Home Again, Home Again

Home again, Home again! We had so much fun going to Iowa. Friday afternoon was spent driving. We weren't going to stop in Winterset at Fons & Porter, but then our butts decided otherwise. It was time to get out of the car and walk around for a little bit. So we did some damage at that store and then wandered down the street to Ben Franklin. I did some SERIOUS damage there. I'm starting to be thankful that all of the Ben Franklin stores closed here in Kansas and Missouri.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to Nolting. My fun quilter was all set up and ready for me to play with. I got a few pointers and loaded my new baby up. I think her name will be Betty. I'm not sure why, but she looks like a Betty to me. She just purrs right along.

On the way home, my friend kept saying we had to stop at the store in Amana Iowa. We did and it was GREAT. That store, Heritage Designs, is a Better Homes and Gardens top 10 store. It was so much to look around at all the fabric, kits and patterns. We both did a bit more damage.

Front door of Heritage Designs

What you see when you first walk in

After getting home last night, I set Betty up and played with her for a bit. I was so tired though I ended up going to bed at about 8:30.

This morning I got up and finished putting together the cowboy /horse quilt. Taking it apart was definitely worth the effort. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It's now nicely folded and in the pile of tops to be quilted. Check - one more thing of my UFO list that has been hanging around out there waiting to be finished.

Got an email a bit ago from a friend. She was diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma. I'm sitting here in shock. She went in a couple years back to have a mole removed from her stomach and they said it looked "melanoma-ish" so it was good that she came in. She goes back every 6 months for a check up and all has been good until the December check-up. There was a spot on her lung and another in her groin. The type of cancer she has won't allow for chemo because the survival rate is too low. Surgery is out of the question because it's spreading. So she is now searching for some clinical trials to get into. I just keeping thinking that she just became a Grandma and has been so excited about that. She hasn't even gotten to retire and enjoy that time. You just never know.

Well on that sad note, I wish you a great week.

Progress and Excitement

I'm making progress on the cowboy quilt. The one that has been a UFO forever. Still not a fan of brown, but feeling much better about it since I ripped all the blocks apart and sewed them back together correctly.

Now for the excitement. I'm heading up to Hiawatha Iowa on Friday, by way of some quilt shops in Des Moines, to pick up my new Nolting Fun Quilter. I can hardly wait. I'm springing for a stitch regulator on this model. I can say I have master the concept of non-stitch regulation. I just think it will add to what I can already do. Over the years, I've purchased numerous templates and hope that now I can truly get use out of them. Without the stitch regulation, I found I can't hold the template and run the machine with the other hand. It's just too much for my little brain.

I will be sure to share pictures of my trip and my new baby as soon as it's home and set up.

Have a great rest of the week.

Design Wall Monday - March 22nd

Can you see how horrible that block is? Not at all straight. It's awful.
Well, I finally got motivated and started truly working on the horse quilt that I vowed to have done by the end of March. That clock is ticking just a little too loud to ignore. What an ordeal it's been for me though. I'm not sure what kind of drugs I was on when I started piecing. I spent yesterday taking blocks apart and sewing them again with a 1/4" seam. I have no idea what I was doing because the seams were more like 1/3 to 1/2". Why I didn't notice the blocks weren't going together very well is beyond me. So after some "un-sewing" and "re-sewing" I'm pleased with my progress.

National Quilting Day

I started with these, made from charm squares.

Then I used my Lil Twister.

And ended up these little beauties.

I love the Twister templates that I got. Mary mentioned them on her blog and I couldn't contain myself. The whole thing goes together very quickly.

For this pinwheel top, I used the Big Twister. My original piece of fabric was made from 10" squares (layer cakes).

What the .................???????????

