Barrels of Monkeys

Stash Report 2012 - Week 3

2012-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: .1 yards
Used year to Date: 1.1 yards
Added this Week: 1.3 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.3 yards
Net Used for 2012: -0.2 yards

I went to G Street this week to buy a Secret Sister gift (for the quilt show I had to skip for a sick Lovely Daughter) and also picked up a bag of scraps. Part of it was unusable - I don't approve of them sticking in 0.5" strings - but most was lovely.

The used was tossing, again. I'll eventually get through all of Lois' stuff that came home with TMOTH.

Stash Report 2012 - Week 2

2012-01-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 1 yards
Used year to Date: 1 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2012: 1 yards

The stash "used" this week was actually tossed - it was part of stuff I got from my MIL, and was not usable by me, or probably anyone else. At any rate, it is OUT of my house.

Fossil Hunting

2012-01-01T19:06:00.001-08:00

The Peace River sure lives up to its name, doesn't it?

We went fossil hunting on Thursday.
The Lovely Daughter did not approve:

We gave her photographer duty since she didn't want to wade in the river:

So, of course she amused herself by taking pictures of our butts:

Basically, you dig up some gravel (here, Uncle J. is providing a shovel full to the Karate Kid):

While Uncle J. demonstrates proper fossil sifting technique:

The Small Man was initially not very happy at getting wet, but then embraced it fully:

We started at the wrong end, but we eventually found out that we wanted lots of GRAVEL so we moved to the shallower portion:

TMOTH and the Karate Kid did some digging in the deeper parts and found some of the larger shark teeth (but still small):

We found a bunch of tiny shark teeth, a oouple of larger (maybe 1 cm) teeth, some ray tooth plates, and some other fish tooth. Not anything earth-shattering, but fun never the less.

Stash Report 2012 - Week 1

2012-01-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 0 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2012: 0 yards

That, at least, is an easy start:)

A lovely day at the beach

2011-12-29T07:20:00.000-08:00

It started out cold here in sunny Florida, but warmed up enough to go to the beach. We went to Lover's Key State Park near Ft. Myers.

We had a lovely time playing on the beach.

The Small Man really digs the beach!

He's also quite the ham:

And also gets Dad in on the action:

The Mid-Kid played in the sand for a long time:

Until he got bored:

The Lovely Daughter sunned herself:

And hung out with Uncle J.:

We had a great blue heron come out and pose on the beach:

Kids watching the heron before it flew off:

Small Man and I returning from a short walk on the beach:

And we left as the sun set.

Ginormous bag

2011-12-14T16:10:00.001-08:00

Working on a Secret Santa gift: NEEDS to get done soon!

The divider for the middle - Kona cotton on Peltex.

Piecing a star:

Hmmm. It looks like a pocket!

Off to work on some quilting of the sides.

2011-12-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

EEK. Almost four months without posting.
I got DH to hide FreeCell today, so hopefully will get more done!

The first order of business is to thank my online friend Donnely at BlueRose Goddess Arts - I won a giveaway from her blog *quite* a while ago, and never posted a thank-you.

Look: A box stuffed FULL!

Inside the box, a whole lotta goodies: pretty mug and mug rug, tea wallet with some yummy-sounding teas, raspberry brownie mix, and FABRIC. Yum.

Thanks, Donnely - it made a dark phase a little brighter.

Isn't this the coolest insect on the planet?

2011-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is the first one I saw, on the gate to our garden.

This guy (girl?) was hanging out in the asparagus.

We have a bunch of mantids in our garden every year - this year they seemed to expand to other parts of the yard, but all the photos I took were in the vegetable garden.

It's a Darwinian garden. Every year we start out with hundreds of little itty bitty baby mantids, and by the end of the summer, we're down to about 6 or 7 territories. Somehow, I think we'll have babies next year as well.

Stash report week 35

2011-08-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 60.85 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 57.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 3.05 yards

I have some hope of reporting more used soon - I finished a top for TMOTH, and have two tiny journal quilts that should be done soon.

Damage in our yard from Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lid off the trash can:

Small limbs off the trees:

This is the biggest limb TMOTH could find in the driveway:

Pine needles on the road in front of the house:

All in all, we were very lucky.

I need a kick in the butt

2011-08-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Or at least a nudge.

I have this small top for a haiku quilt:

My problem: I really like it, and I'm worried that I will screw it up when I quilt it. This hasn't been a big problem for me in the past, so I'm not sure what my issue is right now.

Any suggestions, either specific to quilting, or just how to get over this block?

Vacation fun

2011-08-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

We're at my mom and brother's house in Florida, leaving tomorrow.

The Lovely Daughter and I went thrift shopping one day, and she found lots of clothes (of course!) and I even found a few - some nice jeans, new shorts, a shirt, and a couple of dresses. I found a big lot of paintbrushes for $1.98; turns out there were 36 brushes and two palette knives (and one pathetic yellow pencil). All but one or two of them are really nice paintbrushes. I found a new-in-box Scrabble game from the 70s; it's not clear if I can sell it on Ebay for more than that or not! The boys joined us for a while and found some games - a Lord of the Rings Risk game and a travel Etch-a-Sketch. Four quilting books for less than a dollar each; one was one of Carol Doak's paper piecing pattern books WITH the CD. Maybe it's a nudge from the Universe to try paper piecing.

We celebrated the Karate Kid's 13th birthday; now there are TWO teenagers in my house.

Since there are deserted roads, The Lovely Daughter has been practicing driving. I took her out in the van once, and my brother took her out in his little truck.

We went to the beach on Friday. We got there fairly in the morning, and had the beach pretty much to ourselves for a while.

I love the beach, and I DID use sunscreen, but wound up with a burned back anyway :(

Lots of nature - bunches of conchs in the sand, most alive.

And at one point, a small pod of manatees off the beach! You don't actually see any part of the manatees, just the people watching them. As soon as I would give up and put the camera away, they'd stick up a head or a tail!

And just for gratuitous cuteness, Toffee, who is away at puppy camp for the week.

Stash report week 34

2011-08-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards (on vacation!)
Used year to Date: 60.85 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 57.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 3.05 yards

I did *look* at a couple of antique quilts while antiqueing with Mom and TMOTH yesterday. And I bought some bobbins and feet and buttons at the antique stores. And Mom gave me a Seminole jacket she's had for years (since the 80s, I think, so not an actual antique).

Stash report week 33

2011-08-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

THUMP. I fell off the wagon again, pretty heavily this time. I was looking for asphalt fabric for a challenge quilt. One trip to Pins and Needles in Frederick: One fat quarter (mottled black, although The Lovely Daughter swears that it's blue) and 2 yards of blue that may work as borders for The Lovely Daughter's Quilt. One trip to G street: One fat quarter (mottled black) and a scrap bag (1.4 yards). One trip to Hancock's: One yard of grey Kona cotton (I was thinking of painting it to look like asphalt at this point) and another two yards of blue to audition for borders. Finally, one trip to JoAnn's: A half yard of material that looks like ASPHALT. The top is pieced (and painted), but not quilted.

