rd day. The set of UGA fabrics are for the tote pattern for my daugther. The Gone w/Wind fabric panel is for a tote for daughter's dorm-mate who just loves the movie. Haven't figured out how I'm going to use it yet, but I'm sure it will come together just fine. I also bought some of that Best Press starch. I hear it's all the rage among quilters so I'm going to give it a try and see how long a bottle will last me.

Here are the day's freebies. I have collected 55 nickel squares. That's something that can be added to my stash for future use. I'll have to get out my nickel quilt pattern book.

These are the charms from Day 1 and 2. We have here As American As.....Mark Twain (frog), a picnic, the family dog, movie and popcorn, folk art and best friends. Also is the 2010 Shop Hop charm.

Here are some of the quilts from day 3. I've really seen a lot of great quilts which have given me inspiration.

This store's shop hop theme was "a movie and popcorn" and they had some great movie inspired quilts.

Versions of the shop hop quilt.

Another year done and lots to add to my stash and project list and UFOs and missed deadlines......life goes on.

AND life is great.....even with the rain.

Thanks for visiting. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Shop Hop Day 2

2010-03-19T16:32:00.004-04:00

Just a-hoppin along day. Made it to the 3 stores that I wanted to get to and probably put about 120 miles on the car....forgot to look. I will give the grand mileage total after tomorrow's adventure. Also made it home before the Friday night Atlanta traffic was in full swing....a very important goal I achieved.

Here are the freebies from today's goodie bags.

......and this is what I bought. I plan on making the overnight bag with the clearance fabric shown below. Dark print on the outside and light print for the lining. The Quilter's Pocket Reference is the bomb! I held on to that through-out the store since it was the last one! The Painless Paper-Piecing book was rather painless as in only costing $10 (possibly a mis-price) I hung on to that also.

Here are some of the quilts that were on display. I was so caught up in the offerings of the stores I almost forgot to take pictures.

The is another version of the Shop Hop quilt. I like the corner options.

Tomorrow I plan to visit the last three stores. Hopefully the beautiful weather will hold out. Today was sunny and in the mid 70s. Had my windows down all day.

Thanks for stopping by and experiencing some of Shop Hop with me.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

First Day of Shop Hop

2010-03-18T21:53:00.007-04:00

1st day of Shop Hop. Visited 5 of the 11 stores today and put 170 miles on my car. Below are some pics of quilts that were displayed and of course that had kits available. It was a fun but traveling day. I ate breakfast and skipped lunch but brought snacks to eat along the way. Did not want to spend the precious shop hopping time eating, especially since I wanted to get 5 stores in today.

These are the freebies I got today. All stores are giving out a pattern of their block for the Shop Hop quilt and 5 nickel squares which some of the stores have included a nickel pattern. Then some also are including other quilt patterns, notions, coupons off and candy.

Here is what I bought today. I tried to keep to my fugal fabric buying. I did buy from clearance bolts that were $4 per yard. If I couldn't find clearance fabric then I bought a pattern and fat quarter. I spent about $12 at each store, but of course could have spent hundreds. Since I did not win the lottery this week I have to pace myself with all 11 stores. I would like to support each one and spend a little at each. I did though spend over $60 at my LQS. They always have their 5 yd bundles for $30 but was offering a $10 off coupon for April for anything in the store if you bought two...so I bought two and already know how I'm going to use the $10 off next month. This makes the fabric bundle actually $5 per yd which is not bad. Maybe I'll go back and get two more and another coupon. It's pretty easy to spend money in that store!

Here are the charms that each store was giving if you spent $10. The charms were based on the stores themes. We have here "As American as"........apple pie, westerns, Disney, Disco and 4th of July.

Below are pics of just a few of all the quilts that were displayed.

The star quilt is a version of the Shop Hop Quilt that each store did.

An raffle quilt by a guild with proceeds going to the local Humane Society.

Another version of the Shop Hop quilt.

Okay I need to call it a day. I have to get up early for another day of Shop Hop. I'm visiting 3 stores tomorrow that are spaced a distance apart, so my driving distance will probably be about the same as today.

Thanks for visiting. Oh...by the way...I missed my deadline for my hubby's b-day quilt. Oh well....What's life if we have to adhere to deadlines all the time....I seem to just watch them fly by me anyway....but I do try. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Not going to work = more time to quilt!

2010-03-15T23:39:00.003-04:00

It's absolutely amazing how much quilting and sewing I can get done when taking a home vacation and not working. But then again....I need to work to support my fabric buying...so I guess I will just have to continue to work. Darn!

Today I had a leadership luncheon/retreat (for work during my vacation week) but was out of there and at the LQS before 2pm. I finished piecing my hubby's b-day quilt and needed to get the backing fabric and lighter binding fabric since brown came with kit. I ended up rearranging the log cabin blocks on EQ5 and decided on the layout as shown below. I ended up with browns on the outside and needed a lighter binding fabric.

The binding fabric looks more yellow in the pic than what it actually is. It's a poka-dot beige color which contrasts the outer brown quilt fabric. The brown backing is 108" which I would advise anyone who has access to 108" to always use. No cutting and piecing the backing. Just unfold it and spread it out. It's great stuff and my LQS has a large selection so it's what I always use.

Below is hubby's pieced quilt. No worry about him seeing it on here because I don't even think he know's what my blog address is. I think he will like it. I'm off to the pool table upstairs to make the quilt sandwich, then when I get up in the morning all I have to do is quilt and bind it....sounds so simple and easy...yeah! Hopefully I will finish it tomorrow in time for his birthday on Wednesday. I guess I actually have until Wednesday evening to get it finished. Wish me luck.

When I was at the quilt store today, they were making these kits for Shop Hop. I just had to have one. Daughter is going to UGA in the fall and has repeatedly asked for a Georgia quilt. Well low and behold...here it is...pieces all cut and ready to sew and I already have the pattern. I'm glad they sold me one today and I didn't have to wait until Shop Hop.

I think I will lay it on her bed, still in it's packaging, and when she comes home this weekend I will tell her that her Georgia quilt is on her bed. She will probably roll her eyes and throw the package at me....but I'm still going to do it.

The pieces are cut to go with the Take 5 pattern. This is such an easy pattern. It went really fast the last time I made it and I had to cut the fabric. This should go really fast since the fabric is already cut and all I have to do is start sewing....what a wonderful kit and it was only $45. I know....I know....what about my fugal fabric goal....I have no excuse....I don't have a comment about it and I'll just leave it at that and move on.

