"fabric blankies"

That is what R calls quilts, it actually sounds more like "babric kikis"

I have told you this all more than once, but I am going to reiterate here for us all. I promised myself I would never move onto the next project before the one I am working on is finished. Yeah, I broke that one! It all started when I gave up on my Christmas project last year (aprons, tree skirts, pillows, and a quilt with the left overs) because the Apron pattern was a little vague on how to do it and I couldn’t find some of the supplies I needed for it. Away into a tub everything went until I had some more patience and less pressure for Christmas things to be done by Christmas (and it is all sitting there waiting patiently for me to try again.)

Then, one day, A saw me bring home some new finds from JoAnn’s or Ben Franklin and told me “no more new fabric until you use up some of what you already have!” He obviously is not a quilter! (nor a fabric fanatic) I keep telling him it’s something my dad just rolls his eyes with when mom does and has learned to keep his mouth shut so A should too! With A not working though I decided I could follow that rule, mostly. Some projects I can’t finish until I get more (and we are just talking tops here!) The problem is I don’t have much in the way of backing fabric! I have two tops that need backing, three (including those two) that need batting,….oh I will just list them out for you:

Projects in the Works:
Lavender Mist BOTM -4 blocks done, missing two, need backing, batting, binding (and missing blocks)
Princess Blankie- I think I have batting that will work for this, so I just need to sandwich and quilt it
Jackies Quilt - need batting, have backing
Dora Quilt- need to find a border for it, backing, batting, binding etc.
Christmas Quilt- backing, batting, binding
Simpsons Quilt- for A- I need to find more flannel fabrics to go with it and then make it! but everything I have so far is cut and ready to go
Christmas Combo Pack- this is the thing I set aside, I think for now gathering the rest of the supplies will be on the agenda, then maybe the tree skirts would be the place to start, I know the pillow will be easy and the quilt will be with left overs so that’ll be last of the set

I have a whole slew of other projects I have mentioned before that I want to get cracking on but I am going to stop myself from starting anything new for the moment until those are DONE (well maybe not the last one). Well, with an exception:

I joined the Because I Matter Challenge! I am a late commer but Tracey was so kind to allow me to join. The rules are you have to make something(s) for YOU! all the things above are for other people, or in the case of the Lavender Mist BOTM, who knows who it’s for but it is not just for me! R and I sat on the washer and dryer today for about 20 minutes while I looked at all the stuff I have and tried to figure out what I wanted to make for ME. Here is what we came up with:
Because I Matter Challenge:
1) Families are like Quilts needlepoint -it’s been a while since I have done cross stitch, something to do in front of the TV
2) 2005 Western Washington Shop Hop- blocks and maybe turn it into a quilt…I am a little intimidated by this, hence it’s now 2009 but I WANT to do it so here is my inspiration (by the way, if you want to read my rant and rave about shop hops, pop on over to my blog at allpeoplequilt.com and if you haven’t done so already, skim through some of the other ladies blogs, many of them are truly AMAZING!!
3) Quilt Scrapbook- I need to update it since I now have a camera and a few projects that are close to being done, so before I forget the details
4) Dress- I bought a pattern and some fabric for a dress I loved on display at JoAnn’s last summer, I need to find some blue fabric to use under the dress or a pink ribbon…yes I want to make two, but we will start with one for now and see how it goes!
5) Garden Path- I found the magazine for it and A said I could make it in blue and green instead of pink and green….so by the time the challenge ends my goal is not to have the quilt done, or even started, but to have found the fabric for it! I really want to use big blue hydrangea flower fabric for it so I am keeping my eyes out!
6) Leaders and Enders/Scrap Quilts- true, they will be for my guests once I own a house with a guest room (probably my sewing room too…wait I told you all about this and showed you my doodles!) so the goal is to get this started even if that means I just buy the fabric and have a few leaders/enders going. We will see!
I will be posting my challenge progress both here and on the challenge page. I may also start another project or two for fun but I do have a baby coming in Aug….so this might be a nice list for now but one that takes more than a summer to tackle. That’s OK. Ambitious goals are fun and driving forces right? And as much as A complains about my sewing (mostly when hes watching a game or a movie) he admits I am more pleasant to be around when the machine is going. my game plan starting this weekend is to work on the unfinished projects whenever I can and work on the challenge stuff for at least 10 minutes a day every day. I will set a timer to make sure I am committed, and will probably have some times when I am on a roll and don’t want to stop but the family will have to leave me alone for those 10 minutes the timer is counting away.

OH OH!!!! I can’t believe I almost forgot! I got a package yesterday from one of my moms friends…she added me as a friend on Facebook and saw all my quilts. When she was cleaning out her own stash she set a bunch of fabric aside for me and TADA! a package! with 34 lbs of fabric in it!! I already sorted it all and added it to my stash, I think I now have more than double what I did have! There are a bunch of Christmas fabrics and even a project that was started using templates and what not. She sent me the templates, the magazine, the left over fabric and the blocks that have been done. I have never used templates before and might try one block (the Santa’s are what she gave up on, she got all the trees) but $5 says I give up too and then will just take the blocks she has done, turn the two Santa’s into something like a pillow or a dolly quilt and the tree blocks will become something more, add sashing, a little throw, a wall hanging….a tree skirt for all I can tell. Let the creative juices flow!

aunt J's quilt

I finished the top to my Aunt J's quilt. There are several mistakes. To start with I am in need of practice with half square triangles. I am a lot better with the other method where you do one square and sew on both sides of a line, but I am still not perfect either way. I also made two blocks later after not cutting enough triangles and was not as careful with them as I should have been and put some strips on backwards. I didn't realise it until I had put the blocks together. OOPS! Oh well! If I were more patient maybe I would have undone them and then tried again but by the time I got to those two blocks I was ready for something new! Has that happened to anyone else? While I love the fabric and the pattern I was ready to move on!

Just to help understand that green border here is the main fabric before I cut it! See the little green and gold in it? A was making fun of me when I put the little green border on, calling me a hippy wanna be and what not. Then when I put the second border on he said "oh, that actually looks really cool." Thanks honey, sometimes I am not as crazy as you think I am.

I loved this fabric and was really sad to see that I didn't get any extra. Then again Aunt J bought the fabric for me so I shouldn't complain at all. She bought two purples because she couldn't decide which one she liked more with the main fabric, the green, and the backing. She also bought this beautiful pink fabric for me to back the quilt I had made for one of my friends too. We got all this at QuiltWorks Northwest when R was only 2 months old! I kept putting this quilt off for no reason other than I was a little intimidated by it. I finally figured out how to use all the fabrics in it and LOVE IT!

Also today, I caught R playing with tools. OK, I actually gave her the tools in exchange for a hammer and a sharp little screwdriver. I'd much rather have her play with a wrench and a pair of thick pliers. She was working on her "car" that her uncle B and his girlfriend (I'll call her R's Aunt K because shes as close as we've got for now but B and K are only 19 so there's no rush!) for her last birthday. Whats so cool about her working on her car is that my brother and my dad are both race car drivers...for fun, not professionals. She's a car girl too! I didn't even have to teach that! And yes, you may note that most pictures of my lovely little girl are of her in just her pull up. She doesn't like being dressed! She doesn't strip down at least but she will put up quite the little fight to get dressed. The funny thing is she INSISTS on wearing "jimmy jam" bottoms to bed. She also will ask to put her socks and shoes on when one of us gets ready to go out but she'd be happy to go otherwise unclothed. Silly girl. Enjoy it while you can get away with it!

drafts

Here I am again with nothing really to say. Registering at Target was fun but I am having problems with the website, I used two differnet passwords, one for my own account I set up eons ago for online shopping and then the one for the registery that Adam can remember easily but I used my same e-mail address for both so, ooops! oh well!