Used this Week: 0 yards (sigh. I have worked on TMOTH's quilt this weekend.)
Used year to Date: 60.85 yards
Added this Week: 7.4 yards
Added Year to Date: 57.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 3.05 yards

Clearly, I need to get busy :)

Stash report week 32

2011-08-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Another boring week this week :)

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 60.85 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 50.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: 10.45 yards

I've been working on my two "sewing areas" - the playroom and the dining room. Most of my stash resides in the playroom, and I mostly sew on the dining room table. BUT, the playroom's really gotten out of hand, and I need to get in there and get the floor cleared off (mostly my junk, not TMOTH's or the kids) so we can move the TV from the living room to the playroom, since I finally let TMOTH buy a flatscreen. AND I now apparently need to shift priority to the dining room - which has EVERYBODY's stuff in it - because TMOTH will need access to the wall that has the pipes in in so he can replumb the downstairs bathroom and kitchen. Whew.

Great deal on a birthday present!

2011-08-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, it's for The Lovely Daughter, whose birthday is in November, and not for the Karate Kid, whose birthday is coming up in a little more than a week.

"Regular" price at Michael's is $199.99 - but this week sets were on sale at 50% off. SO down to $99.99. That's better...but wait! Michael's sends me a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase, EVEN SALE ITEMS. Now it's $79.99! YAY! So I buy the set, and then remember that one of the online sites I was checking prices on (Blick - I LOVE Blick) had a note about a $10 rebate. SO I went to the Prismacolor website, downloaded the rebate form, and have it ready to go in the mail. WOOHOO!

This will duplicate some of the colors she already has, but most of "her" pencils are actually the family set of 48 that we scored at the Blick outlet for $10 a couple of years ago, so the bonus is that the family set moves out of her room!

Stash report week 31

2011-07-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

Nothing to report until this week, when I fell off the wagon with a flourish.

First, there was the 20% off entire purchase coupon for Joann's...so I bought fleece to make a Totoro stuffie, and a couple of blue fabrics to audition for borders for The Lovely Daughter's quilt - which still needs some cats appliqued onto it. Plus a couple of queen-size cotton batts.

Then, today, an unexpected bonus - the Karate Kid forgot all of his fishing tackle at Boy Scout camp and somebody had to go get it. An hour and a half drive - BUT - for only 20 minutes more driving I was in Hershey for Quilt Odyssey!! A yard of blue, four fat quarters, a bag of scraps I'm estimating at 2 yards, 5 spools of thread, a packet of needles and a beautiful Singer 301-A later, I came home, stopping by the camp to pick up the tackle.

Used this Week: .5 yards (the Small Man wanted to make pillows)
Used year to Date: 60.85 yards
Added this Week: 10.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 50.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: 10.45 yards

Yikes! That net used number is going in the wrong direction!!!!!!

Long time between posts

2011-07-29T19:18:00.002-07:00

Lots going on around here.

Toffee is growing (and occasionally sleeping):

He really likes this laundry basket - but at some point he won't fit in it AT ALL.

The Small Man is losing teeth - three in one week!

We went to Austin on vacation, for the Karate Kid to be in a karate tournament there. We had great fun - watched the bats fly out from the bridge right next to our hotel. We stopped in New Orleans on the way out there, and in Athens for Quilt National on the way back. We're going to Florida in a couple of weeks so my brother can teach The Lovely Daughter how to drive.

(un)balanced

2011-07-29T19:18:00.001-07:00

This is the haiku and challenge piece for the July haiku challenge.

Balance - yin and yang
Competing priorities
Pushing and pulling

This may be my favorite piece so far. It is "8.5 x 11" like my other pieces, but is not square - the quilting distorted the dimensions and so I left it that way.

Stash report weeks 24-25

2011-06-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Wellllll...I went to a "quilters yard sale" on Friday evening. One of our guild members is planning a move to Florida in the not-so-distant future and is downsizing in advance of trying to sell her house. My "added" is a gross estimate - I bought a 6-yard piece (backing!) and a 1.5-yard piece (green and white!) and the rest are all FQ or less (mostly less). Probably another 7.5 yards, just based on volume. Some are already taking their place in TMOTH's string quilt.

Just think of it as helping a friend move and not mindless stash accumulation.

I've estimated the yardage for the Halloween scarecrow at about 2 yards, and the challenge piece at about 0.25 yards.

Used this Week: 2.25 yards
Used year to Date: 60.35 yards
Added this Week: 15 yards
Added Year to Date: 39.9 yards
Net Used for 2011: 20.45 yards

Quilts finished

2011-06-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

I finished a UFO!

I started this before Halloween last year, but never finished it - it needed some timtex around the head to keep it from being all floppy, and a couple of pockets and a dowel to make it hang straight. AND a little finishing quilting, BUT it's all done!

I also finished my May hiaku/fiber piece, "Soft"

June's piece is nearly done, and I've been working on the string quilt for TMOTH.

Catching up

2011-06-19T05:09:00.001-07:00

Yay! My IT guy (TMOTH)fixed the netbook, so I'm all connected again.

Toffee is doing great and growing like a weed.

And a happy Fathers' Day to TMOTH:

A trip to Lowe's later in the day for a firepit for a present!

More posts on quilty stuff to come.

Stash Report Week 23

2011-06-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 1 yards
Used year to Date: 58.1 yards
Added this Week: 2.75 yards
Added Year to Date: 24.9 yards
Net Used for 2011: 33.2 yards

IN: Margaret brought a bunch of "sorta" FQ free for the taking to the Nimble Fingers meeting on Wednesday. I was almost good - nearly all of the ones that came home with me have a specific use in mind.

OUT: I made a tote bag! My netbook toasted itself last week, so no photo uploads - you'll just have to take my word about how cute it is. I used three upholstery sample panels that came home from my MIL's house.

Victory over "The Man"

2011-06-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

Another reason for less productivity - my "quilting" machine, a bottom-of-the-line Brother CS6000i, decided to stop sewing a couple of weeks ago.

Now, I mostly have "old" machines. As in, older than I am. These machines were made for the owners to do regular maintenance on them. Not so the newer machines.

Since this "new" machine was over a year old, so out of warranty anyway, I decided to go ahead and hack into it. To compare: My featherweight has a single thumbscrew on the bottom plate which allows you to access 90% of what needs to be done. All the screws are accessible. The Brother: Five or screws later, I can crack the back of the machine open maybe an inch. I jam my checkbook box into the opening so I can work in there. MAN, was it full of fluff. Including one big bunch of fluff which was snagging up the gears. So I clean out all the fluff and clean off the gears.

This necessitates another adventure: Hardware stores to get lubricant for the [plastic] gears. The Home Depot guys treat me like a "girl" and clearly have no idea what I'm talking about when I tell them I want silicone grease. Don't have it. Strosnider's Hardware didn't have it either, but at least the guy there knew what I was talking about. I found PTFE lube at the local hobby shop on the way home from work and greased up the gears.

Taking off the stitch plate was another adventure, requiring an offset screwdriver (!). More fluff pulled out, then everything put back together.

AND IT WORKS!!

Still, I think what I really need is a Singer 301 or 201 for quilting.

Stash Report Week 22

2011-06-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lots went out, but in a donation bag for the Vietnam Vets.

Used this Week: 10 yards
Used year to Date: 57.1 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 22.15 yards
Net Used for 2011: 34.95 yards

Why there has been no productivity here

2011-05-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Join me in welcoming Toffee to the family!

He's a male golden retriever, a couple of months old. Like all babies, he sleeps a lot.

This is good, because otherwise keeping up with him would kill us.

Puppy-proofing is obviously incomplete, but I can see progress.