Have a great night and I hope to be posting pics tomorrow evening of the FINISHED b-day quilt. Thanks for visiting. Happy Quilting. Happy Living.

Finally done with it.....yea!

2010-03-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

For the last two days I've been working on this Quilter's Tool Kit Caddy. Of course I wanted to use fat quarters so I had to refigure all the cutting while jumping other hurdles...but it worked out fine. I also needed a break from big projects and did not want this to go into my growing UFO pile. Here is the front. I was glad I was able to use up some my fat quarters. It's bright and happy looking.

This is the back. I used two 16 inch zippers to close the entire caddy. That was a hurdle to install the zipper, but with a little patience and a slow sewing speed, it went in ok.

Opened up it has two zippered pockets on the left, a sectioned tool holder on the right with a pocketed flap also on the right.

Filled with tools and pattern that can be taken anywhere. I'm sure I will make use of it.

Pattern is from Pat-e-Patterns and I picked it up at my LQS. They have some cute stuff on their website www.Pat-e-Patterns.com. Quite a few "useful" items.

Have a great rest of the night. Thanks for visiting. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Gotta Go Sew....Gotta Go Sew

2010-03-14T10:04:00.003-04:00

UFOs are taking over my world! I just need to quit buying or start sewing faster. Neither of which I seem to do very well! I did not think that I was a perfectionist, but maybe I am just a little. I've taken off work (paying job) until March 24th.....a much needed time away. Maybe I can get some projects started and completed or should I reverse that and say "completed and started" or better yet "completed and completed".

Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop is Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday which I am looking forward to immensely! It generally takes me about 3 days to complete at a leisurely pace. My goal this year is to buy from the older but yet still stylish section of fabric....in other words...the clearance section..... which would help me to meet my yearly goal of being more frugal with my fabric buying.

Currently I am working on a quilt for my hubby's B-day...March 17th...It's a Log cabin quilt design called White Chocolate designed by my friend and quilt teacher Pat Wys...... http://silverthimblequilt.com/

I love the browns...it gives it such a rich color....and it looks more like a manly-man quilt. I better get finished sewing on it. I only have a few more days.

I also attended a quilt show in Macon on Friday.....Heart of Georgia Quilt guild. Really had some awesome quilts, which I will post pics of soon enough. (I'm still getting use to this new computer).I feel so inadequate now as a quilter though....at least it gives me something to strive for.

Have a great day

Lots of activity..Not much quilting

2010-02-14T20:18:00.002-05:00

Goodness....It's been almost a month since I've posted....but I've been thinking about you all and missing reading your posts. I so love to hear what everyone has going on!

First....Happy Valentine's Day to all. I know it's the last hour, but at least I got it in. My hubby gave me these beautiful roses on Wednesday, so I've had lots of days to enjoy them.

He is so good about giving me flowers. He knows how much I like fresh flowers. He also gave me a day at a local spa...no wait, that was for my birthday. Yes.....I've had a birthday come and go since I last posted. I plan on redeeming the spa event in the next few weeks. He gave me a day at the spa last year and I enjoyed it greatly. I was actually exhausted when I returned home and had to take a nap. They really worked me over! But my body felt so good afterward.

What else.....THE SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL! But you know that. That's old news. It was a great game. They are MY TEAM since I'm from that area. My husband and I were jumping around the living room like teenagers being granted a snow day.

Speaking of snow.....we had our share this past Friday...Boy what a mess. I'm glad we only get the white stuff every now and then. More is expected tonight and in the AM. It was a pretty site Saturday morning though. Everything was white, clean looking and crisp with blue skies. But Friday was a mess, since no one in the Atlanta area knows how to drive in it and don't drive any differently than if the sun was shinning. I thought we had more northern transplants here than that....oops...I guess that's what it is...they are use to driving in it. It's the southern born that were having all the problems....like my husband and I who still went out for our usual Friday night Mexican and my margarita. We slid most of the way. Coming back though was not scary at all, especially after consuming a jumbo margarita! But we made it back safely with full stomachs and a happy time.

I also got a new computer....A Mac. We've been Windows people since the dawn of the computer age and it's taking a little time to get use to. The Apple Mac platform post somewhat different than Windows (this is the third time I've tried to post this. I keep losing my pictures). But the more I use it, the more familiar I get with it. I think I may go get an instruction book..."Mac for Dummies". Phew....I thought I lost the post again. Thank goodness blogger saves automatically. I also got the "magic mouse" and it has the swipe capability. I keep swiping the mouse and it goes to a different page! I definitely need a manuel. But I really like the system. The CPU is 6.5 in x 6.5 in x 2.5 in. First time I've ever bought a computer and walked out the store with all the components in a medium size bag.

On a quilting note....have not done much! I finished piecing Strawberry Pie....I just need to quilt it. I had a picture to show you, but it's lost in the system some where. I will upload it in another post. I'm scared I'll ruin and/or lose this post again if I try to put another picture in now. My sewing room is still not straight and I don't know if it will ever be. Oh well...I just need to sew more I guess.

Nursing Notes.......Boy...let me tell you....I learn so much from my patients....even how to speak Spanish. I think we should all know another or two other languages. I believe we are one of the only countries that only know one language. Lately I've had an increased number in Spanish speaking patients and they have taught me some very useful phrases. By no means can I carry on a conversation or explain an informed consent, but I have learned how to ask if they are in a lot or a little pain, are hungry and what kind of snack or juice they want, and if they are hot or cold. Just this little bit of conversation at least keeps my patients pain in control and insures their comfort. They also seem to get a big kick out of teaching me which empowers them and builds trust about the health care they are receiving. Maybe if we all communicate better, there would be less hatred and mistrust in the world....ya think?

Have a great week and I look forward to catching up on all of your posts.

Friday Night Sew-in

2010-01-16T13:32:00.004-05:00

Below are pictures of my current quilt-in-progress which I worked on during Friday Night Sew-in. I can't wait to browse the other sites and see what other creations are out there. Click on the button at the right and you can also see the works of others.