I poped into my JoAnns again and didn’t buy anything. I just wanted to double check that they didn’t have the binding or the two blocks for Lavander Mist I am missing (7 and 10) then I was killing time to meet up with my friend so I wandered over to the calicos and was just looking, A has authotrized my next fabric purchase can be for a quilt for our bed and has even agreed on a pattern/color scheme. At first he balked because the mag had the quilt in pink and green (oh it’s Garden Path in McCall’s Quilting from 07 I think, I put it away just 10 minutes ago and don’t want to get it out. We will do it in blue and green, more soothing than perky. He said go for it when he has a job! HORRAY!!!

While I was there I saw bolts of white. I need white! I have a project in mind for those 2 ½ inch squares I was telling you about last time. I want to make a scrap quilt (ok two) for my sewing/guest room that I don’t have here but is something I am going to get when we buy a house. We HAVE to have a guest room and it might as well be my sewing space too as long as I keep it as organized as what I showed you last time! Anyways ramble aside, I saw a picture online for decorating with quilts and loved one of the quilts in it so much I sat down with graph paper and drew out what it would look like for a twin size (oh in this guest room I dream of we have a trundle/day bed with two twins so we can have one or two guests without takign up the whole room and if they are not comfortable sharing a bed at least no one is stuck on the couch).

I then figured out how much white or cream fabric I would need. I was lookign for somethign to do to kill time and decided to play around with the pattern and made something that looked similar but not a total match.
Again calculated out how much white/cream I would need and added it to the prior calculations, since these WERE coordinating scrap quilts they should have the same base color right? so 9 yards is what I came up with. Most bolts have 8 on them. Ok I say, if I order a bolt and get 8 yards and am careful I might just have enough, or I could buy 1 1/2-2 yards whiel I special order a bolt of the same stuff and can get started while waiting! I looked at the prices on three bolts of white that I liked and was surprised to see that they were $3.99. I don't know if JoAnns takes coupons for special orders, somethign inside me says no but already thats not bad! so a bolt of white is second on the list of things to get when I can spend again on fabric. My plan is to use these as a leader/ender project, so theres no real rush but I'd love to get leading and ending soon!

While I am showing you things out of my scratch book (doodle book?) I should show you the Hungry Caterpillar quilt I designed but have not made yet. (need to get on that fabric purchase soon too!) I never really liked the two patterns I saw for it out there but liked parts of them, so I took a little of each, spent some time scribbling away and came up with this: true it would look better if I used colored pencils but I think you are all creative enough to imagine it!

um....well I just wanted to share I guess

I told myself I wasn't going to post anything today, nothing worthwhile has really happened! but then A was wonderful. I took everything out of the bathroom and sorted through it while R was taking her rest this afternoon and A saw this and went in with chemicals up the wazoo and cleaned the bathroom. I could eat off the floor and drink out of the toilet it's that clean! I almost want to go soak in the tub but I only enjoy that when I have a good book to read and "Parents" magazine isn't quite what I have in mind (I like to read murder mysteries by candlelight in the bathtub...crazy isn't it?)This is a picture of what our bathroom looks like...well the part I organized. A did clean the shelves for me too! I was trying to take a pic of the whole bathroom but our door to it is about 2/3 the size of a normal door and the toilet is RIGHT next to the door....then the sink is RIGHT there and then the tub. It's one LITTLE bathroom!

I also got R's room cleaned up, when I have some spare cash I need to go to Target and get some more little canvas cube things to sort her toys out into, I have one in her room, one in the laundry room, and three in the hall closet. If they weren't all serving their purpose so well I'd move them all into her room! I have one for her dress up stuff and currently tea party stuff shares a space but I'd like for that to be its own too, and then coloring stuff, I want little drawers for puzzles (she gets so mad when she gets pieces that don't fit the puzzle so I want to organize them all) and then one for the new baby's toys. how many is that? I have space for four or five if I have diapers/wipes there too....since R is still in pull ups!

I also have the kitchen almost perfectly clean, just need to scrub the walls, clean the fridge out, and clean the floors. My laundry room is looking good but I need to clean the machines, I hate how sometimes the soap leaks onto the washer and then the dust/lint gets stuck on it! EWWWEEE but the room was dusted, swept and fabric stuff was straitened out. what, you want to see what my stash looks like now? Here are projects in que. On top are my four finished tops waiting for bottoms, my sewing basket, a box which usually holds my "stash cash" but currently holds yarn and thread with no cash coming anytime soon for it, and then my 2 1/2" squares made from left overs of projects I have finished....I have a plan for them just you wait and see! Next to that is my scrapbook of finished projects, threads under the pipe, a class I took two sessions of before A lost his job and I couldn't pay for any more. Top to bottom JoAnn's Lavender Mist BOTM (need blocks 7, 10, and binding if anyone is headed out there, mine is out here) JoAnn's Natures Bounty BOTM, Simpson's for A (need more flannels for it but its in line because I am actively looking for them) and jungle fabrics for a co-workers baby. Next to those are my books and mags, I am thinking of taking all my mags down to the local print shop and seeing if they will unbind them and put them all in one big binder or something for me since some of them are falling apart.

Here's the cool stuff: OK it's all cool really but this is the true stash! Top shelf first left to right: the things I gathered on the 2005 Western Washington Shop Hop, the first and only one I have gone on but I can't wait to go again! (was going to go this year but don't think it would be wise to go to Seattle that close to my due date) then batting I got on clearance. Next top is Christmas stuff I have cut for:5 adult aprons 3 children's aprons, 3 tree skirts, 2 couch pillows, and something else. Below that is random Christmas fabrics and left overs of the above mentioned so I can make a quilt to coordinate too, then I have my high school t-shirt stuff cut up ready to do SOMETHING with. Next over is Hungry Caterpillar fabric I am trying to collect more of before it's out of stock but have no money to do so...oh catch 22! Left over Dora that I need to do something with, and the fabric I bought to make Butterfly Beauty from Quilters World Feb 2004 and can't find the mag or the pattern!! Next to that all is assorted children's fabric, pink and green things to decorate R's room when we end up somewhere for more than a year or two (curtain fabric and the like) and then clothing projects that I am a little intimidated by.

Are you still with me? This next parts quick I promise! next to the tubs loose is "multi colored" fabrics, bottom shelf has reds, pinks, blues, greens, yellows, purples behind oranges, and whites behind blacks. See I told you it would be fast! oh and on the floor in a big storage tub are all my fleeces and flannels...I really would like to separate them but for now they can share a tub

Well, this has been another pointless but entertaining (I hope) post by yours truly....I am sure I will have something to say tomorrow about registering at Target for baby stuff with a girl friend, or more on cleaning so stay tuned!

birthday planning

R turns three in just under three weeks. I am trying to plan her birthday but on a limited budget I don't know what really to do. I want to have a nice back yard bash with a kiddie pool we have been eyeing and a BBQ or something but we don't have a BBQ either! I really wanted to buy A one for Fathers Day this year but it might have to wait another year or so. I do have a friend who is giving us her charcoal grill, but will we get it in time?

I bought invitations at Target today only to realise when I was at the grocery store that their's less sesame street stuff out there than Dora and I had seen some Dora stuff at another store yesterday. Back to Target I will go after work and return the invitations and get them from the party store in town. Then maybe I will to go to JoAnns and see if they have any cake decorating stuff, not to buy but just to scope out (and I need some thread) I think Dora will be fairly easy and I know R loves her so it works out well.

