Photographers

First and foremost, I must share that I have the BEST photographer in the Kansas City area.  Brandi has taken pictures of Grace since she was a baby and before.  I did maternity pictures, so Brandi took some seriously crazy belly shots.

I want fun Christmas card this year, so I've decided to have Brandi do them for me.  I love the double applique designs that Anita of Five Star Fonts makes.  Grace had to wear 3 shirts that I made, which didn't start out well.  The shirts were scratchy, so she didn't want to wear them.  Then she wasn't in the mood to smile.  And so on and so on.  As you can tell, Grace and Brandi got it all worked out.  I can't wait to send Christmas cards this year.

Thanks for letting this proud mom share. 

Have a great day!

Ladies Night Out

I have been so busy getting ready for the Ladies Night Out Event on October 7th, I haven't had much time to anything else.  If you live in the Kansas City area, come see me.  It's a great time with lots of free food and adult beverages.  Lots of shopping and just all around fun.

Bank of Blue Valley

13401 Mission Road

Leawood, KS 66209

913-234-3000

Come for a night of shopping and fun!  Over 30 vendors and tons of door prizes.  Admission is FREE!  Hors d'oeuvres, wine and desserts will be served.  Bring a friend and start your holiday shopping early.

Just a Little Quilting

So I did a little quilting this weekend. Managed to quilt 5 baby quilts for Caitlin, who needed them in a hurry for a craft show. The material she picked is so stinking cute. Made me riffle through all of my charm packs looking for something easy to put together. Alas, I put all the charm packs back in the cabinet and vowed to finish something that's already been started. I shamelessly stole this picture from Caitlin's blog since I was too lazy to take pictures of my own.

I also quilted another Cherry House quilt for Chris  who is a non-blogger.  She was so excited she came right to pick it up right after I got it off the frame.  Suffice it to say, it looked almost exactly like the one I quilted back here.

Off to finish folding clothes.  Darn laundry fairy forgot to show up today and now I have to do all the folding and putting away.  I suppose I can forgive her this time.  :-)

Have a great night.

Did You Know...

You can feel your heart beat in the tip of your pointer finger?  How do I know this you ask?  Well I just ran the sewing machine needle through mine.  The needle broke and my brave honey had to use pliers to pull the remains from my finger.  UGH.  I feel like I just passed my rite of passage into the club.  There's got to be better ways to get there.  The only funny thing I can share is I had a piece of yellow thread going all the way through my finger.  Front to back.  I probably could have put an earring in the hole and I would be officially pierced.

Heed the warning on the allergy medication box - DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY UNTIL YOU KNOW HOW YOU WILL REACT TO THE MEDICATION.  Guess I need to find a brain somewhere.

Design Wall Monday and Other Stuff

Here is the braid top I'm working on.  This is from the Accuquilt Go tutorial I attempted.  Slow going, but I like how it looks so far.  Lots more sewing to do on it.  My dad asked for a new quilt, so I'm hoping to have it done before I head to Ohio in October.

I Spy another I Spy Quilt top.  I'm just randomly sewing scraps right now.  I like the look so far.


These aren't on the design wall, but I have to share.  I'm getting ready for another Ladies Night Out event.  This is one that I participated in last year and had pretty good success.  So I'm back at it again this year.  I'm decorating all sorts of towels for the holidays.  Starting with Halloween.





The feet just make me laugh.  I don't know about you, but I've gone to work with 2 different color shoes on.  I'm a gal that likes what I like, so when I find something I like, I buy several pairs in different colors.  Enough said.  This poor witch suffers from my same disorder.


Ragweed this season has been horrible for me.  I finally had to make a trip to the doctor today to ask for help with new allergy medications.  The Claratin just isn't working anymore.  In order to breathe this weekend, I had to sleep sitting up in the recliner.  In the old days doing that really didn't bother me, but today I feel like I'm about 100 years old.  Guess that  means I'm getting older (don't tell anyone that though).  So I'm off to take some new medication and call it a night.

Have a great night.

Love Hate Relationship

Do you have a love / hate relationship with anyone or anything? I’ve been thinking about that type of relationship since I’m currently in one. No, my hubby is the most wonderful man. My relationship is with Joann’s. I think I’m on the downhill slide again with that store. Or at least the store that’s closest to my house. If they didn’t have those darn coupons, I would easily part company. I know I can do it since I successfully parted company with a quilt store in town since. Haven’t been back to the shop since they really irked me, but it’s not the same with Joann’s. The bags I make are from Joann’s fabric that I can’t seem to find anywhere else. I also use my coupons to buy batting by the box for my quilts.

Two weekends ago I had a horrible experience at my local store; so much so that I completely melted down at the store in front of my child. I had to explain to her after regaining my composure that I shouldn’t have acted the way I did and that I hope she won’t act that same way. (Her response, I know you are hungry and that makes you crabby. I LOVE that kid) I could see the very long line at the cutting table when we walked into the store, so I made sure to grab a ticket before even looking at anything. My selected number was 39, but the number board hanging from the ceiling was reading 99. After finally making it through the cutting line, it was time to head to check out. That line was long, but no where near as bad. Long story short, my coupons weren’t all honored because that’s how the computer works. When I asked for an explanation I was told I would have to talk to a manger. Ok, I want to use my coupons, send him or her over so we can talk. Well, the manager said the same thing and then said sorry and walked off. Walking away didn’t resolve my issue or seem like a plausible explanation, it only caused me to react, which wasn’t pretty. I left the store and went directly home to fire off an email to corporate headquarters. I have yet to hear from anyone regarding the incident. I wasn’t the only person that day talking to the manager; that line was pretty long.

I do know that I won’t be going to the store by my house. Eventually I will cool down and make it back in there, but for now I’m sticking to my guns and refusing.