I recently joined the McDonough, Ga. chapter of the Silver Thimble Quilt Club http://silverthimblequilt.com/Regular/QuiltClub.html facilitated by my new friend, quilt designer Pat Wys. She really has some fantastic quilts shown on her web site at

http://silverthimblequilt.com/index.htm. The first quilt introduced to the club was "Strawberry Pie"

My LQS used some very pretty fabric for the kits which reminded me of summertime that brought sunshine to my dreary, rainy day. But that's okay because dreary and rainy is synonymous with sewing days for me.

This seems to be a fun, easy pattern. Pat suggested we put all the fabric in a bag, shake it up and sew together what was pulled out. So that's what I did....Gotta tell ya...it was kinda scary!

Here I've sewn the strips into pairs. I did cheat near the end and look because I didn't want to pull out two like pieces.

Then I mixed up the pairs and sewed two pairs together to make 4 strip segments. I just love the fabric that came with the kit...... Nice, bright and happy.

The Kit came with focus fabric and also stripe fabric for the binding. The fabric colors make me feel like I want to play.

Alas, this is as far as I've progressed on this quilt. But no fear....it's an all day rain event here in the Southeast which for me means an all day sew event. I hope to have everything pieced by days end. (midnight). Hubby is playing golf.....yes, yes...in the rain, then football later on will keep him occupied....so no guilty feelings will prevail. Hopefully tomorrow I will post pics of the finished pieced top.

Hope you have a joyful day in whatever you choose to do. Thanks for stopping by and visiting.

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

A.D.D. and/or post- Nyquil Haze??

2010-01-15T14:03:00.004-05:00

Where is my camera? I would love to show you pictures of my current quilt-in-progress but I just can't seem to remember where I put my camera.

I headed to Best Buy to get another USB cable for my camera since the cable that came with the camera was not in the pile of USB cables for other techno stuff. When driving to Best Buy I remembered I needed to go to Home Depot for a new garage door opener. Since Home Depot was closer I went there first. When I came out of Home Depot I saw Target and realized I needed to get a few household items. Since Target was right there I went there next. I browsed around Target not even thinking about checking their USB stock. When I left Target and was walking to my car I saw a "Big Sale" sign in the window of Bath and Body Works...well I could not ignore this with Birthday's starting over again. When I left B&BW I remembered I needed a few craft items from Michael's. Well....I spent over an hour there. My husband calls and wants to meet me for lunch....great idea since I was starving. When I was headed home from eating I remembered some food items I needed from the grocery store. I grabbed their sale ad and saw some great buys which I headed straight for. When I arrived home and emptied the car I realized I had never gone to Best Buy for the cable, needed a special battery for the garage door opener and was so excited about the grocery sale I forgot to get the ingredients I needed for supper. And I still don't know where my camera is.

Post-Script: I finally found my camera. I put it in my purse when I was headed to Best Buy. I guess I need a larger camera or smaller purse. I will post pictures as soon as I get some rest!

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Happy New Year....glad it's finally here!

2010-01-07T11:59:00.002-05:00

Life Notes:

Finally...back to a normal routine. I think I just may throw-up if I see another pie, cookie or appetizer. Just hand me a Slim-Fast shake and enroll me in a Weight Watchers meeting! It's the first of the year and time to start anew. I love the Holidays but am always glad to get back to normal...whatever that may be.

One thing I know for sure...it sure is cold! The clouds are slowly slipping in front of the sun now. Gray is beginning to be the dominant color. With rain, sleet and snow just hours away the chill is starting to set in. The radar is lit up with the colors of spring..green, blue and pink... oh Spring...how far away you seem! The fireplace awaits to become alive with warmth from the turn of a switch and hot chocolate packets wait patiently in the pantry to steam from a warm cup and be sipped upon....yeah...yeah...yeah....it's still cold outside with Southern Snow on the way...where did I place my Parka and gloves?

Quilting Notes:

Can you believe it! I actually finished two...yes...you see right...TWO quilts in December. One for daughter's dorm-mate. She wanted greens and orange colors. It was a strip quilt and had lots of subcuts but I thought it turned out nice and she loved it.

I quilted it using one of my decorative stitches from my machine. The corner squares were added as an after-thought which is why one is smaller than the other. I already had the border fabric cut and of course had to match the corner square with the border size...oops. It worked out well though.

This second quilt I actually spent about 15 hours on. It was really easy and went together fast. Part of two days to cut and piece and part of another day to quilt. I gave it to a friend of mine who has been waiting patiently for a quilt for over a year.

I was so pleased with this quilt. I just loved the fabric and colors and is much prettier in real life. The camera just could not capture the true colors.

I learned from the previous quilt and waited to cut the border fabric, therefore, my corner squares are the appropriate size. Since time was not on my side, instead of doing the normal binding I got out my serger and loaded it with four colored threads that matched the fabric color and quilting thread color and just serged where the binding would normally be. It turned out great. I finished the faux-binding in a matter of minutes. It actually took longer to thread my serger then to serge the edges! It may be my new standard in edge finishing my quilts.

My friend just loved it. I had to ask for it back though because I wanted to show it at one of my quilt clubs..She laughed, hugged it, then handed it back to me...the sign of a true friend.

Since life is now back to some kind of normalcy I can now get back to blogging and keeping up with other's blogs. I just so love doing that!

Nursing Notes:

All last week I cared for an elderly women whom we will call Alice. She was admitted with respiratory distress, fluid overload and atril fibrillation. She was progressing fairly well...her heart rhythm was corrected and she was breathing much easier with less fluid on board. When I returned to work on Monday, Alice was still there but family had made her a DNR because of near codes and intubations during the weekend from continued respiratory distress. The M.Ds did not expect her to live through the night or even through the change of shift. The off-going nurse even stayed a bit after shift change to help me with Alice if God decided to start her on her new journey and adventure. Alice made it though shift change and family maintained the death watch through out the night. Alice would wake up every now and then and carry on conversations with family and myself. I learned so much about Alice that night. Family had brought in old pictures and photo albumns and talked about how Alice had effected their lives through love and patience. The family was very close and each had several stories to tell. Even Alice had some to tell. When Alice tired and had difficutly breathing she would just drift off back to sleep while the family continued to tell stories of Alice's life journey. Family asked on occassion how much longer it would be and all I could tell them was that when God was ready for Alice he would take her. Family seemed comforted by this and continued to tell "Stories of Alice". Well...God was not ready to take Alice that night or the next day when she was transferred to Hospice care. That night I really leaned about the "dash" between the years of a persons life and I believe that family members while gathering during the "death watch" really turned out to be a "life watch" in learning so much from each other during their Stories of Alice.