Stash report week 21

2011-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Easy-peasy this week - nothing in, nothing out. I have some hope that puppy-proofing will lead to greater productivity down the road, just not *soon*.

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 47.1 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 22.15 yards
Net Used for 2011: 24.95 yards

Stash report week 20

2011-05-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 47.1 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 22.15 yards
Net Used for 2011: 24.95 yards

Zip. Zilch. Nada. I did some work on a haiku challenge quilt, but it's still not done.
I have an idea for a self-portrait challenge, but didn't owrk on it.
I printed labels, but didn't sew any on.

It was just a busy week/weekend. Daughter: Prom. Middle kid: Karate tournament. Small Man: Birthday Party. Me: I bought a puppy!

Going with the cosmic flow here - I looked in the newspaper on a whim on Sunday, saw puppies for sale, went to visit and picked one out. He comes home on Saturday.

2011 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

2011-05-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

What a blissful Mother's Day. We went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. The weather was perfect - sunny, not too hot - and the kids were only a little bit whiny. The Lovely Daughter stayed home to study for her AP test next week, so we brought her back some soap and a tote bag.

The first time I went to this event was many years ago. TMOTH was still working at the pharmaceutical company, and was off to some scientific conference. I was home alone - with only 2 kids at the time - and got a wild hair to go, so off we went. The Lovely Daughter was maybe 6, the Karate Kid 3, so 9 years ago. I missed a year a couple of years ago because it was rainy, and regretted not going all year!!

So, there were sheep:

Some were friendlier than others. This guy had discovered that if he stood up and stuck his head over the stall, someone would come along and give him scratches. (That's my arm there, scratching his chin. I think the Karate Kid is the one rubbing his nose.)

You need a sweater when you've just been shorn:

My favorites were these dudes with the dreads and the wicked cool fleece:

I don't know the name of the breed, but I don't think we're going to be raising sheep any time soon.

The boys really liked the alpacas (they wanted to see llamas):

I think they enjoyed it anyway.

We didn't buy any sheep, and we didn't actually buy any wool, either (it makes me itch), but did find some good things. TMOTH and I both found nice deerskin gardening gloves at a reasonable price, and I got to pick out my Mother's Day gift. That was where the biggest purchase of the day occurred, at Earth Guild's booth. I finally succumbed to the lure of dyeing and bought a beginner's dye kit and book. I'm excited about what I can play with over the summer.

Stash report week 19

2011-05-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Better this week!

I finished the Kitty Quilt, even though it's not due for the karate tournament until next week. I'm calling this 5 yards busted.

Detail shot - The patchwork has a trellis straight-line quilting, and stippling around the kitties in the printed panels:

Half a yard of the pink batiks I bought last week went to my secret sister at the guild, and I only added a fat quarter (gift from MY secret sister).

Used this Week: 5.5 yards
Used year to Date: 47.1 yards
Added this Week: .25 yards
Added Year to Date: 22.15 yards
Net Used for 2011: 24.95 yards

May UFO

2011-05-02T03:16:00.001-07:00

The May number is 9 - which for me is a Christmas wallhanging. I might actually be able to get this one finished!

Stash report week 18

2011-05-02T03:10:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 41.6 yards
Added this Week: 1.8 yards
Added Year to Date: 21.9 yards
Net Used for 2011: 19.7 yards

I bought some pink batiks this week for cherry blossoms for a challenge quilt. That may never happen; we'll see.

There's kind of a creative slump going on right now, hopefully quilt guild meeting tonight will provide some inspiration.

Stash report week 17

2011-04-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 10 yards
Used year to Date: 41.6yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 20.1 yards
Net Used for 2011: 21.5 yards

Not much sewing, but LOTS of purging on Sunday. I went through a couple more boxes of my mother-in-law's stuff that was still sitting in the living room and tossed quite a bit of it. 10 yards is a pretty conservative estimate.

And now for something completely different

2011-04-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Spring break here! Saturday I went thrift shopping with The Lovely Daughter; yesterday we all went to Hershey Park. Today was *supposed* to be a rest-up day, but The Lovely Daughter had a party to be driven to and the Small Man decided it was TIME to make chocolate pizza. I have no idea where he got this idea, other than it was likely at school, but it was fully formed. I modified a refrigerator cookie recipe from Betty Crocker and patted enough of the dough into a pizza pan to what i thought was the right thickness, and baked it.

Small Man explaining how it needs to be done:

So I put on the chocolate frosting-from-a-can, and he got to work:

He was very intent, and made sure nearly every square millimeter was covered with some sort of candy:

And we had one very happy and proud Small Man at the end of it. (It was yummy!)

Stash report week 16

2011-04-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 31.6yards
Added this Week: 14 yards
Added Year to Date: 20.1 yards
Net Used for 2011: 11.5 yards

I took a hit this week, but it was worth it :)
6 yards of one material at $1 per yard, 5 yards of another at $2 per yard for backings. And then three yards of fun flannel for PJ pants.

Stash Report Week 15

2011-04-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Amish Diamonds: 35 x 53. This is quilted and more than half bound, so I'm calling that stash busted. The 1.5 yards added is what came home with me from the "FREE - take me home" box at guild meeting on Monday.

Used this Week: 6 yards
Used year to Date: 31.6yards
Added this Week: 1.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 6.1 yards
Net Used for 2011: 25.5 yards

I've committed to donating the kitties quilt for the Karate Kid's karate school auction, to raise money for their trip to Austin to compete in the Junior Olympics, so that will be DONE in the next week or two.

Stash Report Week 14

2011-04-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 25.6yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 4.6 yards
Net Used for 2011: 21.0 yards

"You do the most intriguing things sometimes."

2011-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is what TMOTH said as he walked by this afternoon as I was sewing down yet another half-inch square with a sequin and bead.

Last weekend's sit-n-sew

2011-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

No finishes for March :(

I did have a GREAT time at our guild's sit-n-sew, and made some progress on UFOs.

I spent most of my time on this:

Lots of floor space to put down the painters tape to mark off my quilting lines. Close-up here (quilting lines will eventually go the other way to make diamonds):

This started as last year's guild challenge, until it became clear it was getting too big. This was the March UFO. It now has its borders and I've started quilting it - in the ditch, with the quilting lines continuing in the borders.

I also finished the background for a blue/purple/orange channel:

Bunny art

2011-04-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

The other evening TMOTH was trying to get some paperwork printed for one of the kids, and the Small Man was badgering him with questions and trying to impress him with odd facts.

At that point, I rooted around in our junk closet, found an old watercolor set and some brushes, and asked the Small Man to come in the dining room with me, so we could paint! He was perfectly happy with this, and we painted awhile, and then I told him I would teach him how to paint a bunny.

This is what I painted (along with instructions about how I do it - paint the ears first, add the head, then the body, then the feet and tail):

So Small Man painted along with me, then on his own added green eyes, a red mouth, and whiskers, and grass underneath:

We finished up and went up to bed. The Lovely Daughter came down and found the supplies, and painted this:

This from someone who told me recently she doesn't like watercolor because "you can't fix your mistakes."

Stash Report Week 13

2011-03-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 5.5 yards
Used year to Date: 25.6yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 4.6 yards
Net Used for 2011: 21.0 yards

"USED" this week is the material I pulled to send to someone else. It's a best guess at what is going into the box.

I did get a lot done on a couple of UFOs this weekend at our guild's Sit-n-Sew, but no finishes yet. Hopefully by NEXT weekend.