I don't know who all to invite but I want some good friends there. I also want it to be low key. I guess I have until the end of the week to do it without being too last minute. How on earth did her birthday sneak up on us? Last I looked it was MY birthday (April)



in other news, I won my first online give away! Thanks to Tracey I have won some fabric! I can't wait to see it! It couldn't have come at a better time to lift my spirits....A not working, me not sure of a project to work on next, anxious about baby B and everything, this was such a delight to see in my inbox! Maybe our luck is turning around!

I am just about done with Aunt J's quilt, just have the two borders to put on! (and of course the backing and what not but shhhh)

almost out of projects!

I am almost down with two quilt tops that I was working on together….One is a really simple one that I was practicing my leaders and enders with while waiting to be able to buy fabric for my real leaders and enders plan and the other is for my aunt J. I made a lot of mistakes with it, the last being making my last two blocks one night when I was exhausted but waiting for R to cry herself to sleep and needed something to focus on other than her crying. I also need to work on my half square triangles. Oh well, all is part of learning the process right? and my aunt wouldn’t care if I sent her something that looked like garbage, she knows I am still newish to this and that I made it with love and the best of intentions.

The upside is more projects crossed off my list before I can go buy more fabric…the down side, I am almost to a point where I need to go buy more fabric to use the fabric I have. This makes no sense to A and I am not very good at explaining it in guy terms, I tried to relate it to how you need more fishing thingies (but I used to word “thingies“) in order to go fishing. Then I tried to relate it to video games, but he only plays two. Then…I gave up. A just doesn’t understand the “stash”vs “planed project” Its something I keep telling my dad had to get over too with my mom and her quilting and whenever the two of them are together they tease us but it’s nice to have something in common with my mom, and for him to have something to joke about with my dad.

So my main dilemma here is that I don’t know what my next project will be! I have a huge list of things that I want to work on but I need to get more fabric for them, and I have a few that I don’t feel ready for but I have everything ready to go. I guess I dig in right? Learn as I go, that’s what this whole thing is about! I have the first five or six blocks of JoAnn’s Lavender Mist BOTM here, I don’t know how to do applique yet but it looks like they have good instructions. I have the whole Natures Bounty kit from JoAnns. I also have everything from when my mom, her friends A and E and I went on the Western Washington Shop Hop (oh how I wanted to do that this summer too but not 9 months pregnant I can’t!) back in 2006. The summer before I had R. I have the kit to a little boy blanket too but don’t know who I would make that for so I don’t want to start it yet.

I do have all the fabric for a quilt I wanted to make a while ago, but have lost the pattern and can’t find a copy of the magazine it came from it’s so old! Butterfly Beauty…I will have to get the tub out to see what magazine it was in but it was either Quilters World or American Patchwork Quilts. My guess is it was the first of the two!

something I was working on gathering fabric for before A lost his job was a Hungry Caterpillar collection to make two quilts and a nursery set to try to donate or give to a friend or something (I don’t want it here because it doesn’t go with the themes but I do want to make it because I love the story and the fabrics). I have a few things for it but not much and am now getting nervous about not being able to get what I want/need for it! I am going to stash some tip money for the next few weeks and hit up the local Ben Franklin which I know had the material a while ago to see what I can get, and if need be start searching online again. I see they now have a Brown Bear Brown Bear collection out and I want to do something similar with that too! oh caching caching right? (think the $$ sound) A gathering I will go (in secret…I will have to smuggle this all in hehehe!)

quilt tops

here I am again....I actually posted a better blog about these quilts at allpeoplequilt.com but I can't make pictures work over there like I can here so I am posting these here with shorter stories!

this is the quilt I made with christmas fabric charm packs. I don't love the black and yellow in it, and the red is just off what I love but it was a fun project!

This is R's big girl bed quilt top. it is 66X90 right now and I can't figure out how I want to finish it...if I want borders or not, if so what it/they will look like etc. Any advice would be taken with joy!

my mothers day! 2009!!

I can't belive how much I have been posting here since there was such a long absence of posts for a while there! I have missed blogging and recording my thoughts. Since A isn't working and couldn't do up a mothers day for me like we all wanted this year we have decided that once he has a job we will look on the calander, pick a day and call that my special mothers day! Then we can go out to eat and I can get flowers and presents and whatever else he wants to do for me. I know for Fathers day this year (assuming he's working in the next few weeks) I am going to save up my tip money and get him a grill! It is mostly a present for him but I love BBQ's and theres so much good summer food you can only make on a real grill!

so for today, while it's nothign too special A and R tried to do some sweet things for me. R picked flowers (mostly dandylions but she did manage to find two tulups)
A cleaned the kitchen and I was able to bleach part of the sink. If we keep the kitchen clean all week then we will set up the espresso machine I gave myself for Christmas (it was on sale, PLUS partner shopping days were 40% off so I spent less than $150 on a machine that originally was $400!! and I get beans for it each week for free as a perk!)

While we were outside I managed to give R a little hair cut. It was just a trim up and it's not perfect but for a first try it looks good! She has not been a good photo subject lately so these are the best shots of the cut that I could get out of her before her "rest" and yes she loves to run around nakie but we make her have a diaper on (or big girl undies if she sits on the potty but shes just too busy to sit down for a few minutes!)

I promise I am going to get pictures of the quilt tops I have done but theres too much clutter in the house right now to try and get a picutre taken! I don't know why its so hard for me to clean and keep the place clean but it is! The kitchen and bedroom are what I worked on a week ago and are still in decent but not pristine condition. 20 minutes each and they'd be back to perfect but really? do I want to do that? especially when the rest of the house is a DISASTER? but I need to do it all sometime I know I know. Plus I know it will only get worse if I don't take care of it soon! oh housework!

ABC of ME!

hehe, alright I got taged by this onFacebook and while I don't usually do any of the things I get taged in (I refuse to be the annoying person who tags everyone they know with these things!) I liked this one and decided to do it here!

A - Age: 25
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: folding laundry
D - Dog's name: dont have any!
E - Essential start your day item: "s'deams?" from R with a kiss (her asking if we had sweet dreams)
F - Favorite color: Pink with Green, Blue with Yellow
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5' 7"
I - Instruments you play(ed): the recorder (who didn't?)
J - Job title: shift supervisor/basrista
K - Kid(s): R (6/7/06) and #2 due 8/1/09
L - Living arrangements: renting the basement of a house with the fam
M - Mom's name: B.
N - Nicknames: Lisapotpie
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: just the birth of R
P - Pet Peeve: um...well while I ampregnant what ISN"T a pet peeve, but usually peopel who dont say please or thank you or when you say "hi how are you?" "grande brew" (oir any other order without acknowledging my question or the fact that I care)
Q - Quote from a movie: "cinderella cinderella night and day it's cinderella, do the dishes, fold the laundry...." except I sing it "mommy lisa mommy lisa...."
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: B 19
T - Time you wake up: um....whenever R does? or if I have to open at 5 I get up at 4:30
U- Underwear: love the lacey boy shorts but I also like soft cotton panties
V - Vegetable you dislike: I like them all!
W - Ways you run late: when R doenst want to let me go and when A is late home from work
X - X-rays you've had: wrist, ankle, and oodles of teeth =)
Y - Yummy food you make: anything when I actually make things
Z - Zoo favorite:just watching R get excited about the animals

one more week down, 12 left!