Love each other. Happy Quilting. Happy Living!

Happy Winter

2009-12-13T21:26:00.008-05:00

Happy Winter to all! I think it's here!

~Life Notes~

It's cold and wet here in the South. Winter has arrived. Today I needed an umbrella and coat. Tomorrow I can leave the umbrella at home and wear a short sleeve sweater and light jacket. The next day I'll probably need the umbrella again and then the next day...who knows...a snowsuit! I do like winter though....especially in the South! Warm thoughts and hot cocoa go out to all who live in a colder climate. Hoping that your furnace doesn't stop working.

Daughter is home now from college. We like having her home...we just need to re-adjust. Hubby was waiting patiently for her to finish her Wii game so that he could watch Sunday Night Football. Everyone wants to use the bigger HD TV at the same time. I'm going to leave it to them and go upstairs to finish my Christmas gift wrapping while sipping on some hot cocoa.

~Quilting Notes~

Hubby could not think of anything to get me for Christmas even though Josephine was suppose to be my Christmas gift. (New Baby-Lock sewing machine I bought in October). He wanted me to have something to open on Christmas morning. So I sent him to my LQS and told him to find Karen, the store owner. An hour later he came home with four gifts. Karen even wrapped them up for him in pretty Christmas paper she had at the store. I've shaken the boxes and lifted the gifts bags to test the weight. Can't wait to open them. Karen has such good taste. I wonder if Hubby would mind receiving a gift certificate from there for his birthday....hum?

I've joined yet another quilt club at my LQS. It's the Silver Thimble Quilt Club. It's hosted by a quilting professional/pattern designer (Pat Wys). Pat calls it the 21st century quilting bee. It's a fellowship of new and experienced quilters all doing something they enjoy. Sounds like fun. I've always liked to sew/quilt with a group.

~Crafting Notes~

I've been making my own Christmas gift labels. These were cut on my Cricut machine. I just received a new Christmas cartridge and could not wait to try it out.

I'll make pretty name labels on the computer and stick them to the back. I would love to use my Cricut die cutting machine more often, but my quilting takes up most of my spare time. The Cricut can cut fabric too. I was hoping on day to try it and cut out appliques. It would be wonderful if I could blend all my equipment to use for my two favorite hobbies...quilting and scrapbooking.

~Nursing Notes~

This segment of notes was inspired by a fellow quilter/blogger/nurse julieQ who does this on her site, which I thought was such a great idea.

A female patient on our floor (I will call her Mary) has just reached her 60th day stay with us. My unit is a short term acute care surgical stepdown unit, so when a patient has stayed as long as she has she becomes part of our family. Mary's body is trying so hard to heal itself but with every step forward towards healing there always seems to be two steps back that eventually occurs. Mary has been with us through Halloween and Thanksgiving and will probably be there with me through the Christmas Holiday. Mary doesn't and really can't come out of her room much because of all the lines and tubes and drips. Mary never has many visitors. Husband is elderly and in bad health and children live out of town. Mary is always on the lookout for someone to talk to and socialize with. Many times I've sat with Mary and chatted with her while completing my nursing charting tasks. Mary is always interested in what is happening in other people's lives and hardly turns the conversation to herself or her illness. The other day one of the nurse's bought Mary an electical candle fountain. It's the cutest thing, about 8 inches long and 6 inches high. It looks like a real candle with flowing wax. This one little gift has been like a fish hook in the water. Hospital personnel, patients and their families walking past Mary's door notice the lighted candle fountain and go in and admire it and ask about it. Mary has made so many friends that now stop by to chat with her. The little gift that was given to Mary has been like a friendship beacon that welcomes everyone to her room. Now Mary seems to know something about everyone now....staff and patients!

Hope everyone has a great week.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Quilting!

Happy Living!

I won!

2009-12-07T19:41:00.002-05:00

I won! Givaways are so much fun! Especially if you win! Below are the goodies I received today in the mail from Sandy at http://sandyssewclever.blogspot.com/

Thank you Sandy so much for hosting. It's always fun to get something other then bills and junk mail. I love the books. They are filled with loads of inspiration and the fat quarters are the perfect color.

Hope that everyone has had a great day. Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Recent Happenings

2009-11-21T23:46:00.004-05:00

Remember the challenge fabric from my quilt guild. (The fabric that I tried to love but never could develop a bond with). Here are some of the quilts that were produced. We have such talented quilters in our guild. I was totally taken back.

I believe there were 12 or 13 entries and all were great and well thought out. Just about everyone thought the fabric was definitly a challenge to work with, but the quilts were beautiful. One of the entries was even an apron! Why didn't I think of that?

I would have never thought of fish! I need to hang around these members more. They inspire me so! Great job to all!

I really enjoyed my time when my mother and I were together, both here in Georgia and in Louisiana. We had a great time .

Here are three generations posing with World of Coke 4-D glasses on. We laughed so much taking these pictures we cryed. What a great time we had.

My mother and I sewing together for the first time ever.....as adults. In my younger days she taught me a lot about sewing and crafting, but we never really sewed together as adults. We created great memories while we were together.

Mom really liked her new sewing machine. I was so glad she bought it. She plans on doing much more sewing when she retires at the first of the year. She even bought a layer cake bundle to make a quilt once she retires.

First time ever in her 72 years using a rotary cutter. She did a great job. Way to go mom! Nothing ever holds her back. She always wants to keep learning. I hope that nothing ever holds me back when I'm 72.

Mom and her new sewing machine. She really needed a new one. This one threads the needle itself which was the selling point for her. We were both so proud walking out the store with a new machine. Christmas came early for both of us this year!

My husbands elbow surgery went well. They had him back there for 2 hours! Hopefully this will bring back some feelings for two of his fingers that have been numb since his Tommy-John surgery in January. We will see. The MD said that full feelings may not return for 2 or 3 years...those nerve endings do grow mighty slow. It will be what it is though.

I hope to get some quilting done tomorrow. It's suppose to rain. I always love to quilt in my studio while it's raining. I love to hear the rain hitting all the windows. But....A new Hobby Lobby recently opened so I might swing by there and check out the new store. Hopefully I can visit the store and quilt...if I don't get side-tracked.

