An awesome husband

Wednesday evening I totally broke my traveling sewing machine. The bobbin would not work at all. DH asked how much a new machine would cost. I told him between $100 and $8,000. His eyes bugged out.

Thursday I called my LQS to ask about Baby Lock sewing machines and they recommended three that would be good starters. We discussed features and price.

Later that afternoon DH went into the LQS and talked to them. He bought the one I had decided I would buy after I had escrowed the money. He also warned them I might come in to buy the machine and to lie through their teeth to keep my from purchasing it.

When I got home DH sent me down to my studio for a totally different reason and I discovered my new sewing machine. He had purchased a Baby Lock Molly for me. Last night I got real familiar with Molly and I am ready for my road trip.

Road trip you say. Sunday we are leaving for Gatlinburg for the Mountain Quiltfest and I have two classes with Sally Collins. Molly is going to be the star of the show for me.

Have a great day. Mine started out with sunshine and happiness even though it is raining outside and we have a flood warning for the Ohio River.

Tonight is Friday Night Sew In

I have a few blocks to finish cutting out for the Christmas Quilt for my MIL. I will need this fabric all cut out before September 4.

I also found the pattern for the Apache Tears Quilt for DH. I don't know what prep I need before September 4.

You ask what is September 4? I am going to Gatlinburg all by myself for a week of tranquility. I will take all my food so I don't have to go to restaurants. I will take my swim suit and attend aerobics Monday through Thursday at the timeshare inside pool. I will also swim laps at the timeshare outside pool. I plans to enjoy the activities given to owners at the timeshare. All in all I do not plan to leave the property at all unless the new Jo Ann's store in Severville calls to me or I have forgotten something. I will be saving gas too.

Have a great day quilting.

Million Pillowcase Challenge

I know that this is not quilting, however my LQS is involved in the challenge and Tuesday I took a vacation day and learned how to make a fantastic pillowcase. In fact I made six. The first three took three hours. The second three too two hours. They tell me they will become even quicker.

Pictures to follow.

Why did I take my sewing machine?

We got back from Orlando late Sunday after having a wonderful trip. I got my sewing machine out on Saturday and there it sat for seven days until I could pack it up again. Too much to do and not enough time to do it. By the time we got back to the Condo it was all I could do to get into a nightgown and fall asleep.

Max and Roxie traveled with us to Orlando and stayed in the Bass Pet Motel. They were happy to see us when we visited and really glad to go home. The kennel said they were welcome back any time.

We had a great time in Disney World and at Discovery Cove. I finally got to swim with a dolphin. I have been dreaming about this since 1992. Another thing to scratch off my bucket list. Oh...I need to start a bucket list.

The sewing machine is in the living room waiting for me to get at it. I stopped at two quilt shops on the way home and picked up more patterns and equipment for my quilt studio.

Have a great day.

Florida here we come sewing machine and all

We leave for Orlando tomorrow and I cannot wait. I am taking two projects that have all or most of the fabric precut and my sewing machine and a few tools for these projects.

We have three days at WDW with the entire family and then other things we want to do around the Orlando area. We also have a dolphin encounter at Discovery Cove and get to swim with the dolphins. Also there is snorkeling with rays and tropical fish. I cannot wait!!!!!

Have a great day.

Progress on MIL quilt

I have cut out four of the blocks for the quilt. By that I mean that a total of 17 blocks are cut as each one has four identical blocks placed in the top.

Saturday I was watching a video on QNNtv about EQ and realized that the top was missing somthing. No sashing. How amazing! I pulled up the design and added sashing in the same color as the borders. It is a really wonderful red. The cornerstones of the shashing are going to be white on white fabric. It really made the quilt pop. I cannot wait to start the sewing. However, I am going to have all the cutting completed so that I can just start sewing and not have to jump back and forth between.

We are leaving for Orlando on April 9th. I will be taking the cut pieces for my MIL quilt and Navajo Tears with me. In my spare time between Disney World and Discovery Cove I will sew and chat with our family. I cannot wait.

I hope we will be taking my DH computer with us so that I can post while I am down south, but if not I will update you when we get home.

Have a great day and enjoy Spring.

Helen's Quilt

I have actually started my MIL quilt. It has twenty five blocks 6 different patterns. It is based on the Christian Cross and then moves to other patterns that have crosses. I have cut out the one block that will represent five in the top and another block that will represent four in the top. That leaves me with 4 blocks to cut out. I am so excited. Surely you can tell by reading this.

Too many times I have posted my intentions and then life gets in the way. Not to be a Pollyanna or a goody-two-shoes, but no more intentions and only completions. Unless I have to get on the pity-pot.

We are leaving for Orlando on April 9 and I have packed "Navajo Tears" as one project. I want to have Helen's Quilt as my other project. I think two tops to piece should be more than enough. There I go again with my intentions.

Friday evening the Patchwork Party Spring 2009 started showing up on the websites of the 12 quilt shops that are participating. I was having so much fun with the blocks and the fabrics that I stayed up until 4:00 A.M. on Saturday. That was a long day, but really got my creative juices flowing. I still need to do some cutting on the PP Spring 2008, but I don't think I will get involved in the new one.

Have a great day.

Change in priorities

MIL is moving into a nursing home the end of this month. Because of my surgery I was not able to give her the quilt intended for Christmas. My new goal is to cut all the fabric, piece all the blocks, sew the blocks together, layer the backing, batting and top and sew it together like a pillow case and invert it. Then I will tie the quilt together rather than quilt it. I want to have it on her bed in the nursing home before she walks through the door or at least have it on my arm as the first thing to unpack.

All other projects will have to go to the bottom of the priority list for the time being. So many projects and so little time.