I wrote R’s birth story and was going to post it here for you all, but it needs some editing, it’s long (and while I don’t think any of you really need the details I thought I’d like them and maybe R would like it later in life) and since spell check is not working nor is gramar checker and I am not well versed in either of those I need someone to actually read and correct it before I post it. Things that are just off the top of my head I don’t mind less editing, and sometimes not even self editing, but things I want to keep and that have true meaning I do care about.

in other news, nothing going on. I am sore, irritable, you know all the normal pregnancy things. I can’t belive that it’s almost over! Three more months! I am going to go with some girlfriends to register for baby stuff sometime in the next week or two. I am going to do it at Target, I don’t know if anyone will get me anything, but somehow the list making, picking things out, what not will make me feel a little more control and prepared. I also want to get some maternity clothes, hence the wait this long.

I really want to get back to serwing but house work keeps calling my name, and while the housework is getting harder and harder to finish (after 8 hours on my feet serving people at work I don’t want to work too hard at home) I can’t justify sewing in a messy living roomwhen theres laundry to fold, or toys to pick up, or dishes to do….why is that? I really need a sewing room where I doin’t see the clutter. I also am to a point where I have to do a lot of ironing and don’t want to. I know I messed up a good chunk of my half square triangle squares (following me?) and they are now rectangles with four squares and will be a little catiewhompus but I don’t have enough material to start over nor do I have the skill to undo and redo everything so I am just going to have to call it “an imperfectly framed four patch” and move on.

I have a few quilt tops that I want to show you, one I am debating putting a border on or not. I am not allowed to buy any more fabric until (A gets a job and we get caught up on the bills) I use what I have, which means I have to make a bunch of tops without finishing them and I will have more that I will have to some how smuggle fabric in to finish! I will try to get some pics of the tops for you all tomorrow if it doesn’t rain or snow or in other ways get the ground wet outside. Tehre’s not enough room to take pics inside! (well, and my bedroom light is funky and ickie so it wouldn’t turn out well.)

I will ask my border question tomorrow!

not productive

today was one of those days where I really inteded to do a lot but got nothing done. Actually the last two days were that way. I don't often get two days off in a row and had grand plans for these two days. my list included: calling my dentist to reschedual an appointment, calling one of my good friends, cleaning my bedroom, cleaning R's room, organizing all our movies, fold laundry, organize hall closet, and take pictures of my quilt tops that are not finished. The only things I got done were organizing the hall closet and the movies. oh well, thats why I don't live my life by a list.

Since I can't actually go shopping right now, I made a list of things I want to get. Alright I have a list of household things I want but these are selfish things. I thought I would share my little list with you, maybe moreso for me to not lose because I tend to lose lists =) (see I like to write them, I love crossing things off them, but I am so bad about keeping track of them!)

Pleasure Books:
The Coffee House Mystery series by Cleo Coyle (I read the first one and am on number two but I borrowed the books from a friend and they don't have a cover! I like them a lot, easy light reads even though they are mysteries! There's 8 books so far!)
anything JA Jance! I have a few of hers but not enough!

Quilt Books:
Simply Strips and Squares - S McNeill
Jelly Roll Quilts - P & N Lintott
Quilting 101
Quilters Block A Day Calander
The Civil War Love Letter Quilt - R Youngs
The Civil War Diary Quilt - R Youngs
Quilter's Knot - A Sachitano
Quilt as Desired - A Sachitano

Quilt Block of the Month Programs:
Lavender Mist Collection (JoAnn's) I have 1-5 so far
Seams Like Murder (storyquilts.com) I started this with my LQS but then A lost his job and I couldn't justify that expense as much as I wanted somethign to get me out of the house for a few hours a week, but it is online so I can at least pick it up again
Seams Like Halloween (storyquilts.com)
Nothings What it Seams (storyquilts.com)
Words of Wisdom (storyquilts.com)

obviously I am not going out today and getting all these, so please let me know if there's somethign I should add to the lists!

another give away

I have my first follower on here!!! I am so glad that I am finally not just read by myself! Sometimes I wonder....

anyways, welcome to my follower! I hope that you enjoy your time over here! I hope I don't disapoint you.

Hey, does anyone know why I can't copy and paste from word over here like I used to? Is it just my computer? It wouldn't shock me, there seems to be something going on since A has started playing games online here that isn't working like it used to and I can't get the antivirus program to run...yeah lovely isn't it?

anyhoo, the real reason for the random post is that my new follower's blog led me to a give away and I can get more chances to win by sharing it with you...and right now I need all the chance and luck I can get. so head over to http://itching2bstitching.blogspot.com/2009/04/23-more-days-until-i-am-out-of-school.html

A should hear about a job on weds....please cross your fingers, pray for us, send us positive thoughts, whatever it is that you do...we need it! As much as I love my job, working 40 hours a week on my feet with unpredictable hours is wearing me down, especially 27 weeks pregnant!

quilt pictures!

This first quilt is the quilt I made for a coworker's baby. It was from a kit that I bought thanks to R. We were at JoAnn's one day and she grabbed it while I had my back turned and she put it in the cart. R loved quilting almost as much as I do, or at least she likes to sit on my lap while I am working on something.

This is the quilt I made for R's Big Girl Bed! when we converted her crib to a toddler bed. Not long after we realised we'd need the crib again and I started a twin size top, but this one is sweet and I did get it on her bed for a few months! She loves this quilt for playing "where's R?" and having picnics on! It's cool that she can use something with so much imagination!

This is the quilt I made for one of my girlfriend's daughters. I really like it and think it might even be quilt show worthy, but I don't know if I am THAT good yet. It's a fairly simple pattern but it is so fun! As I was making this one I noticed the colors in teh black that I like more than yellow and green. There's a lovely pink, a deep red, a thoughtful blue. Wait, can colors be thoughtful...well you know what I mean. There is another green. We could have found one of those for one of the two yellows, but M picked out the colors and I just went with it. Actually, if I remember correctly we found the yellows and green first and then the black that had them in it! The backign is from one of my regulars who used to make clothes for a private label, it's a soft yellow sweatshirt like material. I just love using something strange, but soft for the back. Not what one would expect.

This is the quilt I made for R's baby dolls. I made one with the fabric left over from the previous quilt for my friends daughter too (with some of the other colors I noticed too) This one is 28 inches by 20 inches. Not huge, but cute! For little girls I like to make something to go along with their quilt. Now I do know that this one does not match the quilt I made for R, but I didn't have any left over fabric, or rather not enough to make a doll quilt, but I did have this left over from when I made a quilt for another friend's daughter. It's sweet and R likes to use this as a "kite" or rather a cape but she doesn't quite get the difference.

And just for fun, here's my sweetie asleep on my bed!

my life in cake?

I have had an interesting day thus far, but a good one.

R woke up at 5:30. The little stink pot! I want to sleep in! I rested on the couch while she played and watched a few cartoons and what not. She got into chocolate. She was bouncing off the walls. We went out side with A while he was waiting for his friend to pick him up to go paintballing for the first time. She and I ended up staying out there for over two hours! She played by herself, with a stick, with a soccer ball. I read a magazine and just enjoyed being outside.

We came in and had lunch and I loaded the dishwasher. I need to move it and run it still but I am enjoying the stillness. After that R wanted to watch doggies and crashed on my bed. I started watching “Last Cake Standing” on Food Network. I love cake decorating but don’t know how to do it. I want to learn! First I have to work on my quilting then I can try and find a place to teach me how to decorate cakes.