Happy Quilting. Happy Living!

Back Home Again!

2009-11-20T13:18:00.003-05:00

Then back to Louisiana. And then Back home to Georgia again! My what a traveling woman I have been this past month! My mother is back to her normal self again. Thank you so much for all of your well wishes. I was able to talk my mother into coming back to Georgia with me for the two weeks before going back to La. for my 30 year class reunion. So... one and a half weeks after surgery she traveled to Georgia with me where we had a wonderful time. She even bought a new sewing machine while visiting with me. She attended my quilt guild meeting and monthly strip club meeting. She mentioned how much she disliked her sewing machine so we sat down at one of the Baby Lock's and she fell in love! We left the store with a new sewing machine in tow....also an apron pattern and fabic to make four. She played around with her new machine and finished the four aprons in two days! We had so much fun sewing together. I will download pics shortly. At the moment I sitting in an outpatient surgery unit waiting for my husband. He is having elbow surgery this very minute (second time around).

I really enjoyed being with my mother these last few weeks. I feel we became great friends again. We have always gotten along as mother and daughter and now we have gotten along as friends. Thank you God for giving me my mother. Thank you Mom for being the mother you are. I love you dearly!

Home to Louisiana

2009-10-27T09:05:00.002-04:00

Currently I'm back home in Louisiana. My mother had a scheduled surgery late last week with complications developing after surgery and major pain issues. I threw personal items together Saturday morning (along with quilting items), called work to scratch me off the schedule for the week, kissed my hubby, petted Harley (he is 3 years old for those who asked on previous post) gased up the car and off I went. Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day for a drive. I arrived safely in Baton Rouge 7.5 hours later. Being a nurse and having to stay at the hospital as a family member gives me an all new perspective of patient and family life at the hospital. (Those beds...both for family and patients are so uncomfortable). My mother received excellent care though. The nursing and medical staff were great.

My mother is now home and comfortable and for the most part her pain is well controlled. I'm trying to keep her from doing too much. She is 73 but acts like she is 43....always on the move which I'm sure keeps her young feeling. (Right, Mom?)

It's always good to come home. I've not been back home to Louisiana since Christmas. Work and life should not be that busy. I always have such a laid-back feeling when I'm back in La. Maybe I'll get some quilting done, maybe I won't. Have a great Tuesday. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

My Dog loves quilts...for a snack

2009-10-23T21:31:00.002-04:00

I was working diligently on my current project and failed to notice that my dog Harley was not at my feet as he usually is. This could only mean trouble. Then I remembered I had my quilt top blocks assembled on my living room floor (my current design wall). Then I heard it...that awful ripping and smacking sound of fabric being torn and eaten. I jumped up with fear in my heart and visions of torn and shredded quilts blocks that I had spend so much time and work on scattered all over the living room floor.

And there he layed...with a quilt block between his paws and jaws...pulling and pulling and smacking and smacking as diligently as I had been working. I believe his hopes were to hurry up and finish it off before I found out.

I stood there with hands on hips, dropped jaw and tapping toe...he understood completely as he let the remainder of the quilt block fall from his mouth, rolled onto his back awaiting a stomach rub. I scolded him briefly and remembered I was the one who put the blocks on His living room floor in the first place.

Luckly, the damage was not too bad....just one block with one green piece almost gone as you can see from the complete block. Wasn't too bad to fix....I just didn't have anymore long pieces of the green left and had to use a different fabric. This will be my humility block for this quilt.

Harley knew he had displeased me, then I felt bad. He is such a good natured, blue-eyed animal and likes to please. He gets his feelings hurt easily. Here is a picture of Harley with his hurt feelings.

I let about 15 minutes pass. He recovered quickly when I said "Tootsie Roll?" ....his most favorite treat.

Harley is now happy again, the damaged block fixed and sewn together with all the other blocks that were quickly removed from the floor.

I hope to have the quilt top finished tomorrow. I decided to not lay it aside once the blocks were finished to start Bethany's quilt as I posted previously. It has so many subcuts and steps I was afraid I would have forgotten where I left off.

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Current project

2009-10-22T09:13:00.006-04:00

This is the quilt that I am working on...at the moment. These are the first blocks I've pieced with Josephine, my new sewing machine. We are working quite well together and she is showing me a lot. Not a single argument yet. This is a strip club pattern called Southern Comfort that is set on-point that I thought was very complicated but is sewing up very easily. My Strip Club gets it's patterns from http://www.cozyquilt.com/ They have some very interesting designs and run about $8 or $9 each. This quilt will be approx. 73 x 73 consisting of 21 blocks. I'm going to piece the blocks then put it aside because my daughter's dorm-mate (a friend from high school) has been begging for a quilt since Brittani took the "Midnight Cactus Flower" quilt back to school with her. Bethany likes browns and oranges. Below are the fabrics I've choosen:

The cream on the end will be the border and setting fabric. This pattern is Blue Lagoon from the book Jelly Roll Quilts and looks fairly simple and quick to do. Simple and quick is a good thing .
I guess I will name Bethany's quilt....just Bethany...simple like I hope the quilt will be.

Hope everyone has a great day. I can really get into this not working thing. I've enjoyed being off this week. I have felt rested and my body has not ached quite as much. At least I only work 3 days a week - 12 hour days. I get 5 weeks off a year and this is the first full week I have taken. Work should not be so busy that I have to wait this long to be off. At least I don't lose my weeks at the end of the year.

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

My new Baby Lock is here!

2009-10-21T10:13:00.007-04:00

They called me yesterday morning and informed me of it's arrival. I kinda had a feeling it would come...you know how you get those feelings? I even had my bug-man come out early just in case. The bug-man had just left when I got my call from the LQS.

I ran some errands (so I would not have to be disturbed later)...which took about 2 hours then picked up the machine. It weighed 45 pounds! Heavy little thing.

Most of the accessories were on top. I love opening up little packages and there were quite a few filled with all kinda fun stuff I don't know what to do with....but I will learn!

And here is my new baby, all wrapped up and snug just waiting to be played with.

Finally...out of the box after it's long journey from where? Possibly over-seas or cross-country? Wherever it's from, it's glad to have a home.

Here are it's traveling companions. A soft cover case and it's extension table which is waiting patiently, as it poses for this picture, to be attached to it's long separated companion.