March Piggy Info

2011-03-24T20:29:00.001-07:00

Jill's having a year of the PIGS, and since I didn't answer the first March question (the first half of March was a blur!!) this one's a two-fer.

First, do I have my own sewing space? HAH. Ha, ha, hee, hee, ho, ho, ho. Maybe in another 10 years when the older two are done with college. No. So where do I sew?

1. I share part of the playroom. I have most of my quilting stuff stored in there, along with various other crafty bits. I have my grandmother's Hoosier cabinet in there, and it holds a bunch of stuff; a utility shelf, with bins for fabric; bins stashed behind the couch; bins stuffed under tables - you get the picture. My FashionMate resides in this room, but I don't use it much because the boys don't much like me sewing when they're on the computer or PlayStation or Wii.

2. I have more bins of material in the bedroom. This is where nearly all of the yarn lives as well. I also have my big cutting mat on the floor of the bedroom.

3. Most actual sewing gets done in the dining room. The Featherweight and little Brother live in there most of the time. I have a small rotating mat I keep in there, and a miniature ironing board and the iron.

4. There are also various sewing machines that need various amounts of work scattered around the rest of the house. Most are serving as end tables or computer tables.

Second, what would help be more creative? Without a doubt, better organization. It's just not something that comes naturally, and I hate spending time on putting stuff away when I could be doing something more fun.

Stash Report Week 12

2011-03-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 20.1 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 4.6 yards
Net Used for 2011: 15.5 yards

Busy, busy week. I replaced the belt on the Featherweight and now it sews painfully slowly. So I ordered two new belts this morning, and think I'll just put the old belt back on and see if it will go again. At least before it was sewing, just slipping to start.

Friends' giveaways

2011-03-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

I have a couple of quilting buddies who are having some super giveaways:

An internet pal, Marilyn, is giving away some yummy fat quarters.

My fellow guild member, the Quixotic Crafter is having a SUPER giveaway of charm squares. Tell her I sent you!

Spring is HERE!!!

2011-03-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's not official until tomorrow night, but the forsythia is blooming, and we have frogs calling in our "pond" (an abandoned wading pool) and bulbs are popping up all over. And it's not freezing!

My new toy

2011-03-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't love a beautiful faux wood Formica cabinet?

Especially when it's chipped so you can see the fiberboard underneath?

Even more so that this amazing piece only cost me $35.95 plus tax?

NO???

Well, what if you open it up?

There's a hint of what's inside...open it all the way up and pull out the machine, and...

What a beauty! Mint and emerald green, barely a scratch, electric cords in good shape...

Not sure why there are two spool pins. I've found a grainy scan of a manual, and threaded it as best as I can figure out...and it kind of sews. There seems to be an issue with the feed dogs not engaging as fully as they should. I'll fiddle with it a little, and if I can't whip it into shape I'll take it to Jeff the miracle worker.

In actual sewing news, I'm working on a challenge: Blue, purple, and orange.

What? You don't see any orange? Just wait...I have over a week left!

Haiku Challenge

2011-03-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

This month's challenge word was "Sunshine."

What popped into my head was an image of a sunflower. After taking Elly Sienkiewicz's class on the ruched rose last week, I had an idea of adapting that technique to make the center, so off we went.

This is the center all gathered up. I took a salad plate and drew my circle, then used the 6-pointed template to make the triangular gathering marks all the way around the edge (way more than 6!) and a couple of smaller circles to gather the middle. I LOVE the way this worked!

Different yellows fused to WonderUnder for the petals. I didn't use all of these for the final flower.

A piece of snow-dyed fabric from over a year ago for the background.

A copy of the Territorial seed catalog for inspiration. A glass of wine doesn't hurt, either!

Petals fused and ready to quilt. I did a zig-zag freemotion around all of the petals, then some echo quilting around the entire flower.

The end result. I'm really happy with this - it actually worked pretty much like the vision of it in my head.

The haiku:
Like sunshine distilled
The sunflowers nod their heads
Dancing in the wind

Stash Report Week 11

2011-03-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Used this Week: .3 yards
Used year to Date: 20.1 yards
Added this Week: 1.4 yards
Added Year to Date: 4.6 yards
Net Used for 2011: 15.5 yards

I gave my secret sister the two fat quarters I won in last month's door prize guild drawing, but since I can't see that I added them in when I won them, I can't count them as out the door, either! And a trip to G Street's quilt club meeting netted a bag of scrap strips.

The challenge used, again, 0.3 yards by my estimate.

I'm hoping to work on UFOs later this week, although I have a ton of WORK this week. I also seem to have a math error somewhere along the way :(

Elly Sienkiewicz workshop

2011-03-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

I had a lovely rainy day yesterday sewing with Ellie Sienkiewicz.

I learned how to do reverse applique, and that it's just not for me (in progress for stems):

And also learned a technique for making a ruched rose that I can see adapting to other shapes as well:

Her talk tonight was on the Baltimore Album quilts as a study in social change. Very interesting!!

Stash Report Week 10

2011-03-07T03:13:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 3 yards
Used year to Date: 19.8 yards
Added this Week: 1.4 yards
Added Year to Date: 3.2 yards
Net Used for 2011: 15.6 yards

I got my kittens UFO sandwiched and pinned, but that's all. A trip to G street resulted in the 1.4 yards added. Tossing some junky old curtain material that I didn't even want to use for backing for string blocks was the 3 yards. (And I think it was likely more than that - but I didn't want to unfold it to measure accurately!)

February UFO

2011-03-01T03:17:00.001-08:00

Not finished, but progress:
1. I found the flimsy (major accomplishment there!)
2. Pulled some backing material from stash
3. Actually found leftover fabric from the top (!!!!) and used it along with some cream backing to piece a strip to make the backing big enough
4. Laid out my batting left over from Kim's quilt and it's big enough!
5. Bought a spool of variegated pink thread to quilt with

I still need to:
1. Sew that pieced strip to the bigger piece of backing and press
2. Sandwich and pin/baste
3. Quilt
4. Piece binding, bind, label

Will try to update with a photo later.

Stash Report Week 9

2011-03-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 16.8 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 2.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 14.0 yards

S-L-O-W week for sewing. At least I didn't add anything!

Stash Report Week 8

2011-02-20T18:55:00.001-08:00

Two finishes this week bump up the stash usage!!

First, Kim's quilt, which is also a UFO:

My calculations here are 5.3 yards

Then, a potential entry for our guild's AQS challenge, "Picture This":

My quilt's title is "Beach Unbrellas" and I calculate usage at 1.7 yards.

Used this Week: 7 yards
Used year to Date: 16.8 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 2.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 14.0 yards

Stash Report Week 7

2011-02-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: .3 yard
Used year to Date: 9.8 yards
Added this Week: 1.4 yards
Added Year to Date: 2.8 yards
Net Used for 2011: 7.0 yards

The quiltlet is about 9 x 12, so I'm counting four 9 x 12 pieces: 1 backing, 1 top, plus two layers of the woven fabric on top. Some trimmings got tossed, plus the heart appliques...I'm calling it a third of a yard.

Went to G Street to get a secret sister gift for the guild meeting, hence the 1.4 yards of scrap added. Still in the black, though!

Closer to finish on the challenge quilt that will have some yardage used, but still not done! Only the little quiltlet.

