T - 24 and counting

In 24 hours, my journey to a 'walking me' starts. Up until about an hour ago, I was not nervous. I shopped and spent money like a drunken sailor. My bedroom is redecorated - new drapes - new bed covering - a million little toss pillows (well ok that's an exageration, but it feels like it). Need to have a pretty room in which to recover.

I bought a gate to keep the critters out of the bedroom during said recovery time. I love my animals but do not need two ten pound cats and a 60 pound dog jumping on the bed, or worse, my new knee. So now, they just sit on the other side of the gate (we tried it out last night) and stare at me. Poor Edie, the big ol' hairy dog, has tried melting the metal of the gate. Another couple of days and she might succeed!

I've cooked and cooked. Mark should be fine finding food to reheat for the two of us. Robin will be here the first 6 days and will cook fresh for us. She's an awesome cook and I think it will give her purpose. There's something special about having your own private RN!

My tree is up and ready for the Season. Nightgowns selected and will pack later this morning. I even made myself 5 new pairs of pajamas for when I get home. Books and magazines also ready to go into the suitcase. Zune charged and headphones also will go into rumble.

And so, with these preparations done, I 'think' I am ready. Only problem, now I have nothing to do but be NERVOUS!

See you all when I get back

wow! Long time no see!

Oh I am so bad! I knew it was a while since I made an entry, but I had no idea it was this long! Summertime comes and I just don't sit at the computer. Now mind you, that's not really a good excuse, since I bought a laptop at the beginning of summer.

So for a little catch-up.

In June we drove to Chicago to attend my neice, Donna's high school graduation. She is a lovely young lady with the voice of an angel. I made her a quilt for her graduation present. I believe the details of the quilt are somewhere on this blog, but above is a photo of her with the quilt.

In July we made a trip up to Chicago to see my nephew, Joseph, marry the love of his life, Shelly. Many of you may remember that Joseph is the young man who was injured in Iraq. He is doing well, though has some medical problems that the VA does not address and has decided to seek private care. Don't you love this cake topper!

The best part of the wedding was that my brother, Dan, made a trip to Chicago and then drove back to Columbus with us to spend a week. We had an awesome visit! Oh how I wish I was living in AZ already and seeing my brother every day.

No travelling in August, I had medical appointments. I have more to write on this subject but will make that another post. It deserves its' own space - it's THAT good a story!

So for now, I will bid you adieu and catch up September in my next post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzBngQjVHsU

Bambi 1 - Mark 0

Mark was driving to work Thursday morning when a deer felt the urge to cross the road. What I haven't figured out yet is why these animals have not evolved into safer crossing methods. Surely they must realize that when Mommy doesn't make it home, no one gets fed. I know that sounds sarcastic, but it's something I think about every time I see road kill (and believe me, there's plenty of it here in Central Ohio. As soon as Mark stopped the car, he went to look for the deer, It was gone, don't ask me how it survived, as Mark was clipping along at 60 mph and the deer left significant biological material on the windshield. yum - isn't that cup of coffee you're drinking just taste delightful now?

A few more shots:









Anyway, Mark was not hurt. Our car has $4600 worth of damage, and because Mark must get into work, I am without a car all week. Guess I'll get some quilting done

My VBFF

Twenty-nine years ago I married my Very Best Friend Forever! We had a large wedding -250 guests.

Oddly enough, that week was the beginning of The Energy Crisis and a few of our guests couldn't make the trip to Chicago for our wedding. Gas just went over $1/gallon and the cost was prohibitive. Oh, to have that problem these days

The church where we were married, St. Attracta's in Cicero, IL is no longer there. I wish I had more photos of the altar area, It was such a beautiful mosaic. I didn't want the ceremony disturbed and so instructed the photographer. I wish we had gone back in for photos. It was not possible, though, since our ceremony was at 3:30 PM and there was the five o'clock regular Mass right after.

Directly after the ceremony we headed back to my Mother's house for cold cuts and salads. All the cold cuts were donated by the butcher shop which was behind our house. Pat had known me since I was 6 and this was his gift to me. That was back in the days where you shopped locally and since we shared the alley with one of the main drags in town, it was REALLY local.