Together at last! Safe and sound in a loving home ready to help it's new owner create all kinds of beautiful things. (Distorted somewhat by the camera angle. Table does not come out at you so much).

It offers a telescoping spool pin holder that holds two spools of thread I had forgotten about. Plus it has two other spool pins on the machine itself. Lots of thread holders! It also has an LED dome light to light up the work area..nice feature. Maybe I will not need my lamp anymore.

Things I have learned thus far:

I can fill a bobbin while still sewing without having to unthread the machine....not like my other machine. And get this...it's a purely lazy thing but I love it....it will sew a reverse stitch at the end of stitching and cut the thread at the same time with a push of a button. No more looking for my little scissors or using the thread cutter. Lets see....this is cool...it has multi-directional sewing....like sewing a square patch on a sleeve. Put the sleeve on the free-arm, tap down...it sews and moves the fabric down, tap left...it sews and moves the fabric left, tap up...it sews and moves the fabric up and so on....thought that was pretty neat, especially when Brian just ordered some sleeve patches for his Harley-Davidson jacket...just what I need to test it on. What else have I discovered ....it has a 1/4 inch quilting foot with all these wonderful guide lines on the foot itself...I sewed about 12 inches down my test fabric and it was the most perfect 1/4 inch seam all the way down that I've ever sewn! I've not even begun to get into the decorative stitches and creating and storing stitching patterns. It has lots of other goodies I can't wait to get into deeper.

Okay time to go play some more. Have a great day.

Happy Quilting! Happy Living!

Cleaning and more cleaning

2009-10-18T18:59:00.002-04:00

In getting ready for my new baby (lock) I am cleaning, cleaning, cleaning because when my new machine arrives I know all I'm going to want to do is play, play and play. So far I've gotten half-way through my computer room and I have 6 garbage bags worth of shredded paper. The rest of the room is just straightening up books and such. My computer lives on a large old wood teacher's desk with huge drawers that have been stuffed throughout the years. Do you know I had tax returns from 1985...why? I think the rule is to keep tax papers for 5 years. I had a user's manual for a Curtis Mathis VHS recorder....that thing as been gone for years...why do I still have the manual? I did find some cute pictures of my child and some papers she wrote when very young...that was fun to find. Okay, enough of a break. I'm going to finish the computer room tonight, then start on the kitchen tomorrow which should not take too long if I can keep myself focused on the job at hand and not play with any gadgets. Then tomorrow afternoon I plan to start in my bedroom and closet.

Happy Quilting. Happy Living. Happy Cleaning.

Popped Balloon and No Santa?

2009-10-13T16:01:00.002-04:00

When I received my phone call this morning from LQS I was all ready to hop into my car, committ no traffic violations and go pick up my new sewing machine. The news was that my machine is on backorder til October 24! Boy...Highs and lows always abound! For a brief moment it was like seeing my very favorite balloon pop and first realizing that Santa is not who you thought he was. Oh well...God knows best. At least I DO have a sewing machine to continue to sew on and..well..maybe this will give me time to straighten up my sewing room and house before the new arrival gets here. I'm taking a home vacation next week (10 days total) and my original plan was to tackle each room in the house with boxes and garbage bags. It would have been hard to carry out my original plan if I had a new toy waiting to be played with.

Happy Quilting, Happy Living!

New Sewing Machine!!!!

2009-10-12T20:49:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking of upgrading for some time now from my little frills (just a little better than no-frills), very inexpensive minimal quilting functions/sewing machine (that still works really, really well). So...today..during our massive rain storms...I went out and did it.

Since my LQS is a Baby Lock dealer I've been looking at the Baby Lock brand. You would all just die if I said I bought the $9,636 Ellissimo. Well...you're lucky... you all can just keep on living. I bought the Espire. I looked at both the Quest Plus and the Espire and knew when I sat down at the Espire and started playing that was the machine I wanted. (Of course it was way more expensive then the Quest). I played and played and when it was time to go...I wavered...said "Thank You, I'll have to think about it". I got into my car, drove about 3/4 miles down the road thinking how much I really wanted the machine and reminding myself that I've been saving for a new one. I turned around in the middle of the road...while being honked at by 2 cars (possibly by the traffice violation I committed) that I did not see because of the rain or because my mind was on buying that machine and went back to the store, walked in and said "I am not going to waver like Brett Farve. Lets do it!"

They said they had just put out the floor model that morning and I could take that one if I wanted or wait until tomorrow morning for the one that would be FedExed. I didn't want to seem too excited so I told the store owner that I did not want her to go through the trouble of reboxing everything up and that I would just wait till the morning...stupid, stupid me. Now instead of playing with my new baby on my only night off this week until Friday, I'm playing on the blogger site. Not that you all don't mean the world to me....but I know you all understand! Check out my new machine at: http://babylock.com/sewing/espire/ and watch the video. I will post pics soon. I'm really so very excited. I can't wait til tomorrow!

Happy Quilting, Happy Living!

A Quilt that will never be.

2009-10-10T09:27:00.005-04:00

These are from my local quilt guild's Challenge Quilt....."Walk on the Wild Side". Boy what a challenge in making me go wild and crazy and disliking every minute that I spent on it. My challenge was trying to like it! They never made it to be a quilt. We were suppose to use a technique that challenged us or one we had been wanting to try. We had to use three particular fabrics that were pre-picked by the powers that be.

First strike against....I did not like the wedge technique that I chose to use and second strike... I did not like the choice of fabric...just not me. I really, really really tried to like it, but we just never did meld together!

I planned on doing just four blocks since each block was 20 inches with the corners added. I thought of using it as a wall hanging. But then....I don't have any of these colors in my home decor scheme...which made me dislike the blocks even more. Actually I know no-one that has this color scheme. (Family..you are safe). I kept asking myself "What was I going to do with it and why was I wasting my precious quilting time on it?

But...because I don't like to having half-finished blocks lying around and I thought maybe I would grow to love them.... I kept on sewing and sewing and really trying to develop of bond.

Never did develop that bond! I still dislike them as much as when I realized how much I disliked them. The Guild challenge quilts were secretly turned in at our October meeting. Mine never made it since I secretly kept them at home. It will be interesting to see some of the quilts that were made. I will post pics after they are displayed at the November meeting.

But all is not lost. I thought about removing the corners and making round pillows for a teenagers room..(Family....you may not be safe after all). That center circle reminds me of a big button. Maybe with some embellishments they may turn out okay.....as pillows. (Future pillow pics to follow.)