The challenge was to tell a life story through a cake. Some very interesting interpretations of that and some interesting ways of telling a story. I think if I were to be in that competition I would make a cake closet. In it I would hang my elementary school uniform, a red graduation gown, my drill team uniform, a water polo suit, and a power suit maybe a letterman’s jacket with water polo, drill and debate on it, a blue graduation gown. I would then hang a dance team outfit, and a red Michaels apron, and my red sweater that I wore on my first date with A, then a black graduation gown with cords and honor medallions. I would then hang my work dress code outfit and a green Starbucks apron and two onesies. I wish I could hang a wedding dress in there but some day maybe. I think that’s the best way to tell who I am. Maybe with the height requirements I would use the closets one on top of the other elementary school on the bottom with a bunch of things in it that I used to play with, cards that hop-it, I’d have to think hard and come up with it all, in the HS closet I’d put a water polo ball, debate notes, chess board, mementoes from a trip to Europe, pom-poms, books, tickets to Tolo and Prom. College I’d have books (I was in the Honors Scholars program) something from Big Brothers/Big Sisters, letters and cards, a laptop (or three…) dance shoes, puzzles. Life after school on top….quilting things, baby toys, books. I’ d like just a plain single layer closet with only clothes, but I think the rules are 3 feet high, so I’d have to separate them.
It would be fun to do!

I entered a contest

I just entered my first online give away today. I just couldn’t pass it up! It can be found at http://www.pigtalesandquilts.com/2009/04/give-away-time.html 30 fat quarters!?! Wow! Itr would come just at a great time!

A has put me on a fabric buying hold for now so my rule of not moving onto the next quilt before finishing the first has gone out the window. I only have backing fabric for two of the quilts and they are low on my list. Lately I have been working on my Aunt J’s quilt. I have been making a ton of mistakes and will tell her that, but how else can one learn? I HAVE to practice half square triangles and getting them all consistent. I need to figure out where I am going wrong, is it in the cutting, the pairing up of the two halves or the stitching? I think I am going to look for a pattern that has a bunch of triangles when I am done with my current projects and take my time, maybe it will only be a wall hanging (to give away) or a lap quilt but something that I can really focus on that one skill.

Other quilts that are in various states: I made a Christmas throw quilt with Moda’s “Isn’t Christmas Jolly?” charm packs. That was fun! I need to figure out the backing and wait to buy that. I also finished the top for R’s big girl bed…Dora!! It turned out really well! I can’t wait to finish it and get it on her bed.

In pregnancy news…nothing really exciting to report. A knows the gender as do many of my co-workers, but if someone tells me they have to put in one week of night duty. Adam was only tempted to tell me once thus far (we’ve known for 3 or 4 weeks now…or he’s known rather) but I can’t get night duty out of him. I am having a lot of pelvic pain and am generally achy but I guess that’s to be expected. Thus far no new stretch marks, and I don’t think I’ve gained much though this past month may have been a lot since I’ve been out of town for work and not eating home food.

Nothing else really to report money is a huge problem right now, but that’s nothing to new, just overwhelming right now. I don’t even know where to begin or what to do or…oh it’s bad. I hate money and I hate money problems. Each cycle gets worse and worse for us and I am at the end of my rope.

renters?

As I am trying to get myself motivated to clean my apartment, which I do rent, and would never buy something like this I was looking around online. I stumbled upon this article: http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=18246184&GT1=35000 and was rather offended by it. There are many reasons why I rent and to own would be foolish at this moment in my life. I dream of someday soon being a home owner but I can’t right now.
While I hope you will read the article yourself and comment and reflect on it how you wish to, I will recap it briefly for you; the article discusses how many communities are banning renters or have a cap on the percentage of rentals they allow within the community. It discusses how many homeowners are pleased with this because they see renters as “termites” or a nuisance. The article also mentions how renters don’t tend to care for the home they live in and that is harmful to the communities. It does bring up the point that having unoccupied homes is more detrimental to a homes value than renters are at this moment, but doesn’t present that point with much effort.

My thoughts on this article ranged from annoyance to irritation and beyond. To start with, I didn’t buy a home because I can’t afford one now. Yes, I pay $X a month in rent and would much rather pay that towards my own home and be able to claim a little more of my home for myself but I have very solid reasons for not buying right now. First off, I don’t have the down payment necessary to buy the kind of house I want. I am in the process of saving up for it and in the mean time I am not going to borrow that too for many many reasons. Secondly I don’t have 6-12 months worth of mortgage payments, utilities, and basic needs (such as food and gas) saved up. In the event that I lose my job, or my husband dies what would I do with a house I couldn’t pay for and bills I couldn’t take care of?

Another thing that irritated me about this article is that no, I don’t take care of the property. I don’t own it, I don’t have any say in it. The owners do, and should. I am currently living in an apartment that needs some help. My landlord painted prior to the tenant before me moving in and did a poor job. I have asked if I could repaint to brighten the place up and was told no. The carpet was poorly laid and I asked what we should do with the parts that are pulling up from the floor and was told to be careful (with a toddler? You kidding me? But ok.) I spent over 6 months trying to get them to fix a garbage disposal that was smelling foul and not working. We even purchased our own to replace it with and tried to ourselves but needed some tools (and a plumber) finally last week they fixed it by taking it out and forbidding us from installing our own. The reason? “we might put an underground sprinkler system in.” um….why? The lawn is about two car lengths by four. They have their own reasons though. Why should I invest in something that I can’t take with me? That I can’t show off my work for? And when I am willing am told not to.

I actually have moved a lot more than I would have liked to lately. We moved out of our first place after a year living there because there were registered sex and violent offenders living in the same building. With a child we were uncomfortable staying from the moment we found out. We never got our deposit back because we never asked for it. Jerks. The second place we lived we were told 11 months into our lease that we would be asked to leave by the 5th of the following month. We had no place to go. We were homeless for over 2 weeks while trying to find a place, and waiting for a place to clear out. Why were we forced to move? Because my landlord lost his home. He bought more than he could afford. (he was a realtor too! Should have known better!) We didn’t get our deposit back from there either because the carpet was poor quality and they had to replace it. We were the second people to move out of that place, the others moved out but had oriental rugs over the whole place. We looked at the other two units and their carpets did the same but did the landlord care? Nope. We have been in the place we are in now since. While I am not thrilled with how dark it is, how poorly up kept is has been, or how energy inefficient it is, I am not moving again until we find an amazing place, we move out of town, or we buy our own place.

I just wish people understood some of the problems with renting, with not being able to do what you want in your own place.

long time since hearing from me....

I haven’t posted anything here in a while, please don’t feel ignored, nothing is going on. I am 14 weeks pregnant now (and 2 days?) I can’t believe how fast its going by! The first trimester, which I am finally out of wasn’t as bad as I know it can be for other people but I was exhausted! I am now just tired. I felt so bad for A’s friend L comes over and the house is a mess because it’s hard enough for me to keep my head up and watch R from the couch forget about cleaning! Well, past that but not back to myself yet.

Some of that might be because I am getting hit over and over with things. We got back from vacation visiting my parents (R and I) last Sunday, Monday -Wednesday I had a migraine (I think from the pressure change) then Weds night R got sick and was up all night with her, Thursday was fine and dandy just tired, Friday I had the day off and recovered. Sat I woke up puking my guts up and shaking with a bad bad pain in my tummy….caught what Regi had, fortunately it was a 6 hour vomit session followed by pain for another 12-18 hours and feeling like I would puke (then a migraine because I let myself get dehydrated) and yesterday I was just weak weak weak! I could barely walk, and spent most the day lying down because I got winded just trying to talk and sit upright. Thank goodness my co-workers were able to cover my shifts for me. This was the first time I have called in sick and am so glad it worked out alright! Today…a cold has shown up in my nose and throat (but I can live through it!). What’s next?