At 6 we headed to The Sabre Room in Hickory Hills IL. Ours was the first wedding held in the new addition. Just beautiful in there! At that time, many bridal couples left their reception early to start the Honeymoon. Not us! This was the biggest party we were ever going to throw and I was not going to miss one second of it. We didn;t have plans to go away, anyhow. We had decided to buy a stereo system instead. Had we gone away, I'd have only pictures. I still have that system!

Mark played 2/3 of the Reception with the Band and I circulated the room. This was not so different from what our lives were going to be anyway. It was the first time many of his relatives had heard him play.

The marriage is good and strong. To me, it's because of an old adage from my Father. One of the few he gave me:

Never lay your head on your pillow while angry. Stay up all night, if you must, but never sleep on anger! It seems to have worked




My dress is still in a keepsake box, under my bed. Someday, it will be a Christening quilt for my first Grandchild. I'm fairly certain Robin will never wear it as I was considerably shorter than she is. I'm even shorter now (what's up with that anyway?)

No, I didn't disappear

I have been so so bad about blogging. No excuses, just feeling fragmented, I guess

I'm back from Arizona and the first few days were beautiful back home. It's cold and rainy again. Come on! It's May already.. I want to be warm.

We had an awesome visit in Queen Creek, AZ Here's a photo of my brother, Dan and me


and one of my brother Tom


These pictures were taken out in "the cabana". My sister in law Donna and her dear friend Sharei have a knack for going through thrift stores and just finding the BEST things. They have made a normal ten by ten tent type cabana into Marakesh! Just by hanging old sheer curtains and then loading it up with brass and velvet pillows etc. Here's a photo of the two of them.


The weather was wonderful, needless to say. I think what I like best about AZ is the consistency in the weather. Some might find that boring, but I like knowing that the weather is not going to turn during the course of the day.

One more pic - My brother Tom and my nephew Ledain


Now THAT is some scenery!

Ah well, it's just not meant to be at this time, but it will happen when TPTB decide it's time. Meanwhile, we wait. I need to become happy here in central OH. About time, don't you think - after 8 years?

Quilting wise? Not too much happening that shows on the surface. I've been working on my Starlights quilt. It's all cut and I have spent the past week and a half putting corner squares on rectangles. 320 OF THEM?! Pretty boring, but once that part is done I can just lay out all the pieces. Then it will feel like the top went together really fast.

The frame is now set up, just have to get the gumption to load some practice muslin and batting on it and start. Maybe by the end of the week.

The Stuff of Which We Are Made

Today is moving day, kindasorta. It's been a while since I've posted so let me fill you in on some of the details.

For the past year, we had thought we would be able to move to Arizona and that Mark could work remotely for the "Huge Financial Institution Which Begins With a C". He would work from home, I would be with my brother and I would be out of this Godforsaken state of Ohio where it rains and is cloudy more than it is not. Well "The "C" has changed it's mind and will no longer allow remote workers from home. (Bastards). That dream of moving from Ohio to AZ meant that we did not do a lot with much of our STUFF, because we were going to be moving. It meant that I wouldn't buy new STUFF, because why pay to move it? It meant that not much redecorating got done until we were actually going to place the For Sale sign on the front lawn. Well that dream got thrown into the fire and life in Ohio must resume. le sigh

Six years ago we finished the basement area of the house and I had a wonderful sewing area. Bright and large, it held three tables, a large bookcase and all of my fabric. All of this is known as SEWING STUFF. But as the years have passed, my legs have been bothering me more and more and sewing down there had become uncomfortable. To the point that I would not go down the stairs for days at a time, sometimes stretching into weeks at a time.

From time to time I would have 'sewing days' at my house where Ann from up North and Margaret from Columbus would bring their STUFF to my house to sew and visit. I would get my sewing machine moved upstairs and the dining room became our retreat area. I noticed that I would get so much more done, not just for the company (which is a tremendous motivator) but because my comfort level was where I could deal with it. The only problem is my dining room became a mess. A sewing room is not a clean proposition. And then I would move all my STUFF back downstairs, only to abandon it for days again.