On a non-quilty note... I've been drying herbs in my food dryer...Taragon and Basil this morning. The smell is wonderful and is making me want chicken salad for lunch. The weather here in Georgia has been beautiful after our flooding rains of a couple of weeks ago. Fall has finally arrived by the actions of my 14 year old cats getting frisky and of course the cooler weather. Even my dog's fur seems to have gotten thicker this past week. Life continues on.

Happy quilting and Happy living to all.

Sick and Tired!

2009-09-16T23:47:00.002-04:00

No really....I have really been sick and tired. For the past week all I've been doing is coughing and sleeping...and that's hard to do together. But...it's not the Flu...either one...just the change in the weather (I think) even though the Swine Flu in rampant right now in the Southeast US. No fever, just mild congestion, lots of coughing and fatigue. Not quite bad enough to miss work though. I'm also finding out as a woman approaching 50 that things don't stay as dry as they use to during a coughing fit! I hope to think that the Echinacea-Goldenseal and Zinc I started taking when I felt my first "tickle" in my throat has kept whatever it is on the mild side. On my days off from work instead of quilting, crafting, cleaning and cooking I've been sleeping.

I've felt much better today with less fatigue....probably because my body can't take anymore sleep! I actually cleaned my house some and THOUGHT about going into my sewing room. Would not have been so bad if not for the tiredness and the guilty feelings it created about not getting anything done. You know us...we have to do EVERYTHING...only because WE THINK we have to and no one else can do it!...Stupid us! My hubby never minds doing anything for me! So....if you get sick this winter, please get your rest and don't feel guilty. Our loved ones don't mind taking care of us!

Remember to wash those hands and keep antibacterial gel in the car for those times when pumping gas, going to the ATM, handling a shopping cart, etc!

Stay Healthy and Happy Living!

2009-09-02T21:06:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to a quilt blogger give-a-way. It's always fun to enter...and too win. Not sure when the entry deadline is, but it's a September give-a-way. Good luck.

http://welovequilting.com/blog/

Midnight Cactus Flower

2009-09-01T17:15:00.002-04:00

DONE! And with a few days to spare. The club meets this Saturday and that's when I will show the quilt. It wasn't that difficult to make. I quilted in the ditch around the design to try to help bring out the design since it's such a busy quilt. Below are the corner flowers.

This is one of the center flowers. You can really see the bright stars shinning!

I had a hard time trying to find a place to hang it for the picture. I just bought some room dividers to separate my quilting room from the living room so I used those. I've decided I like the quilt even though it's quite busy. I used leftover strips from the quilt to make the binding. That worked well.

It will be fun to see what others at the club have come up with for their quilts. I'll post pics of those after the meeting on Saturday. Happy quilting to all. Thanks for visiting.

2009-08-31T07:55:00.002-04:00

Almost done with the Midnight Cactus Flower quilt. I have it labeled and only one more side to bind. For the binding, I used leftover strips from the quilt. I had enough to complete about 2/3 of the binding so I added other green and red pieces I had at home....stashes are wonderful things to have. I will post pics tonight hopefully when I'm finished binding that last side. Happy quilting to all.

2009-08-21T23:01:00.002-04:00

I am getting ready to quilt my "Midnight Cactus Flower" quilt. I put the quilt sandwich together this afternoon and plan to start and finish quilting it tonight. It's a very busy quilt like I thought it would be. Not sure how much I like it. I know I like it, but not sure on what scale. Once I get it quilted and binded and can look at it from a far I will be able to make a better "likeable" decision. I will post a picture whether I like it or not. Just don't have the camera right now. Brian took it with him on his annual week-long Florida/Doral golfing trip. (This is why is does not say anything about my fabric shopping).

It's just been me and the doggie at home. It was okay for the first two days.....felt like a free woman...doing what I wanted to do...not worrying about anyone else, but now I think I'm ready for Brian to get back home. I like having another person here. Tomorrow I'm visiting Britt at college and bringing her some (a lot) of items she now feels she can't live without. Of course she has planned the visit for around lunch-time and I'm sure supper-time if we find other things that need to be taken care of....like shopping.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Happy Quilting!

This Month's Strip Club quilt..

2009-08-16T04:26:00.004-04:00

I was reading everyone's blogs and getting so involved....I almost forgot to post! I do so enjoy reading what everyone has going on.

I've completed the 16 flower blocks for the corners of the Cactus Wreath pattern. Here are just a few.

I'm really liking how this is turning out. I thought the star fabric would make the quilt too dark, but I'm thinking differently now. I have four flower blocks with the lighter leaves which I plan to put on each corner..surrounded by two more corner blocks with darker leaves.
Today, my plan is to work on the log cabin blocks that will create the inner circle of the wreath pattern. Hopefully that will not take as long to finish as these blocks did. I'm not a fast sew-person or quilter anyway.

I think I'm naming the quilt "Cactus Flower at Midnight" or maybe "Midnight Cactus Flower". The Strip Club design had a Christmas theme, but I decided to do something a little different.

Our next club meeting is Sept. 5th, so I have about 3 weeks to finish....or just have the quilt top completed. I don't like to have a lot of UFOs laying around, so I plan to have this thing finished and ready to show. Our LQS owner always jokes that they don't have a BOM club, because they have Strip Club which gives you an entire quilt every month instead of just one block!

Have a great Sunday. I hope everyone is doing something today that they enjoy. Happy Quilting.

Finished Baby Gifts

2009-08-10T08:59:00.005-04:00

I FINISHED the baby blanket kit that I purchased at my LQS. It was SO easy to do..a no-brainer. It's a wonderful project for a beginner and a really quick project/gift for an experienced sew-person. It took be just a few hours to complete. It took longer for my sewing machine to do the fancy edge stitching then it did for me to complete it.

The kit (I love kits) came with fabric and pattern to make the blanket, bib and burb pad. Of course I had no orange thread (and I did not want to wait until Monday when my LQS opened to get any) so I just used red thread for the fancy stitching. The barn in the fabric is red so I said what the heck.

I plan on mailing out the gifts this week to arrive in time for the baby shower on the 23rd. I do so much better with deadlines. I should put a deadline on all my unfinished projects.

