Dear Husband

I will not be blogging for a while. My husband has gotten much worse and I will be trying to get him into the hospital today.

Please pray for us, Karen

Love of Quilting

My newest issue of Fon's and Porters' Love of Quilting arrived yesterday with two extra inserts. They are full of ideas and directions for new techniques. I marked the projects I want to put into my list of future projects.

It was good to have a bright light during a day of difficulties.

Have a good day, Karen

HAPPY DANCE

Our power was restored yesterday at 7:00 in the evening. We still have power this morning. This weekend will be general pickup after the storm both inside and outside of the house. I really need to run the vacuum!

I found the perfect pattern for a lap quilt for DH in an old issue of Quilt. It is a Navajo block and will work perfectly with my stash of red fabric and a package of six 1/2 yard fabrics that I picked up about 6 months ago. I am not certain when I will start it, but soon.

After all the restoration of normalcy in our home (from the storm and its aftermath) I am going to get the treadle machine out of storage and into the living room. It will be a statement of my love of sewing and once I learn how to use it again it will become my sewing machine for special projects and for power outages. I will never be without a sewing machine again!

Have a great day, Karen

Another Day Without Power

I got a shower for the first time since Monday morning by the grace of my daughter. Teresa and her husband invited us over for showers, laundry and supper last night. What a blessing!

No quilting news because we spent the entire evening with them. I love my grandson. He is so full of joy and happiness.

Today when I get home if we still don't have power I am going to try and dig out my treadle sewing machine and see if it still works. I want to quilt during my down time.

My employer has rewarded all employees who showed up at work on Monday after the terrible wind storm. We are all getting an additional 1/2 day of vacation for the 2008 year. I am going to cherish mine. You better believe it!

DH is worse. Weekly visits from home nursing. On oxygen 24/7/365. Don't' know where this will lead. God never gives us anything we cannot already handle. We don't know the strength within us until we are challenged.

Have a great day, Karen

Alzheimer's Day

Sunday is national Alzheimer's Day. Pray for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Thank you, Karen

Daily Report

Last evening before the sun set I spent some additional time with a flash light in my sewing room trying to organize things and find two BOM packages that I want to take to my retreat in October. I found the packages and put them in my work satchel for the retreat.

We are still without power after 70 hours. I look at pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike from Texas and know I have it easy compared to them. Still the thought of a shower or a clean set of clothes (Sunday is laundry day in our home) is really foremost in my mind. Our daughter got her power back yesterday and has invited us to her home for dinner, showers and a load of laundry. I am definitely planning on accepting this invitation.

DH is having difficulty dealing with the power outage. I hope that visiting our grandson will help him.

Have a great day, Karen

I keep finding things

Yesterday after work and before the sun went down I went into my old sewing room with a flashlight (yes, we still don't have power after 48 hours) and started rummaging around. I found several of my BOM packages that I plan to take to my quilt retreat. I also found another Kid's Komfort that needs layering and quilting.

It was really too dark after supper to do much. I don't see how our ancestors did any needlework with light from an oil lamp or a candle. How did they do that?

The dogs are adapting to the lack of lamp light. Although I think that they think we have gone crazy with the flash lights and oil lamps. I even am using a different alarm clock and they haven't figured it out yet. I get extra sleep time. Yeh!

DH is trying to adapt an inverter from his truck driving days to recharge his cell phone and laptop. Then he is going to try to get the refrigerator a little colder. We may be able to save some of our groceries.

Well, have a great day, Karen

Hurricane Ike

I hope that everyone who can read this and has dealt with the hurricane and its aftermath is okay.
Here in the Cincinnati, Ohio area we were struck with the remnants of Ike in the form of very high winds and gusts of wind of hurricane force. The greater Cincinnati airport was closed for a number of hours as they had to evacuate the tower.
My neighborhood had houses with shingles and aluminum siding blown off. Many people are using their grills to cook.
My employer is open for business as usual, but my home has been without power for 18 hours and I expect that everything in the refrigerator and the freezer is ready for the garbage man.
My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and their homes. May the Lord or higher power that you believe in guide and protect you in the coming days.
Karen

Update

Last night was spent organizing my quilting supplies with the goal of being ready for the Crafty Friends 2nd Annual Retreat in October. I found the hiding place of several of my supplies and organized them with the retreat in mind. I also labeled some of my mini storage boxes so I know what is in them without opening. A simple solution to something that has driven me to insanity from time to time.