A quiltlet for my grandmothers

2011-02-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

This was a challenge for our online Haiku art group- more about technique there.

When I thought about the theme of love, I thought about romantic love, then the love of a dog, then about other types of unconditional love, which led me to my grandmothers, Grandma Dunaway (Goldie) and Memaw (Opal). My grandmothers were the fountainhead of my love for crafts in general and fiber in particular. They were generous with their scrap bins and button tins, my love for which continues to this day.

The two hearts are my two grandmothers - the commercial gold for Goldie (Grandma) and some snow dyed fabric for Opal (Memaw). The embroidery floss I used to blanket stitch the hearts came from Memaw's stash, as did at least one of the buttons.

Stash Report Week 6

2011-02-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 0 yard
Used year to Date: 9.5 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: 8.1 yards

Next week should have some change - Im hoping to finish a challenge quilt that will have some yardage used.

Why oh WHY - PIGS and UFOs

2011-02-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

This week, Jill asked why we have PIGS and UFOs. I'm guessing some of our reasons are the same, some are different.

1. I get bored. Satin stitching (by hand) around 24 chess pieces gets old fast.

2. I get stymied. My daughter's quilt needs borders of some sort, and we haven't come to a decision yet.

3. Until recently, I didn't have a machine that quilted very well. It's still not GREAT, but I can make it work.

4. I inherited/absorbed my grandmother's need to "adopt" other people's UFOs. I have a couple that came home with me from quilt show sales.

5. I'm terribly disorganized. This month's UFO number from Judy L.? I can't FIND that dang quilt - it's not where I thought it was. And there's a LOT of stuff I'd have to look through to find it :(

EDIT - I FOUND it!! It was in a tub of stuff buried under a pile of DH's clothes. I have a piece of material pulled and ready to wash for backing, along with some cream muslin to piece in strips of the pink to make it wide enough. Photos later, duckies.

ANOTHER EDIT: I deliberately did NOT include "lack of time" as a reason for not finishing. I don't know now how much I could do if I just got off the computer and on the sewing machine.

I'm sure there are more - I'll add them if I think of them.

Stash Report Week 5

2011-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 1 yard
Used year to Date: 9.5 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: 8.1 yards

"Used" again means tossed. I went through another box of my MIL's stuff and threw away the unusable.

Snow day

2011-01-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is what we woke up to this morning:

That's a big piece of cedar tree that fell across the path we normally use to get from the house to the drive. So we shoveled around it. Only four or five smaller branches down from the pine trees across the driveway.

Lots of shoveling - so the kids (i.e., The Lovely Daughter and TMOTH) made a big pile and turned it into a huge snowman. This is the building phase:

The Lovely Daughter with "Vincent van Snow":

The boys mostly threw snowballs and ate snow:

Anyway, we're now shoveled out and ready to go to work/school tomorrow - assuming there is school.

Stash Report Week 4

2011-01-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Used this Week: 6.6 yards
Used year to Date: 8.5 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: 7,1 yards

YAY for mom's 9-patch. The quilt has odd measurements - 51 x 82 inches - and by my calculations (rounding up for seam allowances!) it's 5.6 yards, plus a yard used for binding.

Mom's 9-patch

2011-01-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

FINISHED! First UFO of 2011 is DONE!

You can see the sashing (blue and white seersucker!) in this photo a little better. I used an 80s-vintage small calico for the binding, and plain cream cotton sheeting for the back.

I cranked out most of the final trimming and machine sewing of binding for the Friday Night Sew-In, then finished about half of the binding while waiting for the Lovely Daughter at art class on Saturday, then finished up the rest this morning. YAY!

PIGS stats

2011-01-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

How do I keep track? I have lists, and more lists, and even more lists.

I did keep them on the blog sidebar (and they're probably still hanging out there) but don't update them well. I joined a couple of UFO challenges this year, and made the list (as best I could) in my journal, then posted them/e-mailed them, etc.

I don't buy kits, so I think I only have one that a secret sister gave me.

I DO have a bunch of "going to do that project" material, but I have no issues with using it for other projects and eventually making a substitution for the original project.

My oldest UFO is either a dancing ladies applique that I bought at a quilt show (my guess is 40s, but it could be a little earlier or later) OR my mom's 9-patch, which is now QUILTED and the binding material is in the wash! Oldest UFO that I started? maybe a flying geese quilt from the mid-80s which is likely to never get finished :)

Stash Report Week 3

2011-01-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

I went to the Quilt Club at the local fabric store, and they had a scrap bag available! It's really more strips that scraps, but it works for me. I figured about 1.4 yards, and since I had a coupon, a grant total of $1.47.

I've also been going through boxes of stuff that DH brought home from his parents' house. Some of the material is usable, but some of it is NOT, and that's just going in the trash. I'm calling it "used" since I had to deal with it, and it used to be part of the stash. Maybe half a yard got tossed.

EDIT: The biggest thing was what I DIDN'T buy this week. I thought about buying some wide backing for Mom's quilt, and even fondled the sheeting at Hancock's last week, but decided to wait until (1) I had the new coupon, and (2) I was ready for the backing. Well, after waiting, I decided that I'd piece the back, dang it. When I went up to the stash to look for backing material, what do I see? A HUGE chunk of nice cream sheeting. And what's this? It's extra-wide? SCORE!!!

Used this Week: .5 yards
Used year to Date: 1.9 yards
Added this Week: 1.4 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.4 yards
Net Used for 2011: .5 yards

I'm hoping for much better numbers next week - I finished the top of my Mom's quilt, and will sandwich it later tonight, and hopefully get it quilted in the next week. I may or may not get my friend Kim's quilt sandwiched and quilted, since I have to work on a guild challenge piece due in early February.

Stash Report Week 2

2011-01-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

2 FQ out of stash for guild secret sister gift; 1 FQ from stash for guild FQ raffle (which I didn't win!)

I also made a small quilt from stash for a challenge: 9" x 12" front and back, plus a little bit of applique and binding, so I'm going to call it 0.15 yards :)

Used this Week: .9 yards
Used year to Date: 1.4 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2011: 1.4 yards

I DID stop at Hancock's on Thursday, for 50% off thread and batting. Once the quilts the batting is destined for are done, I should be able to bump up the "net used" a little bit.

Haiku Art Group

2011-01-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in a Haiku Art Group this year:
http://haikuart.blogspot.com/

Our challenge word for January was "Beginning."

My little quiltlet (9" x 12") is called "START":

Detail of alphabet beads and root:

Detail of leaves:

Overall, I'm happy, and I learned some new things.

PIGS

2011-01-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

a.k.a. Projects In Grocery Sacks.

Jill's first questions is how do we store our PIGS?

Why, in grocery sacks, of course!

Seriously, I have a sad obsession with those reusable grocery sacks. If I see one I don't have, I usually buy it. I have them in all sizes and colors. While I DO use them for groceries when I remember to pull them out of the trunk, I also use them for projects in the craft room.

Crafty goals for 2011

2011-01-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

1. Shop the stash - I've put my first post in for Judy L.'s Sunday stash report; this should at the very least keep me honest.

2. Haiku art quilt group - commit to doing the best work I can do, but be willing to go out on a limb

3. UFOs - Three challenges combined should give me some progress in this area :)

4. Try something new - I have a gift cert. from Dharma so I think surface design supplies might be on my wish list

5. Organize, organize, organize. I think I'm better off than last year, but not by much. At a minimum, I want to:
a. find all of the UFOs and put their parts in separate bins
b. figure out where the material needs to live. I'd like to have it all in one spot, but I'm not sure that's possible.
c. spend some time every weekend in the craft room working on stash management.