Fast forward to last week. I have finally bitten the bullet and purchased a Grace Quilting Frame. For the uninitiated, that's a huge system of rails upon which your sewing machine can glide and do fabulous whirly things. The frame will reside downstairs, due to it's large size and all the STUFF required for it. Got a new machine to ride the rails too - wooooo hoooo!

To make room for the frame I need to clean up the sewing area and fabric storage area. "Well, self" I said, "why not make the most of the situation?" So I am going to take over the extra bedroom and that will become the fabric storage/sewing area. This will allow me to sew without facing the stairs and yet keep my dining room for the purpose for which it was intended. Today Robin is coming over and we are going to start clearing out the extra bedroom to make room for my sewing STUFF etc.

I should add that for the past year or so, the extra bedroom has been The Tupperware Room. Yeah anyone who knows me knows I have issues with plastic food storage containers. I love them, I use them all the time and they have had the extra bedroom all to themselves. Wait! That's a lie! They have shared the extra bedroom with all the shit STUFF that gets thrown in an extra bedroom when you don't know where else to place it. All of that 'STUFF'. So the Tupperware STUFF will get moved to shelves in the garage, the STUFF in the garage will be rearranged

So you see how a simple task just snowballs until you wind up rearranging all your STUFF ?! maybe I'll take before pictures... not sure about that, though

an addendum: To read one of my favorite comedy routines click here

Oh My Stars!

Ta-daaaaaaa. I finished piecing together the Oh My Stars! quilt today. This quilt is the pattern Stars in My Cabin from Fons & Porter July/August 2006)I started stitching this one at The Retreat on Februrary 23, 2008. Not so bad, considering it's been tax season. My new regime of finishing a top all the way out to the borders before setting it aside for sandwiching and quilting seems to be working for me. That's the second one this year, third if you count Donna's graduation quilt which is still out at Ann's being quilted.

here's a close up pic of the border





so let's see.... 1728 strips plus stars in the quilt center... 750 pieces in the border.. 60 strips making up the corners.. for a total of about 3228 pieces in this baby!Is it any wonder I don't have any fingerprints left? This one is intended for Robin after quilting as I don't know anyone who loves stars more than she. After all... she is MY star! I plan on outline stitching the stars and then making three concentric circles in the area where the dark parts of the log cabins meet.

Now on to dancing through my fabric bins. I'm cutting for 2 scrappy quilts - a Double Irish Chain and another star quilt named Starlights. Been through the greens and yesterday started the purples. When I get tired of cutting, I have a few quilts that could be bound - my least favorite part of the whole process, but the one that finishes everything.

Happy Easter

The picture above is of my brother Dan and me. It was taken on May Street in Chicago, now the home of University of Illinois - Circle Campus. My Grandparents lived there before their home was torn down to make room for the campus. Oh! How I remember the cape I was wearing in that picture. I felt so very special in it. My father had been to a funeral in Mississippi. He brought that cape back, just for me! It was Navy blue, piped in red and I can see it today as vividly as I could back then.

Back then, we always dressed up for Easter. Today, Robin Mark and I have declared it Pajama Day. Mark will be in sleep pants all day, Robin in her jams. I'll probably throw on a pair of sweats, because I plan on baking today. Easier for me to work in sweats than a nightgown.





Today we're making Nancy Burgers, an old family favorite. Not your traditional Easter fare, that's for sure. We've found that non-traditional celebrations bring less sadness at being away from loved ones on Holidays. If I get a chance I'll post the recipe soon

Ahhh Spring

And in Central Ohio Spring = flooding. The top picture is taken 1800 feet West of the Scioto River. The trees you see in the background are woods that are about 200 feet deep from the River's edge. The "lake" you see is a field.

The bottom picture is taken from the bridge that crosses the Scioto River at State Route 665. You can see how close the water is to the bottom of the bridge. Scary stuff indeed! We live on high ground and are not worried for our property, however, travel becomes inconvenient.