Our vacation schedule for 2009 has been fairly well settled. I plan on one week in Gatlinburg in March, one week in Orlando in April and three quilt retreats spread out through the year.

In the meantime I am slowly working my way into the family room to transform it into my sewing room / quilt studio. One item at a time each time I go down stairs. (Stairs are still difficult for me). My goal now is to have everything in place before we leave for Orlando so that I can pack quilting that is minimal in space requirements. Each time I pack I get a little better at taking only what I need and not over packing.

God bless you and keep you and your love ones safe and healthy.

Home Safe and Sound

We have returned from a very relaxing and restful week in Gatlinburg, TN. The sewing machine and my projects are the only remaining things in the car. I ran out of energy with the unloading. Thankfully the next vacation in April will be with a healthier husband and he can help with the unloading. He kept apologizing for not doing more, but he drove both ways and that was the saving grace.

I didn't get as much piecing done as I had expected. Creating 240 HST take a lot of time; with sewing and squaring up. I have almost 3/4 of my blocks completed for "Navajo Tears" and then I will lay out the blocks on the point with other fabric between. I have two options with the other fabric. Simple 8 1/2" squares or making QST and placing them in between the Navajo block. I will have to get my design wall out to make the decision.

This week is only 2 1/2 days of work. The rest will be some minor house cleaning after our vacation and getting ready for the holidays. Vacations are very nice, but there is always the let down and the recovery. Fortunately I love Thanksgiving and Christmas so this gives me a slow let down from vacation. I did some shopping in Sevierville for Christmas and only have a few items to purchase. Then the wrapping.

Have a great day.

Final day of vacation

Today is our final day in Gatlinburg. We are well rested and relaxed and ready to get back into the fray.

We will be packing all our belongings today after I do laundry and put everything but our morning needs into the car today. Then we will be on the road home.

Only one stop on the way home. JoAnn's has a super store in Knoxville and I plan on spending a little time there. I picked up two patterns from Holloway House yesterday and they call for fat quarters. I have to look at the ad from JoAnn's to see if there is anything I would die for.

Have a great day.

Gatlinburg, TN

We have been here since Saturday and have 1 1/2 days of vacation left. I have finished the hst for "Navajo Tears" and am putting together the last 14 blocks. Then I will need a surface to lay out the blocks and decide the order I wish to put them together in.

The quilt for MIL is still in the bag. We have been having so much fun here that very little sewing has gotten done. But that is okay. This is a time for us to reconnect and heal after two very hard years.

Have a great day.

Coming Home

DH will be coming home tomorrow morning. I will pick him up at the rehab center at 8:00 A.M. and have him home before 9:00. Once his he settled in and comfortable about being home with only Max & Roxie to keep him company I will be going into work for the remainder of the day.

I already have supper planned for tomorrow. Pork roast, potatoes, carrots and corn. Since the weather is supposed to be cooling I will be making home made dinner rolls as well. This will be a celebration dinner to pass all others.

This weekend we need to visit MIL and get her on the path to a nursing home. DH has been very worried about her the last four weeks and so have I. There is a nice nursing home within one mile of our house and we can visit daily or more often if needed. She has been fighting this for years, but now is the time to do it before she has another bad fall. Then I will have both of my patients to care for and watch over. With the help of the nursing center staff I am sure that MIL will be fine as long as we visit regularly and at different times during the day.

Tomorrow evening after supper I am getting out the fabric for MIL Christmas present quilt. I have a lot of fabric cutting and piecing ahead of me. If I can get all the pieces cut out before we leave for Gatlinburg then all I will have is the piecing to do while on vacation. Navajo Tears needs additional piecing but DH has become so observant that I don't think I can work on it when he is present. This presents a bit of a dilemma. This will take some thinking about. Maybe I can get DH to promise to look the other way so I can work on it. LOL It's worth a try, don't you think?

So many UFO's and so little time between now and Christmas. I have my work cut out for me. Fortunately I have a 4 1/2 day weekend the week of Thanksgiving. I hope to get DD quilt under the sewing machine for the next phase of quilting. I am fairly sure that Navajo Tears and MIL quilt will have to be tied rather than standard quilting. The time frame is too tight otherwise.

If you cannot tell I am in a better mood than I have been in a very long time. DH is showing signs that almost indicate that the dementia was mis-diagnosed. Only time will tell on that. The neurologist said not to come back for 3 months. We will see what happens in the meantime.

Have responsibilities to get back to. Have a great day.

Quilting again

It has been three weeks since I worked on my quilting at home. I did attend my neighborhood group on the 3rd Wednesday of October, but otherwise I have not picked up a needle or run the sewing machine. Last night I did some pressing of blocks that I am working on and tonight when I visit DH I will be working on my Apple Core wall hanging. The rows are all finished and now I have to sew them together. I think this is going to work out nicely. I need a piece of fabric for the background. I will be appliqueing the 5 by 5 cores to another piece of fabric. I would love to find something with apples on it, but that may not be possible.

If DH gets out of the hospital in time we are going to Gatlinburg for a week in mid November. I am already planning 3 projects to take with me. I will have to limit my quilting gear as we are taking the dogs with us. Have I introduced you to Max and Roxie? Max is a 95 pound black Labrador mix and Roxie is a 93 pound AKC registered Rottweiler. They do take up the entire back seat of the car so the trunk will be packed from top to bottom and side to side.

The timeshare we are visiting has an inside water park so swim suits/trunks will be in order. Both of us will be taking advantage of this I am sure. We have to get in shape for Orlando in April. Again that will be a trip with minimum quilt gear because the dogs will travel with us then too.

So many plans and such a positive attitude. I have my DH back (we almost lost him totally) and I am in such a happy place!

Have a great day.