6. Draw more.

Stash Report Week 1

2011-01-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

This is easy :) I've been working on this month's UFO, which unfortunately starts with lots of ripping. BUT, I packaged up two FQ to mail off for the stashbusters UFO challenge.

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 0.5 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2011: 0.5 yards

First UFO - and it's Mom's 9-patch!

2011-01-01T14:04:00.001-08:00

There's the one big part, and one strip. I need to rip out a couple of the vertical sashings that have holes or tears, and I think only one of the horizonal ones. There are two or three blocks that will need to be replaced.

I may have enough of Mom's original fabric to do the replacement blocks, but if not, I have suitable material that's of the right vintage.

At my house, if you leave things lying around for more than a minute, stuff like this happens:

Don't they look comfy?

UFO Challenge - top 12

2010-12-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

For 2011 I've decided to join a couple of UFO challenges.

Judy Laquidara's is to finish (or concentrate work on) one a month. Not many photos, I'm afraid, since I'm about a thousand miles away from the stash.

1. Amish Diamonds. Started as a guild challenge, until I realized it would be too big. Needs another round or two, borders, quilting and bound. These photos don't show it as far along as I got it before I had to set it aside.

2. My husband's Christmas quilt. I gave him squares in a box!

3. My black/white/red 9-patch & snowball quilt. This one is for me :)

4. The Karate Kid's chess quilt. Hand quilting is in progress.

5. The Lovely Daughter's cat quilt. Needs enlarging through either borders or more squares, plus cat applique. ALSO needs input from TLD, which is even more difficult.

6. My mother's 9-patch. This is an inherited UFO that dates from about 1957.

7. Love's the Only House. A small art quilt that I just need to work on.

8. Halloween wallhanging. Needs some Timtex on top to make it hang correctly, then finished quilting.

9. Christmas wallhanging. Very cool Laurel Burch panel that needs to be finished.

10. Cat/kitten quilt. Flimsy finished, made in pinks, browns, with cat and kitten pre-printed panels.

11. Memaw's flying geese. I have flying geese blocks my grandmother made that need to be made into something - most likely a wallhanging, based on how many blocks I have.

12. Wonky flannel quilt - something else inherited from my grandmother. I've had the flannel for sashing it for YEARS now.

That's the top 12 that don't have some other deadline :)

Fun in the Florida (chilly) sun

2010-12-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

It's been pretty cold here, so no beach play for us :( Looks like swimsuits will go home unworn.

Yesterday, the Lovely Daughter and I went with my mom to the next town over to go thrift store shopping. I scored a major haul of work clothes, with 6 pairs of pants, three vests, and a cardigan. The Lovely Daughter found a couple of really nice sundresses, and of course some other stuff. Also a quilting ruler, of all things!

Today the plan was to go to the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium. On the way there, TMOTH pointed out that we'd get there about 11, and what would we do about lunch?

I thought about other things to do, so turned into the Manatee Park. This is a little park just outside Ft. Myers whose only claim to fame is that it's next to a canal that picks up the warm wastewater from one of the FPL power plants, which attracts manatees in the cold months. I'd never stopped, but since there's been such a cold snap, I figured we'd stop and maybe see one or two, so we paid our $2 and parked.

Well:

It was amazing. Probably at least a hundred manatees, lots of babies. I think you can see a mother and baby in this next picture:

Kids had fun:

And then we went and had super pizza, were joined by the Brother, and on to the nature center. That was also fun - nature hike:

I love the palmettos:

There were also animals - natives and invasives. These included an albino raccoon, who clearly wasn't happy about being caged :(

The planetarium was actually really good - their fancy computer display wouldn't start, so they used the old-fashioned one narrated by one of the people that run the planetarium, and it was WAY better than the computer one that came after.

Burgers for dinner, and Transformers II on video for the evening. Ah. Life is good.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

2010-12-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings from sunny Florida! We're at my brother's and mom's house.

Pre-Christmas bounty:

And this morning's present-opening frenzy:

The Lovely Daughter in her new rain boots:

She also got some blank canvases that she's supposed to paint:

The Small Man with his stocking:

And with a wolf hat:

The Karate Kid with his Swedish Fish:

And getting ready to open another present:

Brother (in green) and TMOTH:

TMOTH opening something:

and me in my Stitcher Secret Santa gift, a beautiful scarf:

Dinner was great, mostly cooked by the brother, and I got to have a nap today!

Composition book cover

2010-12-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

A quick project I made today; a quilted cover for a composition book.

The front (or back, if it was flipped):

Inside:

Open flat to see the whole bit:

I'm really pleased with it, but have a bit of a dilemma. I originally planned to have a button closure - some sort of elastic or bias strip loop to go over a button on the front. BUT. I'm not sure that I don't like it better without a closure.

What do y'all think?

Christmas Sweatshop 2011

2010-12-08T03:53:00.001-08:00

Lots still to do here before Christmas.

This is a Secret Santa gift:

It's quilted, and just needs the binding finished and a label before I can mail it off. Yay!

I made a top for a friend that still needs quilting, but don't seem to have a picture of it yet. It may be an after- Christmas gift! It's black and white with blue and teal and green bits.

The Lovely Daughter said that she'd prefer purple and yellow if I made her one:
Front:

Back:

The Karate Kid wanted blue and purple and red:

and Small Man likes "rainbow" colors:

I woke up yesterday with a vicious headache. I didn't go to work, but just laid around on the couch and watched TV all day. Pizza from Julliano's (yummmmm...) for dinner. Work today, and hopefully quilting tonight!

FINALLY some quilting time

2010-11-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

I got some work done this weekend on a couple of works in progress.

A snippet of a Secret Santa gift - I won't be able to show any progress until after the gift's been delivered.

And more string quilt blocks:

I wound up buying another yard of Moda Marbles to make the center strings. It's a little lighter than the brick color I originally had, but it was all Capital Quilts had that was close, and since the quilt is overall so scrappy, I believe it will work out fine. I'd already used a couple of other "close" marbles for strings, but really didn't have anything else in the stash that I would've been happy with.

Annual Halloween Sweatshop

2010-11-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Actually, this year the costumes weren't all that difficult.

The Small Man wanted to be "the Moon."

And the Karate Kid was "a shadow."

While The Lovely Daughter went as a s'more:

The s'more costume was the most work, but wasn't all that bad and was kind of fun to make. And it actually looked like a s'more!!!

On Halloween we carved pumpkins, after I found some of the LAST pumpkins in Montgomery County.

Carving:

Getting ready to light:

The Lovely Daughter's jack'o'lantern:

Small Man's jack'o'lantern:

I didn't get a picture of the Karate Kid's jack'o'lantern, but I actually liked it the best - just a traditional scary face!

Roller coaster month

2010-11-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been the best of months.

Just over a month ago, we woke up one morning to find Cletus, our coonhound, dead.

Then just last week, the Man of the House found Kona, our Golden, unable to move. He rushed her to the vet, but she had fluid around her heart and she died shortly thereafter.

Buddies:

Losing either one of these guys would have been a blow, but both of them? Less than a month apart? Yikes. It's a sad house lately.