I am on countdown to the retreat. With DH health declining so rapidly I do not think I will be to many more retreats in the near future. Until he is so ill that he cannot be left alone and must be institutionalized, by primary role with be caregiver. I don't know how I will juggle work and caregiver, but with each passing day the definition has become more clear and even with rapid changes, I seem to adapt. God says He will never allow something in our lives that we are not already prepared to handle. I am leaning on the promise with all my belief.

Today I completed the minor pick up of clutter in the dining room. I moved the knick knack cabinet that my MIL gave us to a corner that is a little more out of the way in case DH falls in that room. Then a quick dust and put back with crystal that is stored there. I also moved one of the extra chairs in the dining room to a more convienient place so that DH can walk around the dining table with ease. Just a little thing to make his day easier. The other extra chair is where I lay my purse and carryall bag when I get home from work. A few things had piled up and I sorted them and put them were they belong. My mother always said a place for everything and everything in it's place. I am trying to apply this more and more to my daily life.

This afternoon I will be running some small errands and then home to more straightening. If I get all my goals completed I will allow myself all Saturday evening and all day Sunday for quilting and piecing. Now that is what I call a reward and there are no calories involved.

Have a great day, Karen

Another quilt layered and basted

Well, well, I have the NICU quilt layered and pin basted. The thumb is recovering from all the pin pricks and will be fine in a few days. The backing fabric will not be a good choice for reverse quilting. The clowns are too random and far apart.

This weekend JoAnn's has a fantastic sale with many 40% coupons. I will try to take advantage of as many of them as I can justify.

Cleaning continues one item at a time. Since it is supposed to rain most of the weekend, I hope to get quite a lot done in the family room. Perhaps I can start to move my sewing area into the smaller area in the L shape for the time.

Works continues as normal. Today is payday and I have a little left after all the bills were paid. I think we are going to dine out somewhere inexpensive this weekend just for a change.

Have a great day, Karen

Alaska Baby Quilt #2

The Alaska Baby Quilt Trip Around the World #2 has been layered and pin basted. This morning I am wearing Neosporin on my left thumb and middle finger. Only two actual cuts, but lots of mini scratches in the upper layers of the skin. Luckily the left thumb is not used for touch typing, but the right thumb is used for the space bar.

Enough of my injuries.

DH had a good day yesterday. He mowed the lawn in the front and back of the house. It looks really nice since it is about 8 inches shorter than it was. I am amazed that my neighbors hadn't complained. During the winter one of them actually shoveled the drive and walk way for us. We have wonderful neighbors and I thank them for all the help!

I have another quilt I want to layer and baste tonight. It is a NICU quilt that started my walk down the road of Trip Around the World. I have the perfect backing fabric for it and I am thinking about reverse quilting by using the backing fabric as the pattern for the quilting. The bobbin thread will quilt the top and be totally different from the pattern of the fabric. I will have to mull over this idea and look at the top and fabric before trying this. I do not want to practice a new machine quilting skill on as important a quilt as this is. At the same time it would be a wasted opportunity.

The house cleaning continues to be one item at a time and it is starting to show. How nice.

Hurricane Gustav was declared a catastrophic loss, but our company was not hard hit so we did not set up cat loss reporting for it. Now we may have to deal with Hurricane Ike. Time to watch and see what it brings to the company. It is hard to see large losses both for the insured that we help and for the company itself in these hard economic times. We are fortunate to have good investment gurus here at the company and that makes for a tighter bottom line (no pun intended) on the balance sheet. Our stock has been taking a roller coaster ride lately, but seems to be on the road to recovery. That is good because my pension and my personal stock in the company is the basis for retirement.

Have a great day, Karen

Alaska Baby Quilt Finished

The binding is completed on the first Alaska bound Trip Around the World Quilt. It is folded and on the stack of quilts to be turned in at Guild.

I have two quilt tops that I want to layer tonight. That will be my only goal for quilting today.

Slow progress on the family room. One item at a time as I pass through.

Have started my specific list for my October retreat. Also, I have been contacting various agencies to see what I can do to insure that James gets the proper attention.

Have a great day, Karen

Studio Makeover

My teacher for Studio Makeover has had some major life style changes either chosen or forced on her. Family and personal goals have changed the direction of her life and as a result I will not be able to study with her. I honor her choices for it must be hard to make a 180 degree turn in your life because your know it is the right thing to do. There is always that little piece (I believe it is the adversary) that keeps telling you to ignore responsibilities and move in the direction YOU want to go.

