Customer Quilt

Tonight I quilted this beauty. This is the 3rd one this customer has made. I think she and I are finally on the same page. The first one was rough, not very straight, so it had some dimples and bumps. Second one she did was better, less issues, but still a few. This one was perfect. No dimples, nothing.


I also have to share these adorable hats. My friend Melissa got engaged. Her MIL-to-be crocheted these hats while recuperating from foot surgery. They are just too stinking cute. They are being donated to a chemotherapy clinic.





Have a great night. Can hardly believe that tomorrow is Friday and April 1st.

Brought To You By The Letters T and P

Need I say more.

Mandalas or Zentangles

I'm smitten with mandalas and zentangles lately. I don't know what my deal is, but I spend time looking at them on flickr and on blogs and basically where ever I can find them. So...I found some that I could make using my embroidery machine. Must share.







And my all time favorite of these 4.



I have a bunch more to stitch out.  I can't wait.  I think I'm going to have to make a wall hanging for my prison at work. That way I can be ZEN all the time.

Weekend

What's up with the snow???? Come on now!!!


Sissy needed a nap I guess. Glad she found some place soft, warm and colorful to take it.


Quilting finished, they just need binding.



My husband hates this quilt.  He calls it the "I have enough fabric for the middle and don't know what to do with the rest so I'm going to slap some white on the sides and call it good."  (Yes he said that all in ONE sentence).  I'm not sure how happy I am with it.  The pictures makes it look INCREDIBLY crooked.  Oh well, it's DONE!


This is my 1600 quilt.  I took a jelly roll and sewed it together and this is what I got.  I don't like how the red came out in one section.  Oh well.  It's great  mindless sewing.  I think it makes a GREAT donation quilt as well.  I think this might be on it's way to Japan for someone to stay warm with.


And a customer quilt. I love the colors! She did an awesome job.



Today I did nothing but work on family tree stuff. I've gotten hooked into watching Who Do You Think You Are? Now I think I need to do my family tree research. Today I made it back to 1739 and found that this member of my distant family was part of the Revolutionary War.  I'm also truly amazed at how many babies didn't make it during the 1800's.  I have a family member that had 10 and 6 made it.  YIKES.  10 babies with no epidural,  I don't think so.

Have a great week.

Out of Sorts

I'm feeling a little blue (melancholy, out of sorts, blah) today.

I have my friend Bev, who passed in October, on my mind. Another friend that is going through breast cancer treatment. An old friend from high school, that I reconnected with via Facebook, who's wife just passed last week from breast cancer.

I don't get it. Have there always been this many people going through issues with cancer? Are we just more aware now because we are so connected? Is it all the information of possible causes that we see on the news that make us more in tune?

I sent a note to the Facebook friend asking if I could make a quilt out of clothes for him or his kids.  He said my question was perfect because had just been talking to his kids about something similar.  I suspect I will be getting a box in the mail.  Right now I feel like that's all I can do, quilt something so there will be memories.  I didn't know his wife and have been out of touch for well over 20 years, but I feel like it's the least I can do.  It will help me figure out what's causing me to be "blue" and will help him remember the good times.

Have a great weekend.

100 Things - How Many Have You Done?

Here's a fun list of Life Stuff that I found on Going to Pieces blog. You bold the ones you've done.

Makes me feel like I'm truly lucky and happy at all of the things I have been able to do.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (grade school counts for me)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language (does pig latin count?)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelos David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day


As a side note, my Nolting FunQuilter is back in business.  I love the techs at Nolting because they are so incredibly helpful and responsive.  I got an email this morning telling me how to fix the issue.  While scary, I was able to "unjam" the machine myself.

Have a great night.

In Need of TLC

I think my Nolting decided she would like a little spa time and TLC. She froze up this morning when I turned her on for her morning work out. I'm very sad considering I didn't have much left to finish on this top.



I did get two other tops quilted this weekend before the mishap occurred.





Both just need the binding put on and then they will be done.  I guess my self imposed no sewing will be lifted since I won't be machine quilting for a bit.

Friday, Grace and I went to Family Tree Nursery for a Ladies Day Out event. I had spring fever so bad by the time we left.  I had to get my camera out and take pictures of their cool displays.  Grace loves to feed the fish and was kind enough to share some of her fish food with the little girl standing next to her.


Have a great week!

Binding, Lots and Lots of Binding

I did a little quilting on my 4 days off. I guess you could say I got a smidge possessed with trying to get some things done.  I'm a self imposed no sewing quilt top break until I have some quilts finished.  I have 4 more days off next week, so I'm hoping to get at least 2 more large quilts done.

This beauty was done for a customer. I have the binding stitched on the front and will be working on hand stitching it to the back.

The blocks were made by her grandmother. She set them all together with "Thirties" material. The three up and down blocks are on the back. This quilt will be a mother's day present for my customer's mother.