The good news is I saw my first pair of robins today. I tried to take a photo, but they were a little too timid.

Today I am appliqueing the stars on the log cabin blocks. I'm tilting each star a little differently. It's difficult for me to do that. In my mind's eye, the stars should be straight, but I know they will appear to be twinkling if I tilt them.

On an administrative note, I've had to make those ugly little letters appear in my comments section. Some ass decided to spam my comments area and left java script which appears to have been a virus. I don't believe it was a virus, but you can never be too sure. I did an immediate virus update and ran a scan. So sad that people have nothing to do for fun in their lives but make trouble for others.

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Yeah yeah I know the correct Sgt. Pepper's lyrics are Twenty years ago today, but the title fit. You can thank me for the earworm in comments, if you so desire.

March 18, 1978 my life was changed forever. I was at a bar, Harlow's in Burbank, IL. I was at that bar often, but what made the night different, was that was one of the few times I was not the driver. Knowing I had a designated driver, and being the day after St. Pat's (always a three day celebration in the Chicago area) I decided I would get wasted, get loaded, become shitfaced,drink-myself-silly ummm....imbibe, yeah that's the word!

Three quarters of the way through the evening, my tolerance point had been reached, I could no longer dance, hell I couldn't even stand, so I decided I'd sit at the bar, something I never did. Harlow's was a hard partying spot and to sit at the bar, meant you wouldn't get asked to dance.

As I sat down, I smelled the unmistakable aroma of COFFEE. I love coffee! I couldn't imagine who would have the nerve to drink coffee at this bar that had a 4 AM license. I turned to my left and there he was. I asked him how he got the coffee and he told me he was a friend of the bartender. I figured it might be a good idea if I had a cup (youknow - the wide awake drunk theory) and asked him to please ask for a coffee for me.

Turns out Mark was a musician who just happened to have the evening off - very rare for a Saturday, much less St. Pat's weekend. AND, he didn't drink! What kind of man was this? We chatted for a long while and my driver decided it was time to leave. Mark asked if I would trust him enough to take me home when Harlow's closed and instinct told me to say "yes".

We went out for breakfast, he gave me his number (I never gave mine out, it was just easier that way) and he dropped me off at my house.

Two weeks later, he proposed. I asked if our marriage would be in the Catholic Church, would we have kids?He answered yes and yes We married in May 1979 and it's been butterflies and meadows ever since. (well not totally, but you know what I mean!)

March?

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Columbus, Ohio? Monday last it was 70 out. Today....

well just look!

And it's STILL coming down. have I seen a plow yet? Surely you jest!? Now mind you, I'm a Chicago girl, born and bred. At least in Chicago they know how to deal with this shit stuff .

Here's a pic of how far the neurotic dog made it out of the garage.

What happened?

seems all my sidebar stuff has disappeared. Will have to work on this later today. I just didn't want all of you to think I didn't love you anymore

Edited to add - all better now! - I think LOL

Building A Log Cabin

I'm making a log cabin. I quilted one other log cabin. Now I remember why it took 3 years to make another They are boring, tedious and messy. But.... they look so good when they're done!
This one will have stars appliqued in the center of every four joined blocks. I'm halfway done building the cabin blocks and need to take a break, but I'm afraid if I start something else I'll break my New Years Resolution of finishing what I start. I know some qulters can work on 3-4 projects at a time. I've done that over the years and always feel scattered. And.. I have the propensity to leave things unfinished. So my resolution was to start new quilts, but I have to bring them all the way through the bordering process before I can start something else. Hmm, maybe working on a UFO will allow me a break from the cabins, yet not make me feel like I'm abandonning this one. For now, though, I'm just gonna stop all sewing for the day and see how I feel in the morning.

I'm a diabetic, and I've been really bad about eating sugar the past month or so. This morning I tested (not that I don't test 4 times a day anyway)and I was 230.. way too high. Time to get back on the stick!