I have the first two lessons of her syllabus and her book on Studio Makeover. I will use these along with my common sense and the help of DH to make a studio that will fulfill the functions I need and provide some quality time for the two of us to work together. I will be learning some skills from DH before he forgets the skills. This is foresight in my part, because I know there will be many things that I rely on him to do that he needs to teach me. It may help lessen his depression in the process.

Yesterday I went to JoAnn's to exchange a purchase I had made in error. They were kind enough to honor the 40% coupon on my new purchase. This is a wonderful shop for supplies for quilting and other crafts and the employees are so helpful. I love to go in and talk to them.

This morning while getting ready for work a did a couple of small chores around the house. Just putting away a pair of needle nosed pliers was a success and I did do more than just that one thing. I ran the dishwasher so it will be ready to empty when I get home. Another success. Each success builds the path to another.

I am not sure what my plans are for this evening. I will leave you in suspense to find out tomorrow.

Have a great day, Karen

Latest news

The binding for the baby Trip Around the World has been sewn on and basted for the hand work. I used a pale orange for the binding and I think it looks great. As soon as I figure how to empty my camera I will take some photos and post them.

No progress on the family room. Today is the day the garbage goes to the street so I have a deadline of sorts. I keep promising myself that I will work on this and then get involved in something else.

No change for DH.

I have all my quilt magazines entered into the database I am using. It is a great way to know what not to bid on for back issues on e-bay.

Today is open for examination.

Have a great day, Karen

A little corner of the living room

Last night I completed my second Kid's Komfort quilt. It is the one with the curved quilting. That will be two to turn into Guild at the October meeting.

Then I looked at the mess in my corner of the living room and decided that it would not do. Everything is now picked up and put into its storage place. If I make enough progress in the family room today I will move these items into a new corner and start using my studio.

It is exciting to see these projects reach completion. Each completion makes the finishing of the next item seem more possible.

Today I printed out the first two lessons from the Studio Makeover class. It is time to start doing my home work in preparation for my new quilt studio.

DH fell today. Just his dignity hurt. I am very worried.

The weather is beautiful today. I have turned off the AC and opened up the house to air. The dogs are outside playing in the backyard.

I have some errands to run and then I will attack the family room again. I can only do a little at a time. I am always exhausted. Between my own health and DH I tire very easily. Even to blog is hard.

Karen

Thursday Machine Quilting

Last evening I spent time trying to figure out machine quilting. I haven't done much beyond stitch-in-the-ditch and I was trying to do a long curve starting at the corner of four patches and swinging out into the patch on the right and then coming back to the seam line where the next two patches meet the previous two. Basically it grew into circles running through the intersection of the four patches.

It looks exactly like what it is; a beginner machine quilter trying out something new. Anyone looking at it up close will know it, but a novice will only see the circles. I am using a variegated 50/3 King Tut thread and it looks really great on both the top and bottom of the quilt. This will be one of the Kid's Komfort quilts I will be turning in at Guild at the October meeting.

DH had another bad day. I wish I could use different words for the good days and the bad days. He is so depressed right now that it is effecting his dementia and every day is not a good day. He finally figured out why his back is hurting worse the usual. He had put the lifts for his shoe into the wrong shoe. Since he is wearing a brace on his left leg that runs from inside the shoe all the way up his thigh, it makes his left leg longer and therefore he needs lifts in the right shoe. He hasn't been able to find the lifts for several days. He looked in both of his everyday shoes (right only) and did not realize that he had transposed the lifts into the left shoe. Once that was corrected he felt a lot better and the pain decreased measurably.

Tonight I am going to go through my stash and find a bolt of fabric I purchased on clearance that should work for the binding on all my Alaska quilt tops. I will need to get out the ironing board to iron the fabric and clear off my cutting table to make strips of fabric for the binding. This is a relatively new process for me. I usually cut my binding on the bias, but because these are quilts that have no curves, I am going to go with the straight of grain. Fun!

This weekend will be a continuation of changing the family room into my sewing room/quilt studio. My family room is L shaped and I have made some progress in the smaller area. If I can clear out what remains and take down the card table that I have been using for my grandson's coin collection I should have sufficient room to move my computer system and office furniture into this section. Once this is done I can start progress on the other section and have a place for R & R when my 60 year old body starts to complain. I really want to get everything totally out of the other area so that I can measure the remaining walls and mark exactly where the windows on the south wall are positioned. Then I can start drawing floor plans with more accuracy than I currently have.