A’s friend came over to watch the Super Bowl last night (I watched it and tried to cheer but ended up dozing between shouts from the boys and piped in when I could) and L (the friend) was able to untangle the jam in my sewing machine’s bobbin so I can sew again! I started working on R’s Dora quilt this morning and it’s looking good! I just don’t have the oomph to stand up and iron! I still want to take my machine in to get it tuned up since it is about 14 years old, but in the meantime I can sew on it.

Something I am going to need to remember when R is ready to go into school that I have only learned about her this winter…she gets up in the morning, but is not really ready to face the day. She will sometimes cuddle with A or I, but she really isn’t herself until she’s had some time to start her day off with something to eat, drink, and some quiet alone time with cartoons. I hate putting her in front of the TV for half an hour or so in the morning but she really is a crab case if we try to interact with her first thing. We will have to plan our morning routine around this when the time comes to get out the door by a certain time. Especially for school!

Nothing else really happening around here, I will try to post more often, I am sure things will start to get more interesting in my house, but in the mean time I am going to go nap!

oh dear

I haven’t posted over here in a while but I thought it was time I did. A and I are going through a really rough patch and I was very very close to leaving him. I actually had told my parents I wanted out. Two days latter I got some news that changes everything…at least I hope it will. We are expecting. I am only about 6-7 weeks along right now but still, I got a yes on the little pee stick. I finally used the doc find for my insurance and will be calling someone tomorrow. I want to see my midwife again but she’s not covered and we are not in a financial position to pay extra to get who I want right now. I do almost feel like I am cheating on her by choosing another midwife though.

I am not excited to tell my parents, but I know I will have to sooner or latter, and the sooner the earlier they can get over it right? I know they are going to ask what was I thinking and what not. I can’t have an abortion, it’s just a personal choice I cannot make. I am not pro-life, well I am but not to the point that I am anti pro-choice, I just can’t do it myself but I understand why someone would and I respect and honor that choice.

A lot of our relationship problems have come from the loss of our son. I can’t believe the nurse let it slip that it was a boy but I am glad to have known for closure. Some of you may remember, we lost him at thirteen weeks gestation and had a D & C to remove his remains (it was a missed miscarriage, or an incomplete miscarriage…I forget what they called it but his body had started to calcify within me) anyways, that loss caused a rift between us that we couldn’t fix on our own. Not that a new child or a new pregnancy will solve it, but it did open his eyes that this is a relationship he does want to work on and save.

He is going to get some insurance help from his work and see someone, and we will see someone together.

I anticipate the question “how did you let this happen?” Well…R was conceived with a misused or old condom, our son was conceived while I was on a low dose hormone pill that I was taking because the high dose/normal stuff made me MOODY! I was most recently using the nuva ring and really liked it’s convince and the way it dispensed hormones, they didn’t affect my mood much, but we hadn’t had sex in over four months because we had both hurt each other so badly that I wasn’t keeping as close a track when to put it in and take it out like I normally had been. I don’t think it was more than four weeks in (which technically is one more than they say but my doc said it can work up to 5 weeks in one out and I was trying to save a little money) after this one, I am getting mirena or another IUD for 5 years!

Well, the dinner was amazing. It was a nice twist on the holiday standards, but very very good! A helped me with the gravy and poured too much red wine into it (I bought a $2.50 bottle of merlot that was very drinkable) the green beans were AMAZING! A little on the summery side with the lemon and I tripled the proscutto, oh so good. That’s a dish I will make year round. The potatoes and onion gratin was good but definitely more of a fall/winter dish, but again one I will make again. I recommend that menu to anyone who is having a small holiday gathering or who want something fairly easy. The normal flavors, but not the traditional dishes.

My sewing machine is broken. Actually its just a really bad thread jam in the bobbin/needle section…you know where it goes up and down? I can’t get it undone myself and I don’t know what caused it. I really want to sew!! I want to finish the Christmas quilt I was working on (one more border to put on and then maybe a final boarder all around and backing!! Wahoo!) and I want to get started on R’s Dora quilt. I am going to be making it twin size! She’s in her toddler bed for now but I think we will be getting her a twin size bed soon if not then by her third birthday! I might get started cutting the fabric tonight if I get the chores caught up enough. I let them go for four days and look what happens!!

THANKSGIVING 2008

With Thanksgiving about a week away I have been humming and hawing as to weather or not I would actually make dinner. It's just the three of us and it seems like a lot of work for just three people. This morning I was watching Rachael Ray waiting for R to get up for the morning and she had a Thanksgiving special on and I thought, it’s worth it! If nothing else then for the practice for the year I do host it for family or cook with my mom again. I thought I’d share what I am making and doing for you all so that if you needed a place to start you have it. I think this will be fairly easy and I will make the Onion Gratian a day early and cheat by buying the canned cranberry sauce(I actually like that stuff, especially on my sandwich the days following the feast) a bagged salad (A and I don’t like the same dressings so no point making a big fancy one) and buying a good looking pie (last year I made three pies with only me eating them. This year I will just buy one, or a cake) oh and A doesn’t like home made mashed potatoes so I’ll use the box this time. So here is what I am making. (I need to get my mom’s stuffing recipe, basically you leave bread out for two days to air out in pieces and then sauté up some finely chopped onion-I use a cheese grater to get it perfect- and then stir it all together and shove it on in the turkey!)

MENU:
Brined Turkey
Gravey
Onion Gratain
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Salad
Stuffing
Pie (of some sort)

SHOPPING LIST:
10 cups salt
10 cups sugar
Turkey
8 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
freshly ground black pepper
flour
red wine
2 packages Chicken broth
2 pound(s) green beans, trimmed
2 ounce(s) prosciutto, thinly sliced, cut into ribbons
2 teaspoon(s) minced fresh sage
1/4 cup(s) toasted pine nuts
1 lemon
3 pound(s) Yukon Gold potatoes
2 loaves white bread, left out to dry
1/2 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves
2 cans cranberry sauce
1 good looking pie
Salad bag
Foil
Poultry thermometer

RECIPIES:
Turkey Brine
Ingredients
5 gallons water
10 cups salt
10 cups sugar
Directions
Fill a cooler with water, salt and sugar so it tastes like sweet seawater. Put turkey into cooler and leave in a cool location (garage for example) and let sit for 24 hours. Roast as usual, please note though it should take 15-20 minutes off the roast time. Let sit after roasting before carving.
To Roast
On Thanksgiving morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drain the turkey, scraping off the spices, then transfer it to a large roasting pan and let it return to room temperature. Discard the brine. 4. Add the quartered onion, the garlic and 1 cup of the water to the pan and roast the turkey for 1 1/2 hours. Add the remaining 1 cup of water to the pan and roast for about 1 1/2 hours longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into an inner thigh registers 165 degrees F. Cover the breast loosely with foil during the last hour of roasting to prevent it from browning too quickly. 5. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board.
Red Wine Onion Gravy
Ingredients
Pan drippings, plus butter as needed to make 4 tablespoons fat
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup red wine
3 cups broth (turkey, beef or chicken)
Directions
Take the roasting pan and add in medium onion chopped/diced and some chopped garlic to the pan. Stir around. Add a few tablespoons flour, stirring to mix it into the drippings season with salt and peper. Add the red wine to deglaze pan (scrape everything off the bottom). Lastly add broth and let sit until thickened up.
Sizzled Green Beans with Crispy Prosciutto and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
2 pound(s) green beans, trimmed
2 1/2 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 ounce(s) prosciutto, thinly sliced, cut into ribbons
4 clove(s) garlic, minced
2 teaspoon(s) minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt, divided
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup(s) toasted pine nuts
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon(s) lemon juice
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add beans, return to a boil, and simmer until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto; cook, stirring, until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. Wipe out the pan; heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add the beans, garlic, sage, 1/8 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are browned in places, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in pine nuts, lemon zest and the prosciutto. Season with lemon juice, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper
Golden Potato and Onion Gratin
Ingredients
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
6 medium (2 pounds) onions, each cut in half and sliced
1 can(s) (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
3 pound(s) Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
3 slice(s) firm white bread, coarsely grated into crumbs
1/2 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Directions
In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook 1 hour or until tender and deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and cook 1 minute, stirring. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate onions until ready to use.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, toss potato slices with salt, pepper, and onion mixture. Transfer potato mixture to shallow 3 1/2-quart casserole or 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish. Cover casserole and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Meanwhile, in same skillet, heat remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bread crumbs and cook 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley. To serve, uncover gratin and sprinkle with bread-crumb mixture.