Verizon customer "service"

2010-10-08T03:19:00.001-07:00

I swear if we had any other options for a landline, I'd take it.

The telephone lines to the house go out on a regular basis, and when I call this morning, the earliest time that Verizon can get out to the house for repair is next Wednesday.

Let's all hope TMOTH doesn't have any diabetic crises that require a 911 call until Wednesday.

New work

2010-10-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

I've got some finishes recently.

First, a quilt for my mother-in-law, Lois, who has Alzheimer's.

I'm not sure you can tell from the photo, but there are all kinds of different textures in there - satin, corduroy, fuzzy stuff - and crushed velvet, which I NEVER want to work with again!

On a less quilty front, both boys wanted me to make them Snuggie knock-offs.

Spoonflower goodies

2010-09-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

So, last week I entered a giveaway at Spoonflower for some Heather Ross fat quarters. I almost didn't enter - I was thinking there'd be about a million entries, so why bother - but there at the end, you could check the box to sign up for Spoonflower's newsletter. That hooked me - I signed up to get the newsletter and I WON!!

All 17 fat quarters:

My favorite (of the moment):

The Lovely Daughter's favorites:

Many thanks to Spoonflower for this lovely material. I don't know what I'll do with it yet beyond gazing adoringly at it :)

Grrr...

2010-09-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

I started working on my Secret Santa project, only to find out I'd done some mis-cutting. I need triangles facing BOTH ways, not just one. I think it's salvageable - I may have one less yellow star at the end, but I can add some solids to make the quilt big enough for what I want it for.

The Lois quilt is also coming along well. It's about a third as large as it needs to be, and I found some more material. That includes some sparkly twill that was cut out for a dress pattern at some point in the distant past - one of those "what was I thinking?" projects. At least I realized it before I finished it!

Still around

2010-09-12T17:21:00.001-07:00

Yikes. More than a month.
End of summer, start of school year, etc. - just haven't managed to post.
First day of Kindergarten:

12th Birthday:

I still need to work on handquilting the Karate Kid's quilt. I need to figure out how to finish the top of the Lovely Daughter's quilt - it needs cat applique, but first it needs to get bigger. I need to consult with her about what kind of borders she wants on it.

In the meantime, I've started other quilts (of course!) One is a tactile quilt for my MIL Lois who has Alzheimer's (maybe I posted about that one already?). I started cutting material for a Secret Santa gift. I started a black/white/blue/green quilt for a friend, and have that nearly finished. And then a black/white/yellow/purple quilt for the Lovely Daughter. I need some more blacks for that one. And a string quilt quilt-a-long. I WILL finish these; the friend's quilt top is almost done. Completely mindless piecing that will be machine quilted.

Lovely Daughter blocks:

String blocks:

My SIL was here on Saturday, and we had a lovely visit. Didn't do ANYTHING but sit around and talk and eat. TMOTH will be going to Indiana in October for his Dad's birthday for a sibling workday, and according to SIL, there's a lot of sewing stuff that needs a new home. We'll see what comes home with him.

Thrift store find

2010-08-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

I found this lovely old GLASBAKE casserole dish at my local Goodwill. $1.98.

Screeeeeech!

2010-07-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

That's the sound of me not quite squeaking in under the wire in Amanda's Christmas Challenge. I did finish by the end of the month, at least, so it's a victory in my eyes!

The Christmassy side:

It doesn't scream "Christmas" but some of the charm squares have a definite holiday flavor:

The other side is a nice sage green with all-over leaf pattern. One small pleat in this side; I'll just put a candle on that spot!

Next month is table decoration/centerpiece. Aiyee. No idea yet about this one!

Jill's Giveaway

2010-07-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Jill is having a couple of giveaways, one for the US AND one for international only!!

Good luck!

Nine-patches and snowballs done for June

2010-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Plus one make-up month's worth. When we get back from Florida, it'll be July, so I can do my other make-up month then.

I moved my blocks from the one-quart bag to the one-gallon bag today :)

Christmas in June (and July, and August...etc.)

2010-06-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

My internet buddy Amanda in Australia has issued a Christmas Challenge. The task for the month of June was to make a Christmas ornament. I've been putting mine off (ya think?) but finally just decided to get it done tonight.

I had some scraps of sewn-together Christmas fabric squares that I think one of the kids dragged home as a quilt show prize. I took it apart and tried the half-square triangle technique demo'ed here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissouriQuiltCo

It worked great, but the pinwheel block I started with was WAY too big, so I took the four pieces and cut them some more: two into smaller pinwheels and squares and two just in half. So I wound up with four ornaments instead of one. Only one got bound, and I glued the button on to cover the thread tangle from sewing a hanging loop on :)

I may or may not finish the other three tomorrow - I have some neglected black and white nine-patches that need attention, as well as my Art Now for Autism mini-quilt.

Happy Father's Day to a great dad!

2010-06-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband. The Small Man and I went out and got donuts from Donut King for breakfast, and then used his Father's Day present of a bag of chocolate chips to make cookies. Also listened to "Exile on Main Street" and watched "Blazing Saddles." He made his own dinner though - cheeseburgers! All in all, a good day.

Sparkly trees

2010-06-20T05:09:00.001-07:00

In my yard in the summer, we have fireflies.

We have a lot more than we used to, because there are no lawn chemicals used at casa de Monkeys. Early in the evening, there are the sort of lightning bugs that I remember from childhood summers spent in East Tennessee. [I grew up in South Florida. Plenty of bugs, but no lightning bugs!] Slow, lazy fireflies that hover around fairly close to the ground, so easy to catch.

Later, though, when it gets to be full dark, my trees start to sparkle. Hundreds of fireflies in my trees, and they don't seem to bother with long flashes - short, rapid-fire flashes that make it look as if fairies are sending messages to each other. It's completely magical.

I wonder if I was just never allowed to stay up late enough to see this, and it happens lots of other places as well.

KinderCare graduation today

2010-06-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Small Man graduated from preschool today.
Yes, he's adorable.

There were musical numbers, including all kinds of hand movements.

I think in this one, they were signing the letters for "Alligators All Around."

As they handed out diplomas, Ms. Nadine asked each kid "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Small Man was first, and said "FIREFIGHTER!" (He changes his mind on an hourly basis, mind you.) The girls were pretty consistent - teachers, doctors, ballerinas, princesses. One "gymnastics girl," one "painter," and one "singer." The boys had a core of testosterone-fueled professions (another firefighter, policeman, soldier, cowboy, etc.) but were also WAY more creative. "Spaceman." "Pizza Man." "Superhero." And my personal favorite: "METAL DETECTOR!"

One more week, then (as I'm told two or three times a day) the SUMMER BASH on Friday, and then NO MORE KINDERCARE PAYMENTS!!

Another successful play

2010-05-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we had the last performance of "SeussOdyssey" by Center Stage, the youth theater run by the City of Gaithersburg. The performers are mostly middle schoolers, although there are a few high school "alumni" (like my daughter and her BFF) that were also in the play. And yes, the play is "The Odyssey" told in Seussian rhyme.

The Karate Kid (6th grade) was "Telly" and "Wind 2" in the play. Here he is (the short one in "dork" glasses) with Odysseus after he returned from his voyage:

As "Wind 2" he basically had to just run around the stage (the Lovely Daughter in the background):

The Lovely Daughter joined in late; she was in the spring musical at the high school, and that pretty much sucked up all of her time. When she started going to Center Stage (because of BFF, really), the director first gave her a non-speaking part and then asked her to take on the roles of some girl who couldn't be there on Sunday - basically crew members and villagers and such. So she learned her lines in about a week, and all of the blocking in one rehearsal day. She was also the tech crew for the Friday and Saturday performances.