BHG has a fabulous website for planning room layouts and I am using it currently to show a before layout and also working on a final layout. Having the before will allow me to know the dimensions of all my furniture and how they interact at this time.

This Studio Makeover will take about four months from start to completion and I need to have parts of it available for working at the same time. What fun ;).

Have a great day, Karen

Baby "Trip Around the World"

It has reached the binding stage. How exciting. I have to get several quilt tops together and go to Jo Ann's for a binding fabric that will work with all of them. Either that or get a neutral solid color fabric. That might be the better idea. With a 40% coupon burning a hole in my pocket I think I will be heading that way right after work. Then I will pull out my instructions for making binding and be on my way to a finished UFO.

I am practicing my machine quilting on a Kid's Komfort quilt that will be turned in at the October Guild meeting. I am getting so much done in the evenings that I cannot believe it.

I miss the interaction with my 'friends' but get so much more work done without the distraction. Maybe they did me a favor. I am sure that was not their intent, but you know the old adage. "When life hands you lemons make lemonade." I should open a lemonade stand at Guild. Naw. They ain't worth it.

The above is not an example of a Christian thought. But, remember that I am not perfect. It is what I do with my thoughts that makes my Christian walk. It is easy to forgive. The hard part is to forget the slings and arrows and go forward. With Christ at my side I walk through each day with an easier heart knowing that it is written: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather
give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay
saith the Lord." Romans 12:19 (KJV)

Have a great day, Karen

Tuesday Accomplishments

Last night I finished quilting the baby "Trip Around the World" and sewed a seam 1/4 inch from the edge. Tonight I will trim off the excess backing and batting and it will be ready for binding. I haven't decided what fabric to use for the binding, but I have time.

Tonight I want to layer the second baby "Trip Around the World" and baste it. I bought another box of quilting pins yesterday at Jo Ann's with a 40% off coupon. Jo Ann's is so great about coupons. When you sign up for the mailings you get them and also going into the store they frequently have coupons as you walk in. I am getting such bargains, that it is difficult to stop spending. However, I am getting my long term staple gadgets now rather than fabric. I think I have enough fabric and patterns to last my life time and beyond.

DH had another bad night last night. He is starting to show more episodes of sundowner syndrome. It is hard to go to bed and sleep when he is up and watching TV. I hope he doesn't start wandering. I cannot work a 40+ hour week and stay awake to keep him safe at night. I don't know what the solution will be when he progresses that far with his dementia. He did manage to keep his CPAP on all night long. His sleep apnea is probably the main reason for the dementia and using the CPAP along with his meds keeps him from sliding down the road of dementia to the point of total memory loss. Please pray for him.

Have a great day, Karen

Monday and Quilting

Yesterday I almost completed the quilting on one of the baby "Trip Around the World" quilts. I will finish the quilting this evening. Then I will layer the second baby "Trip Around the World" and start quilting it. The first was quilting with straight line quilting diagonally through the rectangles of the patches. Sewing through the bias was very interesting. The second I will be implementing some techniques I learned from one of our Guild's visiting quilt teachers. I am going to try a simple curving stitch down the seam lines between the patches. I envision the curves going into the patches and making a pleasant change to the puffiness of the finished quilt.

I made some real progress in the process of getting my family room ready for the studio makeover. As soon as I get one area in the back corner ready I will be moving my computer system into it. This way I can combine all of my hobbies in one area and free up the smallest bedroom to be what it is designed for. It has been my computer room and office since January, 2000. That is when I had my hip replaced. The computer remained there when DH had both knees replaced in December, 2000 and through several knee surgeries for me prior to my knee replacement in September, 2006. I am doing much better with the stairs now and feel that I can take my computer system back downstairs.

My EQ6 class is slowly coming along. I have fallen behind in the lessons and plan on setting some time aside each evening this week to play catch up. I want to finish the lesson prior to the end of the class so that I can ask as many questions as possible. This is a great product and I can see some fantastic quilts in my future.

A Christian friend of my was talking about how her walk with God is progressing. She reads from the Bible every day. I have been reading some scripture, but if I want to walk the walk I need to be more regular in all aspects of my spiritual life. Just praying is not enough. The Word of God is also necessary to keep me on the path. How wonderful to have a friend who likes me whether I am happy or sad, angry or glad; who takes me as I am and points the direction chich is most in tune with my goals of spirituality.

Have a great day, Karen