should have posted this on Friday

It’s been a while since I have posted here. I have had a few strange weeks at work. My hours have been cut but are now all over the board. It’s a little hard on the body but it’s not as stressful at work than it has been in the past. I open the next two days, but they are the weekend…it’ll be fun!

The most exciting thing that’s happened is I just bought a new pair of shoes. That’s usually an indulgence I don’t need. Especially if they are bought with no real need in mind. These are too frilly to wear to work but not too dressy. I am wearing them now with a pair of jeans and they work well but need a nicer top than what I am wearing.

I gave up on my Christmas craft project that I spent so much money on. It’s not really that I Am giving up on it as much as I can’t find all the things to go with it (lace, trim etc) here and I am losing my patience with it. I think the pressure of a deadline to get everything done in time is making me not want to even use the sewing machine. For now I have packed it all up, put it under my sewing desk and am letting it rest. I started a quick little quilt (a charm pack quilt) and will move onto my Aunt’s quilt since it’s been about two and a half years since we bought the fabric. I am willing to get back to work on the Christmas collection, but I am fine with it if I don’t finish it this year. I will have it PERFECT by next year. Who knows though. This means I will either wrap the bottom of the tree in fabric like I have in the past or I will buy a cheep tree skirt in the mean time.

I am looking for a preschool/day care for R. Just for a few hours a day four to five days a week. I think all she could handle at this point is four or five hours. Eventually we might think about all day daycare but right now we want just a few hours. She’s been pushing my buttons like there’s no tomorrow and I know it’s because I am not stimulating her enough but I just can’t. TO start with we don’t have other kids around, secondly we don’t have the money to buy all those toys and age appropriate tables, chairs, etc. and most importantly with working 35ish hours a week I don’t have the energy and patience to come up with all sorts of activities for her. I love reading books with her and playing (her favorite right now is either playing animals or her as mommy and A or I as the “baby”).

a little bit of everything

I posted a nice little post on my quilting blog, so for more detailed information you can check it out on allpeoplequilt.com and look for me (lisapotpie) but basically, I haven’t been sewing, I have been gathering fabrics sort of like bears and squirrels gather food for the winter. Today in fact I am going to go buy four more charm packs for Moda’s Isn’t Christmas Jolly? And some more Very Hungry Caterpillar, have I told you all about what I want to do with that one? I am making a few quilts (three?) and hopefully a nursery set with that collection, so I have to pace myself buying the fabric so it’s not like $300 at once! So far I have three panels and two fat quarters of the number pattern. I also am working on a block of the month quilt through a local quilt shop and will be trying appliqué for the first time on Sat!

Work is going alright. I didn’t get the ASM position, but I am not surprised, I think I am the only one who has shown interest in Butte for that position so I think they are keeping me at bay for other stores so I am available to go but I wish they would have considered me to train and then move me with some time under my belt before moving into a brand new store, but I am staying positive.

Last night A got off work at 10 and took the babysitter home then came into the store to see me. R was a ball of energy, they went home at about 11 and when I got home at 12 (midnight) he said she was just watching a movie in our room…wrong, she was out cold on the bed. I even made the bed over her without her noticing (my light sleeper too!) and I ended up sleeping in bed with her on A’s side and throughout the night she kept scooting closer to me. In the morning when the alarm was going off (she slept through that too!) she was right next to me. Each time the alarm buzzed she moved a little bit and ended up with her feet against my back and her head at the other side of the bed. Silly girl!

Not much else has been happening around here. We had a good Halloween, R didn’t want to wear her costume until we were back inside. Two year old logic I tell you! It was still fun though. We made it to three houses before deciding it was enough. She probably would have been able to handle about three more but we wanted to stop while we were ahead! She thought it was cool though and sorted and lined up all her loot. I remember doing that with my brother and trading candy…he got anything with peanut butter or sour and I got anything fruity! We need another kid sometime so she can have those experienced, but not until we buy a house!

10/22
I have had the urges to sew, but I can’t set myself down. Not with such a messy house. I went out today and bought some storage tubs for the fabric. I know you are supposed to let the fabric breath, and I do with fabric that has no immediate plan on a shelf sorted by color but for projects that I am collecting for I have been using shoe boxes and it just felt so chaotic with different shapes and colors. More importantly I wasn’t able to see the beautiful fabrics and remember the projects I wanted to work on. I bough five….I need several more =) I love organizing and reorganizing my fabric. The fabric/laundry room is MINE, no one else goes in there, everything has it’s own place. Ahh the one place in the house that always has order to it.

I bought a little bit of fabric today. Nothing much, but I bought two panels of the Hungry Caterpillar collection from Ben Franklin (I should go back tomorrow for one more) and a few charm packs (Moda’s Isn’t Christmas Jolly) and some jungle animal flannel for either a baby quilt for my co-worker or maybe for the front. I don’t know yet but I saw it and had to pick it up. She told me today the baby’s theme will be jungle! I don’t know what I will make for the quilt but I saw the fabric, and you know how it goes. I just couldn’t walk away from it.

Right now I want to fold laundry…I NEED to fold laundry. I need to put some sense of order in the living room and the kitchen…probably my bed room too before I pull the sewing machine out again. I can’t though. I can never do anything when R is crying and fighting night nigh time. I want to scream too but it won’t do any good. I thought by two and a half (almost) we’d be past this night nigh trouble but no. It’s still going strong. Actually, what’s interesting is it’s only bad on the nights that A isn’t home. He has been home the last week and a half (using up vacation time before he lost it) which has been nice and bad at the same time. He didn’t do any house work and for some reason I can’t do any when he’s home but I want him to help me. Odd isn’t it?
10/24
I had to date this entry because I never finished it! I could have posted that one and then written another entry but I would have published them both today and you all would have been confused. A went back to work today and worked an 8-5 shift. I did two more loads of laundry. Folded everything except those last two loads…which one is in the dryer and one is in the washer so I am not behind yet…my goal is to fold them tonight, maybe tomorrow depending on how late it is when they are done. I did one load of dishes and just put the second in and going. (I am waiting on the dryer so the washer is done using hot water.) I (GASP!) cooked dinner! I also wrapped several Christmas presents that I had bought in the past few weeks for Santa but didn’t have any Santa paper.

I have started another blog (I know I am up to three!!) on allpeoplequilt.com You can find it on the homepage when I write something new and exciting about my quilting. I am hoping by having one over there too, mostly just for quilting, I will stop boring all of you with it and get some ideas and feedback. Those ladies have so much knowledge, practice, skill…oh I can’t wait to pick their brains and share with them. I am not abandoning you all here, but just expanding my horizons.