SuperBowl Bargello Top finished

Finally finished the top for my Super Bowl Bargello. The pattern is from Bonnie Hunt and is available on her site. The idea was to piece this baby during all the SuperBowl 'stuff'. I started pulling fabric Friday before the big game. The strange part is I didn't even go downstairs to my stash. I had happened to have all but 2 of these fabrics sitting upstairs waiting to be brought down. I had hosted BINGO for an online group and these were FQ's that had been sent as hostess gifts from various players. I had a bit of trouble laying them out, but Mark, my dear dear husband, has a good eye for patterns and helped me. The original pattern had single rows of all colors (since it was meant to be a very scrappy quilt) but it pleased my eye more to make a few of them doubles. I cut for 8 panels wide, but somehow miscalculated and it would have been too short. I used most of the leftovers for the Braided Border, pattern for which is also on Bonnie Hunt's site. The few strips that were extra are going into a Log Cabin Star - waste not, want not.

This was my first Bargello and they really are interesting to put together. You join the strips first, then make tubes and 'un-sew' the tubes in varying orders. I have a kit for a Heart Bargello which I am now not afraid to cut into, since I understand the theory behind it.

Another UFO Bites the Dust

This quilt was a JoAnn's Block of The Month. As usual, I didn't buy it until the year was over and got the blocks half price. For some reason It didn't draw me all year, but as soon as it went halfsies, it spoke to me. It was my first attempt at machine applique on a medallion. I think it came out pretty good, though there are a few things I'll do differently next time. Ann Fry machine quilted this item for me

Valentine's Day for the Weird

OK... so call me weird.. I, of course love my husband and daughter.. but few things in life bring me the joy that my pets do! They don't care if I want to stay in fagged out sweats and a stained shirt all day.They never answer back, they don't do shit just to piss me off, they love me for who I am, as long as I feed and water them. Small price for so much love. And don't tell me you don't pay for love - we all do, just very few of us admit or recognize it! SO here they are, the sun spots of my day!

TeeJay Dakhatt

TJ found us at restaurant in IL. He refused to leave Robin's side. Fate dictated that I had a box in the car that day, just perfect to scoop up a little kitty who weighed 4 pounds and had no idea of where he lived. He's Mark's cat, there's no disputing that.

Edith Ann Diogi

Edie, the most neurotic dog that God ever put on earth. But I forgive her her neurosis, she had a rough start. First "mom" dies suddenly of treatment for a very aggressive breast cancer when Edie was 4. Her second "mom" already had many dogs and earmarked Edie for me. I couldn't get her right away because Mark had blown the mitral valve in his heart and was in serious condition for a long time. As soon as he recovered enough for me to leave him home alone, I traveled to WI and got Edie. Oddly enough, Mom #2 passed away two months after me picking up Edie. She is devoted to me, I do not leave her sight. Best dog I've ever had - bar none

Melanzanna DeChitti

In Italian, melanzanna means eggplant. Mooli is as dark as an eggplant and has as few variations in color as one. She's quirky. We adopted her so that TJ would have company. She wants noone to touch her or even look at her. The only time she comes around is for food or water. But she won't place her face in the bowl, she must pick up the food or water and scoop it to her mouth. Oh.. and she gives me a 'backrub'. She will get on my back if I'm laying down and knead her way up and down my back. This can go on for a half hour - as long as I don't talk to her or touch her. Told you she was quirky

After looking at these, I realize I need a new camera - and a whole LOT of camera skills. Sorry for the blurry photos.

Heart Month... and all that crap

Yesterday Mark had a Cardiac Catheterization. They found a major blockage in the anterior main artery and placed a stent. To my mind, this was the best possible outcome. After failing a stress test, there was some question that perhaps the results had been a false positive. Yesterdays procedure revealed this blockage and hope was given that the stent will improve things. "Things" being little events like breathing and having enough energy to walk from the kitchen to the bedroom. Someday, when I can face it, I'll retrace the steps that got us to here, but for now, there's happiness in Central Ohio - at least on my part.

Two borders are on the Super Bowl Bargello quilt top, two need to be lengthened. Pictures soon!