She's the tall girl with the drawn-on mustache and beard:

She died about 7 or 8 times in the play (got eaten by Charybdis, got eaten by sharks, etc.) but most of the death scenes were off-stage. Here she got to die on-stage and get dragged off.

Both kids on stage together:

And of course, all plays need an audience:

Hormel Compleats: Run away. Run far, far, away.

2010-05-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I would have some "Roasted Turkey & Vegetables with white and wild rice" for my lunch today. Doesn't the picture on the package look yummy?

Well, ahem. This is what it looked like when I peeled the plastic back off the serving dish after I heated up as per directions:

Um. Yeah. Stirring it up didn't help any. I was brave - I tasted it. NOT gonna eat it (I did bring it home for the dogs). Happily my mini-fridge is well-stocked.

All Over the House

2010-05-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

So, I was whining yesterday on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to about how my quilting/crafting "stuff" was ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I was then informed that pictures were in order. So, OK, you asked for it:

1. The Kitchen. How, you ask, can there be crafting stuff in the kitchen? Well, there's a kitchen island that's right next to the stairs that go up to the playroom where the "official" crafting area is, and I have a tendency to put things there "for a while" until I take them upstairs. Yeah, right.

The big silver colander serves most of the time as my bread bin. The white lid is full of those beads you iron together, so technically they're my kids' stuff, but it still falls under "crafting" so I get to organize it (or not). All of the stuff in and on top of the clementine box (and the glue) needs to go upstairs.

2. The Dining Room. Now, to be fair, I actually do a lot of the actual work in my dining room. I mostly sew on the kitchen table, since I share my crafting area with the Wii and Playstation and kids' computer. However, I'm not sure there's any excuse for just leaving stuff here and not putting it away.

To show that I *DO* get some work done, here is my mid-kid's quilt, sandwiched and pinned last night on the dining room table:

3. The Living Room. Things don't tend to pile up in here, thankfully. However, it's where the laundry goes to get folded, so there's often a small pile of material that's been washed hanging out on the couch or loveseat waiting to be put away.

4. The Foyer. So, there's this nice big desk that's waiting to find a permanent home...so things get put on top of it. Like fabric.

5. Upstairs hallway. Along with the cat carrier that needs to be put away (see the pattern here?), there's a bag of fabric sitting in front of the bookcase (which has quilting magazines on top).

6. Our Bedroom. Just an example - a bin of material on the floor. I think there's more hiding around the room - along with the supplies masquerading as decorations.

There's actually NOT any in the bathrooms, or in the kids' rooms. And I'm not showing any pictures of the playroom/craft room because it's just too scary right now. Sigh.

I went to a "quilt club" meeting at one of our local fabric shops last week, and the guest speaker was a professional organizer talking on how to set up a quilt studio. Some good ideas, some that won't work for my house. (Fabric on open shelves? Not here in the land of dust and hair. Locking bins are my friend.)

Featherweight fixed

2010-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

I took the tension assembly off the machine, put it back together according to the instructions, and re-installed it on the machine. (This was not successful the first time, or even the second, but it was accomplished without swearing.) I am now sewing a perfect stitch on as setting of 5!

I don't think it's sewn this well since I wrangled it off my mom :)

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2010

2010-05-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. It's probably a good thing I had whiny kids at the end asking to go home, because I'm feeling a little heatstroked myself.

As always, the alpacas were a huge hit with my boys.

These guys had been sheared, so they looked a little goofy. BUT, the clippers left designs in their short fur that looks really cool.

Here are a few more alpacas, these are not yet sheared.

The yurt was new to us (we didn't make it last year) and something else the boys really loved.

I didn't seem to take as many sheep pictures this year as in the past. That's too bad, though, because I think Miss Art-Girl should paint a picture to enter for next year.

I think this guy saw the red light on my camera and knew a flash was coming!

All three kids, with lambs:

The small man, petting a sheep:

My favorites are the llamas. They're just so standoffish and regal.

I didn't manage to buy any wool (it makes me itch). I did buy a small block of beeswax, a half-gallon of maple syrup, three over-the-door hangers made out of silver spoons, two seafood forks, a ring and some soap for my daughter, some glass beads for the mid-kid, a kid-sized broom for the Small Man, and a regular broom for me. TMOTH bought himself a cool pottery mug. Plus lots of food.

What is this plant?

2010-05-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

It's a tallish shrub, about 6 feet tall. It's growing in the part of our yard that has lots of volunteer plants.

Leaves - maybe 3 inches long and an inch wide:

Flowers - tiny, pale yellow, in clusters:

If anybody has a suggestion as to what they think this might be, let me know, 'kay?

Another quilt show

2010-04-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

I went to the Faithful Circle quilt show today. No photos, as I forgot my camera. Drat.
LOTS of beautiful applique at the show. Some bright colors, some nifty ideas. Sometimes simple approaches work best.

I came home with a couple of yards of beautiful batik, and some bags of scrap material from "Peddler's Alley." I'm bummed, though, because I seem to have lost one. The smallest one, with lots of bits of doggie prints that would've gone into the Bueno brothers' quilts. It could be worse, I guess - I'm only out $1, and hopefully I'll have good karma if someone else finds the baggie that can use it.

The streak will REALLY be put to the test - I only bought one raffle basket ticket! I did buy raffle quilt tickets as well, when it was at our guild meeting last month.

The streak continues!

2010-04-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

I won a GREAT raffle basket today at the quilt show. Cool fabric, mini-size bottles of Mary Ellen's Best Press in all sorts of scents, quite a bit of Insul-Brite, small pieces of other battings (good for journal quilts), some thread, a magnetic wand, small size rotary cutter blades, a beaded ring kit...the list just goes on. Some patterns and stencils, nearly all of which I gave away because I'd never use them.

There were purchases, too...thread from the Superior booth, lots of ginkgo batiks, and not-batik ginkgos, fun fabric, some more black and white, even a little yellow. Also some needles.

No raffle basket yet...

2010-04-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have an unbroken (so far) streak of winning raffle baskets at our quilt show, plus others I've attended. Two more days to fix this situation!

Girls scouts stopped by today. That was fun. I'm in charge of children's activities, and the take-it-home craft is a pincushion. I just pressed some more material, because I need to sew up a few more blanks in the morning.

I also need to stop by the bank when I take Laura to her painting class. Lots of stuff I'd like to buy, but need to restrain myself to some extent. I will buy some King Tut thread, and some stash enhancement, but not much else.

Quilt show starts tomorrow!

2010-04-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

YAY!!! I took the ribbons over tonight after my work presentation, and filled in the "cheat sheet" for the peek-n-seek (THANKS, Roma, for pointing out that the quilt numbers were on the tags on the back).

I think (hope) I have enough pincushion blanks - especially because my featherweight is NOT cooperating. I think I'm going to have to take the tension assembly apart and put it back together. If that fails, I'll have to talk to the OSMG next week. I just hate to have it away from me. I can, of course, use one of the other machines, it's just a little more trouble.

Tomorrow I have to take the children's activities stuff over to the fairgrounds before work; then come back in the afternoon to work the show. Good times, good times.