Baby quilt with a whole lot of puppies


Baby quilt with lots of kitties


I Spy in panel form


I Spy (Crazy Mom Quilts Version)


Baby quilt made using my Accuquilt Go triangle die. I thought I made enough binding, but didn't so I need to head to the quilt shop this week to see if I can find some more fabric.


Quilting is Keryn Emmerson, Chinese Crescents. I like how it turned out.


I have another quilt loaded and ready to get busy on it.  My house is a wreck so I guess maybe I should do a little cleaning.

Have a great week.

Show and Tell

Well prepare yourself for this post and all the blathering that goes along with it. I belong to the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild (KCMQG). In December or maybe it was January, we received a charm pack of one of the Robert Kaufman solids. There were brights, pastels, classic, darks and dusty to choose from. I picked the classic pack because I'm a classic kind of gal, well really the others kind of scared me because I really won't quilt with them. The idea for the challenge was to use each charm square in your quilt somewhere. It could be the whole square or part of the square but each piece had to be use.

Wa-la... here is my quilt.


and here is the quilting


I really wanted to challenge myself and truly step out of my comfort zone.  I think I succeeded.  After an extremely stressful week, I came up with my idea.

The marbles represent the things to me that were going on that week.  I work full time and am currently not liking my job very much.  It's a job, so I should be happy I have one when there are people in Kansas City that I know who worked at Sprint that still don't have jobs from the last round of layoffs 2 years ago.  My job right now is just a job.  I used to love it and couldn't wait to get to work.  Not so much anymore.   There are big changes going on and I feel like I'm having problems adapting.  The culture is not something I'm fond of right now.  So it just stinks.

I'm a mom with a 7 year old in first grade.  I think I'm finally feeling some of the frustrations that go along with being a mom, working a full time job and then having to deal with school issues.  My 7 year old is being picked on my 2 classmates.  To the point that during my issue week, she chased me out of the school begging me not to leave her.  I wish I were making that up but I'm not.  She has complained of headaches and stomachaches and a variety of other maladies so that she won't have to go to school.  I know that she will be able to work through it all with my help, her dad's help and help from the school counselor, but it's still HARD to watch.

I'm a child of an aging father who lives no where near me (I'm in Kansas, he's in Ohio).  I have medical power of attorney with hopes that I will get phone calls when something happens and he needs medical help.  During my horrible week, he spent time in the emergency room and I got no phone call.  I was told because he could talk and seemed coherent, they didn't feel the need to call.  Mind you, I don't want to make decisions for him, I just would like to know what's going on.  There have been instances where he has been admitted to the hospital and I've had to call around the home he lives in, have security enter his apartment and then start calling hospitals to find him.
      My dad's stories don't make a whole lot of sense and he gets very frustrated with me when I ask a lot of questions.  I'm learning that his frustration is because he doesn't know the answers to my questions.  If I got a call from a professional, I wouldn't have to ask him all the crazy things that I do.  Plus the whole idea of him getting older and not being close really bothers me.  My mom died when I was 7 so he's the only thing I have left.

I could keep explaining marbles from that week, but I will spare you all the gory details.  After spending an evening in my bedroom crying and crying, that quilt represents what I was feeling at the time.  The silhouette is me.  My husband was kind enough to take a picture for me.  I did doctor it a little and gave myself a neck because it seems to have disappeared.  (Yet another marble to deal with).

Take aways in the area of quilting and design:  I don't do applique, so that was a challenge unto itself.  I really don't like circles.  Fusible applique isn't all that much fun either.  Free motion quilting isn't so scary.  I think I might be willing to give a try again.

Thanks for letting me babble on.  Have a great night.  Spring break started today and I VOW to get some quilting done.  I will be sure to share pictures.

Jelly Roll 1600

I love Jelly Rolls, so when I saw this video over the weekend, I was rather intrigued. Tonight I grabbed a jelly roll and started sewing. Since I'm miter challenged, I just sewed straight seams. After 20 minutes my jelly roll was in one long strip. Tomorrow night I'm hoping to try to beat the 35 minute record in the video.



I will be sure to share pictures when I'm done.

This project reminds me of one of the quilt projects that Bonnie has on Quiltville. She used 3 1/2" strips though.

Have a great night.

This beautiful bouquet arrived at my office on Friday. It was HUGE, beautiful and very fragrant. Dual purpose flowers. :-)



Hubs came and asked me Monday night if I had an extra baby quilt for a guy that he works with. He then proceeded to ask if I had anything jungle themed because that's what the new parents were going with. Much to his surprise, this is what I pulled out of the TO BE QUILTED closet. It's done, washed and ready to be handed off as a gift.




I'm finally discovering all the cool videos that are out on Youtube. I found this one today. I'm going to have to try it.


I did some practice quilting this weekend.  I purchased micro-drive handles for my fun quilter but never got them out of the bags.  I finally liberated them and had some fun playing.  The front of the machine scares me for some reason.  I'm truly a pantograph quilter.  With the micro drive handles I felt more in control being closer to the fabric.  It made standing on the front of the frame a little less scary.

Have a great week.