On a none-quilting note....boy has it been HOT here in Georgia! Glad I have inside projects that can keep me busy. My pretty petunias on my front porch has withered away and died and our tomato plants are well on their way to that end also. We can't seem to keep them with enough water. Next year I'm just going to the Farmer's Market and buying a case of tomatoes...much easier and less work than trying to grow my own....Oh well, it has kept my husband busy trying to keep the tomatoes going.

Britt moves back to college today. Her classes will start on Thursday I believe. She seems excited to get back to school after a summer a being employed. Today we haul stuff to her dorm and of course go shopping for dorm food. Her room has a kitchenette so this year we are hauling pots and pans....I don't have a clue why...cooking does not interest her at all. But I have to say...if it's a mix and it includes adding water, she can handle it. So all she should need to bring is a small pot, a large spoon and and 2-cup measuring cup!

Have a great day. Please remember me when I'm hauling stuff in this heat!. Happy quilting!

2009-08-08T16:33:00.007-04:00

A project that can go onto my completed list. I just loved making this. It was so easy. It's the travel quilt and toy sac that I'm giving to my nephew's first child. I really like the fabric combinations.

The travel quilt has a nice big divided pocket.

I appliqued the letters onto the toy sac then sewed the rick rack on with one of my machine stitches. Kinda looks like a baseball stitch, but oh well. Better than just a straight stitch across the rick-rack.

I used the inner fabric as binding for around the quilt so it looks as though it wraps around the back side.

It folds out to reveal an attached pillow with the same brown rick-rack around it.

This was a very easy project to construct. Much easier then I though when I bought the pattern. Its a pattern by "Artful Offerings" Their web site is http://www.artful-offerings.com/. Haven't checked it out yet, but it's a site I plan to visit. I bought the pattern from my LQS. Now...to the other flannel baby quilt I plan to also send. Looks to be pretty simple. I hope to finish it tomorrow, then all in the mail next week! Happy quilting!

2009-08-01T14:00:00.005-04:00

Went to Strip Club this morning. The strip pieces of fabric is what came in the litte box. Below is the finished quilt that the shop did. This is a very popular design that I've seen before and it's used a lot for Christmas....perfect since the shop has its Christmas fabric. It's a beautiful quilt. I chose not to do the Christmas theme. I wanted something different and unconventional... so... for the background fabric I picked the black and white star fabric with the black on white fabric for the border and the white for the back. The quilt's going to be dark so I thought the black on white border fabric would lighten it up some. Most of the club attendees were going for all the gold colors for background and that was my first color of choice when we where going through the instructions. But then when I saw that was most people's choice...I wanted mine to be different. I'm naming the quilt "Cactus under the Stars" or "Cactus at Midnight". I guess I'll decide when I'm sewing it up. I hope to be finished with the top at least by our next meeting a month from now. I'll post my progress if I decide that I like the color combination...if not, this may very well be the only pics I post.

Baby Gifts

2009-07-31T19:28:00.012-04:00

I visited my LQS today to find fabric for a baby gift for my nephew's first child. I always have such fun when I'm fabric shopping, especially at my local shop. I can spend hours in there just looking and touching. I've had the pattern for several months, but now that I've received the shower invitation, I guess it's time to start sewing.

I don't know if they are having a girl or boy so I bought neutral colors which I just love. The rick-rack is brown. I was debating on yellow or brown but I thought the yellow looked too girlie. The stripe fabric will be on the back and showing when the quilt is folded. The pasley will be the outside pocket. The multi-colored circles fabric will be the inside and the solid orange will be the pillow. The toy bag will be the solid orange and circles. I think it's going to turn out really cute for either a girl or a boy. I will not be there though to hear the whoos and ahhhs, since they are in another state.

My LQS, like all other shops hosts a variety of kits with very talented owners who display the kits in the perfect spots in their stores. I found this cute kit that includes the fabric and pattern to make a baby blanket, bib, and burb-cloth....of course I could not pass it up.

I will post pics of the finished quilts. I have a deadline and I do so much better with a deadline.

Have a great weekend and happy quilting....DeAnna S.

2009-07-16T08:57:00.002-04:00

Went to Aerosmith/ZZ Top last night. The audience was an interesting mix..many reliving High School days....many not yet in High School...many with their young adult children (like us)...and I'm sure many grandparents with their grand kids. I guess these days we need to get family time any way we can. The concert was great, the amphithertre was packed and it was a swealtering July night enjoyed by all.

On a quilting note.....Oh...I don't have a quilting note...I've done zero quilting of late. Maybe straightening up my craft room will inspire me! I have been messing around with my EQ 5 program. I've forgotten how much fun that is...and it's gotten my creative juices on at least simmer if not a rolling boil. I'm interested in getting the EQ 6 update, but I figure I need to play around with 5 to justify getting the version 6.

Hope everyone is having a great week and getting more quilting done then I am!

Up and Running/Kaleidoscope Quilt

2009-06-23T20:23:00.005-04:00

Ok...I know that I've been behind on posting...but since "the other" blog site lost everything again I will start devoting my posts here...especially since just about everyone else is here also! I'll try to keep up? I WILL keep up!

I've been working on my kaleidoscope quilt. It has been such fun. I ended up with 60 or so squares so I've decided to make two quilts. I'm naming them "Sister Quilts" because they came from the same parent fabric but they are different. With one I'm using a lighter fabric for the corners and the other I'm using a darker fabric. Here are some pictures. I think they came out quite nice for being my first time doing this type of quilt.

I'm not sure yet what color the sashing fabric will be. I was thinking about a blue or a green.

Maybe a blue for "Big Sister" and a green for "Little Sister"

I don't know which ones I like the best. I still have so many that I did not take pictures of.

I'm still so amazed at all the different combinations that I got out of a 20 inch fabric repeat! It's like they all have their own story. I guess just like sisters do.

Thanks for viewing. Talk soon.

DeAnna S.

Welcome to my Blog

2009-03-16T01:32:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my new Blog site. This is a place where I can go to journal my thoughts about life and my love of quilting and sewing. Also to show pictures of my family, animals and sewing projects that I've completed or I'm working on. I've been quilting only 2 years, but I have been bitten by the quilting bug. I want to quilt everyday and I have so many projects in mind. I am a confirmed fabricoholic....my stash keeps growing and growing.

I hope to post pictures soon...as soon as I learn my way around this site. Thanks for visiting.