I have worked retail and had to deal with crabby customers like I was. The response I got was definitely not something I would have ever done or said to anyone. That’s what probably caused me to react the way I did. (Yes I was hungry, but that really didn’t have anything to do with it.)

POST NOTE - I've had this post written but wasn't sure if I publish it.  I changed my mind after visiting Joann's at lunch in search of glow in the dark thread.

Today I decided to give Joann's a try again.  After attending guild last night I found out that I could go online and sign up for the VIP discount which is 10% off your entire purchase.  I signed up and then went to the store today with those darn coupons and the information printed from the website. I didn't even get close to the cutting table because I didn't think I could behave like a civilized human being.  At check out I was again amazed by stupidity.  The girl ringing me up told me that I could not use the 10% discount because I had used coupons.  Below is the information that I pulled off the website and had in hand.

Become a Jo-Ann VIP & save 10% on every purchase!

If you are a reseller, member of a professional sewing or crafting organization, or an interior design professional, you can become a Jo-Ann VIP! As a Jo-Ann VIP, you'll save 10% on every total purchase*, including regular- and sale-priced items, at any Jo-Ann store or at Joann.com®.

*Some exclusions apply. See card for details.

Since I didn't have a card to look at, my assumption (my mistake) was that the Go Die wouldn't be included.  I assumed that because on the 40% off coupon, it says it can't be used for Accuquilt GO items.  So today I received 40% off my die, 40% off a spool of thread and a "Sorry you can't use the 10% off on the other things you bought."  AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I really need to find a new place to shop.  Or at least have a different attitude / outlook when dealing with people in retail.

WOWZA

I'm tired.  I love long weekends but for some reason I think I need to pack way too much into them.  So here's a little show and tell.

I ordered some new dies for my Accuquilt Go.  This is Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.  It does NOT lay flat.  I need to do some more practicing before making any serious blocks for a quilt top.  Very fun to do though.

Another new die for my Go.  This is Winding Ways.  I'm very shape challenged so this is all the further I got before I gave up for the night.  I can't figure out how to get the top 3 pieces on.  I don't think I made reverse pieces so I'm going to have to do some studying.

I quilted my Twister block.  I used Linda Taylor's Meandering Feather pantograph pattern (8 inch size).  I love how it turned out, but it's a little more involved than I like.  I don't know that I will ever use it again.

My Disappearing 9 Patch is now quilted.  Just  need to get the binding sewed on.  I used Linda Taylor's Inside Out pantograph pattern.  I absolutely love that pattern and will use it again and again.  Very forgiving and no quick stops and starts.  Great beginner pattern.

The next beauty is one that I quilted for a girl I used to work with.  She gave it to me on Thursday and asked if it would be possible to have done by Tuesday.  I did it.  I used Dizzy by Willow Leaf Studios.  I think it looks great on things that are very square.


Just have to share that the horseback riding lesson went well.  There will be another lesson this week.  I think there will be 4-H meetings in our future.

Because the kitties are having fun with the Accuquilt Go box, I thought maybe I should share those pictures too.

Have a great night!

Long Weekend

So what is your plan for this long Labor Day weekend? Well, I'm going to labor, but it's going to be on some fun stuff and not at that place that pays the bills.

We are off early this morning to meet the teacher.  A little person that lives in our house is going to embark on some horseback riding lessons.  I joke that we are going to have the next American Royal Princess living in our house.  My husband just cringes.  Since this is Royal country, we'll have to see what happens.  At the very least, I'm hoping the lessons will help with confidence and following directions.  Grace really seems to be a natural when riding our friend's horse.  It amazes me that at the ripe old age of 6 she can get on that horses back and get it to do what she wants it to do.  Last weekend she was walking the arena every which way and walking over jumps.

I got a box from Accuquilt on Thursday.  I ordered 3 new dies.  I think the Wedding Ring dies must be on back order.  I'm going to go cut some fabric and see how easily the blocks go together.  I will be sure to share.

Then onto machine quilting.  I took my sewing machine in for service, so I've been working on quilting my disappearing 9 patch top.  I LOVE how it looks.  Hopefully I can finish that up today and share some pictures.  Next on the frame will be a top from one of the girls I used to work with.  She made a lap quilt for her husband's birthday.  That should be a lot of fun today.

Well I'm out of here for now.  Will be back later with pictures.  Have a great day!!!

RIP

Today was my friend Beverly's funeral. She passed away peacefully late Sunday afternoon after battling with Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma. Bev will most definitely be missed by a lot of people.  I'm sad that she's gone, but I'm so glad that she walked through my life.  What a fun and crazy lady who always had a good sense of humor about things.  There was never a story that she told that I didn't get lost somewhere along the way and have to have her circle back to pick me up.  After you get to know someone, you finally figure out their storytelling style and you can follow along.  For some reason, Bev's stories were just too crazy.  But they were great, that's for sure.

From As The Quilts Turn

Now for the story her husband shared with us at the lunch today.  I get goose bumps every time I think about it.  I'm not overly religious, although I do believe there is an Almighty Father.  Believe me, I'm not going to get preachy because that is so NOT me.  Any how.  Today Joe shared that Bev received a hydrangea bush when she finished her Catholic classes and became a member of the Catholic church.  The bush never bloomed, but it has survived 13 years.  Joe shared with us that he looked at the bush Sunday after Bev passed and it had a single bloom on it.  Today he checked the bush before leaving for the funeral and it was loaded with blooms.  He told us that he felt God was talking to him.  I really have to believe he was.  My take was that he was saying not to forget the beauty in things or people.  And even though things hurt right now, you will see that beauty again in all things.

So with that, thank you for letting me share about my BEAUTIFUL friend Beverly.