Monday's Musings

Wow February 11th already! Time is flying and who knows why? When I was a young girl, weeks seemed to go on forever and Sundays were the worst. They seemed to have lasted a month in and of themselves. Yesterday I looked at the clock, expecting it to be 1 or 1:30 Imagine my surprise when it was 5 PM!

I have been sewing, I guess that's the big time suck. Got the Bordello top finished, all the borders pieced and trimmed and ready to start attaching. Too bad I have to work until 1 today. Sure, I could come home and sew, but that's my nap non-productive time. Who am I kidding? I love, LOVE LOVE WANTOMARRY naps! And anyone who knows me, knows that!

So enough time here for now, I better go get ready to get people their refunds on taxes. Not sure why, but I feel badly when I tell them they owe. It hurts my heart. Not sure what I would ever do if I had to write a check to Uncle Sam in April

Jacob's Strings

This quilt is named Jacob's Strings. It is a pattern from Quilter's Cache and can be found here . I worked on this at the Quilts On Review Retreat held in 2006 in Great Falls, Montana. It used up a lot of my bright scraps. Speaking of scraps - what do they do when the lights are turned off? Seems I keep using them and using them, and yet they never go away. Must be some form of regenesis going on! The quilt is kind of wavy here in the picture, but that's only because it is impossible to lay a quilt on the floor for a photo shoot and not have one of the three animals who own us live here scamper over or under them. That's Edith Ann Diogi, the resident Australian Shepherd, in the upper left hand corner of the photo. Progress has been made on The Super Bowl Bargello. The top is pieced now and I'll be working on a narrow inner border and a braided outer border this weekend. No work for me today - yay!

Pinwheel Flurry

The quilt pictured below was started in 2005. The pattern came from the April 2005 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.It was my first attempt at applique and I used my Janome 6500 which has a beautiful blanket stitch. I am still using up the scraps from all the 1930's fabrics I collected over the past few years. I'm not even sure I like 1930's repros - sometimes they look childish to me. But seeing the finished product sells me on them a bit more. Since I'm in a scrap reduction phase of life, I'll just keep on using what I have and try not to expand that stash.

Not much progress on that Superbowl Bargello. I had to work yesterday and let me tell you - they got their money's worth out of me. I work for a tax prep company and right now it's peak season. People want their refunds, they want them NOW and I can't blame them. Oh well, a few more weeks of this and my time will be my own. My house will be happy, my husband will be happy and I'll be happy!

Monday's Musings

I watched 'football stuff' ALL day yesterday, from noon until the last two minutes of the game. I fell asleep. So mad at myself for doing that, but it's pretty much the story of my life. I can't stay up late. I wake up way too early. Ah well, that's what they make DVR's for, right?

My intention was to make the Bargello quilt from Bonnie Hunter's website. I got it started, but nowhere near the point that I can even envision the whole thing. Good news is that Mark helped me arrange colors. He has such a good eye for that!

The ribs were awesome and I would heartily recommend using your slow cooker to make ribs. First I rubbed in some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then baked them at 400 for 15 minutes on one side, turned them and baked another 15 minutes. Drained the fat and placed them in the slow cooker and poured nearly a whole bottle of Open Pit over them. Cooked them on high for 40 minutes and on low for 5 1/2 hours. They were awesome. The only problem was that they did not hold together as ribs, as the bones slipped right out. I personally enjoyed them that way, though I'm not sure I'd want to serve them to company. Kind of messy, but mmmmm delicious

I made some kick ass salsa which we were too full to eat. It will be even better today so I'm not worried about that. The recipe I use is mostly canned stuff, but let me tell you, it's the best salsa I've ever eaten and I've been making it for years. I don't "do" nasty evil dirt tasting vile green stuff umm cilantro so I divide the recipe before adding that.


Here's the recipe for the salsa:

3 28-oz cans stewed diced tomatoes
3-9 cloves garlic, skinned
2 4-oz cans diced green chiles
3-9 pickled jalapenos
1 medium red onion, chopped fine
¼ C. tomato juice (from the tomatoes)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped fine

Note: You either love garlic or hate it. If you love it use all 9 cloves. If you love HOT, then use all 9 jalapenos.