I just have to share my 4AM craziness. The dog decides he needs to go to the bathroom, so I get my coat and shoes on and head to the backyard, Buddy in tow. We have a traffic circle to the west of our house and it's lit up very well. I notice 3 guys walking and carrying on a rather loud conversation. At first I didn't think much about it, but then realized, hey it's 4AM and why are there guys walking up my street. So I move Buddy across the backyard so that I can see what's going on as the guys come up the street. Sure enough, they stop at the house across from mine. There are 3 cars sitting in the driveway. 2 of the guys try all three cars. The 3rd guy is now making his way up my driveway. My car is sitting in the driveway and yes, we didn't lock it. That fight instinct kicks in and I yell. According to my husband, what I screamed at them was loud enough to wake the dead. What I screamed was definitely not kid friendly, but I certainly got their attention. I ran inside and called the police, the whole time watching the 3 goons just meander on up the street. No running, nothing. Like they were just out for a leisurely stroll.

The police showed up 15 minutes later, so I talked with him for a bit and then try to go back to bed. My heart was still racing.

Annoying, very annoying. It annoys me that people think it's OK to break into cars to steal things that aren't theirs. Annoying that there was no "OH CRAP" response which makes me realize this is probably standard protocol for 4AM for these guys.

Grace is on spring break. We are getting ready to head out and enjoy some bonding time at the laundromat. Let some spring cleaning begin.

Design Wall Monday

The picture is from the right side of my design wall. It's apple cores that I cut using my Go-Cutter. Definitely going to be a challenge. I tried sewing a couple blocks together and I don't like my curves. Fons & Porter are going to have help. I remember seeing something on one of their episodes and in a magazine about the way you are supposed to sew a curve to be successful. I think I was doing it the opposite because it was rough. But due to my interruptions, I couldn't remember which way I sewed when I picked the next 2 blocks ups. I still have the horse quilt up on the left side. I'm starting to figure out why I've done nothing with this UFO for such a long time. It's brown and it's depressing. I need COLOR.

Today we went and painted ceramics. Very funny. Tomorrow is a trip to the mall. Grandma says she will be jumping on the bungee thing with Grace. I will be taking my camera to get video.

Have a great night.

Saturday...No Way

Where did the week go, seriously!

I have been busy. I quilted this awesome quilt this week. I used my Vibrance pantograph from Willow Leaf Studios. This quilt will be given as a wedding gift.

After I finished quilting, I finished up bags for Brandi - 11 more. Also ordered another 60 yards of fabric for those. I never thought I would ever go through that much fabric. It doesn't take much though.

Today my absolute favorite author came to town. Jodi Picoult just released House Rules. The book is about a boy with aspergers syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. Great read so far. Jodi is so much fun to see and I make every attempt to see her every time she comes to town.
We are getting ready to head to the airport to pick up my MIL who is flying in from Modesto, CA. I'm afraid she is going to freeze to death while she is here. We will have to find inside activities for her.

Have a great weekend.

Dog Bandanna

Tonight's embroidery craziness - dog bandannas. They are so much fun to make and I can use scraps which make them even better.

My model didn't want to stand still. You get the idea though.

The weather this weekend is supposed to be INCREDIBLE. I'm hoping we can get outside and at the very least go to the park and play or hit the walking trail and do a little bit of walking.

I will be celebrating my 19th anniversary with my wonderful husband on Friday night. Going out to dinner, just haven't decided where.

Have a great weekend.

Design Wall Monday 03/01/10 on Tuesday

Crappy pictures. But here are the 2 tops that I'm still working on. There are more blocks for the black top, but Sissy (the cat) thinks it's oh so much fun to stretch and then pull the blocks down and the floor and chase them around. Not so much fun for me, since the blocks are now totally dusty and not very pretty to look at.

March Goals:

1. Finish Horse quilt top (shown above)
2. Finish black top (shown above)
3. Machine quilt 2 charity tops
4. Usual 15 minutes a day of sewing
   

Completely forgot - today the new Jodi Picoult book came out. I can hardly wait to get reading tonight. She will be in town for a book signing on March 13th. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.