Put a colander in the sink. Drop the tomatoes in it. You'll probably want to do one can at a time. Let as much juice drain as possible. From one of the cans of tomatoes, reserve the ¼ c. juice. Put the chopped tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and add the chiles, chopped onion and chopped cilantro. Stir it up. In a blender, combine the reserved tomato juice, garlic, jalapenos, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add to the stuff in the bowl. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you're like me you'll sample before doing this. You are forgiven. The flavor definitely improves overnight. Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday

So here it is again, another Super Bowl Sunday. It used to be more
fun when we lived in the Midwest - central time zone. Living in the Eastern time zone now, the game just comes on too darned
late!

Today I'm making crockpot ribs. I've never done them this way
and in fact, havent made ribs at home in almost 8 years. Mark just doesn't have the stamina to go to eat much anymore, so we thought we'd give this a shot. I'll share the recipe if they come out
as I think they will. Superbowl dinner has always been home made pizza and Nancy-burger day, (I'll have to share that recipe soon), but Robin is on call today and it's too much work for one person.

I'm doing something fun and quilty today too! I'm going to start my first Bargello quilt. I'll be following directions from over on Bonnie Hunter's site. I'll let you know how that turns out too, hopefully with pictures to share.

Welcome To My Garden

Anyone who knows me, knows that gardening just isn't "my thing". I mean, I love to look at flowers that other have tended and grown, but the thought of digging around in all that dirt just doesn't 'do it' for me. AND there might be bugs, which makes the whole thing even worse.

But this quilt, is special to me. I started it in 2001 and just completed it this past week - label and all. I remember when I started it. We had just moved to Grove City Ohio after an entire lifetime in the Chicago near west and south suburbs. My Mother moved with us. Alzheimers struck her with a hammer about 2 days after we moved in. She had had just a few symptoms, forgetting a few things here and there,but I guess the stress of the move did her in.

I would sew downstairs and she would come down there with me, working her 'puzzle books'. We had figured if she had little word puzzles to work on, we could save what was left of her mind. She was always working them, pen in hand, looking SO busy. And I would piece blocks, running away from the stress when I could.

Shortly after placing her in a nursing home, I happened to peek into her puzzle books. GIBBERISH! I guess she coldn't remember what to do, just that she should be doing something.

Rosie, we loved you so much! I hope you were able to see that through your fog.

Brave New World

See? This is typical me. No blog for 10 months and then 2 posts in one day. Ah well, I truly do think bi-polar meds can't be far away.


This quilt is named Brave New World

It appeared in a Fons & Porter magazine. I made myself paper piecing templates because I wanted to insure sharp crisp points.

The quilt top was finished months ago and sent to my quilter. She returned it and there it sat, needing to be bound and labeled. Finally finished it this week and am happy to say that it has a new owner.

Dave, a student of Mark's walked in last week while I was working on this quilt and said "WOW". Well, that was all it took. He doesn't know it, but tonight the quilt is his. I hope he snuggles under it for many years to come. Now, I don't know Dave real well, but my Dog Edie loves him. She's not the friendliest of dogs and is neurotic to the ends of the earth - but she LOVES Dave - so how bad a guy can he be?

Is This Thing On?

I have to laugh at myself, This is the longest that anything I've started has been put away 'for when I feel more like doing it'.

Um.... that's not a complete truth either. I'm a quilter. Or should I say I'm a topper? I love to piece quilt tops. I love picking out the fabric, pressing it, cutting it, stitching it back together and then sitting back and saying.. Awww ain't it purty? And that's about as far as I get. 2007 was my year to get some stuff done. So I bundled up my favorite of the unfinished tops and sent them off to Ann Fry.

Ann is a good friend who quilts tops for me. I had sent her a bunch in 2006 and will dig those photos out later.

She got my tops back to me...and they sat... and sat.. and sat, unbound, unused, unloved by anyone. Well..... this is my year!!! I've been binding and soon will have pictures of FINISHED projects to show all of you. If I ever get off of here, that is. So until next time.. adios!