Speaking of quilting, I haven’t’ started anything new yet. I haven’t even moved my machine in the past two or three weeks. I just haven’t been able to with time, energy, or guilt.
Maybe on my next day off!

thoughts

We got our dishwasher a few days ago…I love it! But the real reason for sharing this information is that R has found a new toy. I cut a little “door” on the box and put it in her room to play with and for the past few days it has sat there, ignored. Today with her watching I put a few of her favorite things in there and called it a house and instantly she is inside it playing, sorting and storing all her special treasures. She is quiet and happy in there. Finally I have a moments peace (she’s been in my business all day!)

During this pause of attention seeking I am pinning J’s quilt. Yes pinning…not sewing because I still have not finished the last project (I need to go buy two more colors for the quilt that will go with the tree skirt/aprons/pillows) I also need to get some purple thread for aunt J’s quilt before I can sew any of it no matter how many pieces I pin together right now.

It’s trying to snow outside. Thus far it hasn’t been successful but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t tried. I would love to try and get this apartment winterized before it really hits with the extreme negative temps but since we are renting it’s kind of hard. I also need to try and figure out some other ways to try to insulate and protect the home. Have I mentioned I hate snow? Ok I don’t hate it, I just don’t like seeing it for seven months. I also HATE the cold. I am one of those people who are still wearing a sweater in the 70’s! I hate having the chills and I love warmth, but I don’t mind bundling up (to a point) to stay warm. My limit is if I am wearing a cardigan and a sweater or a sweatshirt, two pairs of sock s(maybe tights too) and a blanket and am still cold. I don’t do much housework when I am cold because all I want to do is cuddle.

R has been getting out of her crib in the mornings and after nap time if I am not quick enough but last night she got out of it on her own and wouldn’t go to sleep. After two hours of Cailou and then an hour of (not age appropriate but at 3 am you don’t care) Family Guy A tried to put her down (I was half asleep and he had just come home from work) and we herd her crying in her room and it got closer and closer. We decided not to get her and put her back because it would have dragged out the process so she slept on the floor of her room by the door last night. A has this week off so he will be converting her crib to a toddler bed and then I guess we need to start to think about a twin bed for her. Her crib will convert to a full size bed but if we are thinking of more kids I’d rather have her in a toddler then a twin and save the crib for the next one. If we don’t have any more, or if she needs a bigger bed then we can change plans later.

I have been trying to think of what I want for Christmas. I know it’s a few months away but I don’t NEED anything. I’d like some fabric, or gift cards to get fabric, I could use some new towels and a tune up on my sewing machine. I don’t know though. I’d like so much but need so little.

learning new tricks

I haven’t posted in a while. I actually wrote one post and deleted it because it didn’t make sense, not even to me but I wanted to put my thoughts and feelings down on paper…or computer and try to sort them out. I focused too much on the explanations instead of the feelings and just scrapped the whole idea.

I found a really cute quilt shop in town. I knew and had visited one already and while it had lots of fabric and nick knacks it never felt like a place I could take a class from. It just seemed too business oriented not necessarily the love of fabric and the love of quilting. I am sure that passion and love is there but I don’t feel it the instant I walk in the doors. I found a new place that has that love, warmth and passion. I visited there two weeks ago and had such a wonderful time I sent a thank you card, signed up for the mailer, and a block of the month class. They also have a sit-n-sew on Wednesdays that if I don’t have to watch R, I will go to! I bought a bag to haul things to and from with…a little feminine briefcase/purse. I am missing the first class, but told the gal I would be back. She is going to cute me a kit and when I have a sitter, call her and she will go over it with me! Here’s the info on the class:

Block of the Month Seams Like Murder
Created to accompany the book written by Arlene Sanchez, this quilt has a scene of Flathead Lake in the middle and pieced blocks as the outer border. The (fiction) story is about a murder at a lodge on Flathead Lake in Montana and each month includes the quilt block kit and a chapter from Arlene's book. Monthly as an evening class or a Saturday class in the store or you can participate with the mail order program if you live out of town. $35 includes kit.
Such a nifty idea.

I am currently working on that Christmas project, but I had to set it aside because I don’t know how to follow patterns and reached a frustrated point! I set it aside and started cutting the fabric for Aunt J’s quilt that she bought the fabric for. I am really excited to get started on that. I am also working on a block of the month thing through JoAnn’s (its all available I just need to buy blocks 5-12 and the setting kit…and maybe the backing kit if I don’t find my own backing) that I am trying to hand sew. Add that to this new block of the month kit and I have four project in the works. I don’t think that it what I meant when I said I wasn’t going to stick to my resolution of finishing a project before moving onto the next. I am JUST CUTTING J’s quilt since I started but I can’t sew until the project on the machine is cleared off. I am not changing the tread on the machine =) I also am hand sewing that block of the month and so I can do it when we need to be quiet or I can take it with me…so that doesn’t count really but I do need to make sure I don’t open the next block before I finish the one I am on.

Speaking of that, I realized while working on this first block…I don’t know how to hand sew. I don’t know how to make the stitches even, what the stitch should look like or the basics like how long the stitches should be…I need practice and I wish I could see how someone does it! I am half tempted to just throw it on the machine because I KNOW how to do that but then where would the learning curve be?

I need to clean before sewing today, hopefully I can make some progress on both during naptime! The kichen is getting clean slowly but steadily, R’s room is going to take a little bit but not as bad as it was a week ago, and the living room is good until it comes to my desk and quilting area! Ahh, progress

dishwasher!!

My new dishwasher should be here any day now. It can’t get here soon enough. When we ordered it from Home Depot last Wednesday the kind gentleman said it would be in the store ready for pick up in seven to ten days. Yesterday was day seven. Not that I am counting! I think if I get the call today we might be able to go there tomorrow but most likely it will be Sat or Sunday! I am thrilled.

I know a simple machine like a dishwasher won’t solve all my housecleaning problems (and boy am I frustrated and overwhelmed by the housework that needs to be done and how I can never get ahead) but it definitely is going to take some of the weight off my shoulders and let me focus my energies in other areas. Dishes have been a battle for A and I since we moved in here. The first few months were alright, I was able to stay on top of them and if I wasn’t it only took one day off of work to catch up. Since then I have given up in the kitchen.

I have been trying to hard to keep on top of the messes that “Hurricane R” leaves behind her that I gave up several battles in the house cleaning world. I let the laundry pile up until I have two days off in a row (and by pile up, I mean I wash but don’t fold or put away) I don’t deep clean anything anymore but want to and have the urge to until I see what mess is left in the last room and have to go take care of that before it spreads. I have given up on the kitchen as much as I hate to admit it and I let A and my bedroom get out of hand…just junk that about two hours of hard work it would be SPARKLING with windows washed, curtains cleaned and walls scrubbed but I just don’t put forth the effort anymore. I hate that I let it all go but am overwhelmed by it all!

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on how to re-inspire me, get me back on track and give me my clean house that I was once so proud of!?
The dishwashers a start!

vacation...in the works

Ahh Fall. Actually this time this year it’s not fall-like yet. I am actually enjoying these last lingering warm days of summer, especially since this summer was not that intense and even was chilly some days. I love the lightweight sweater days. I am a sweater kind of gal. I love to wear them with jeans, slacks, skirts and dresses. I like them because I always feel safer and more comfortable in them. I haul a cardigan around with me wherever I go during the warmer months and wear one under my jacket in the cooler months. I love sweaters. I only own about four, so they are well worn, Maybe I need to ask for some for Christmas.

The great part about these warm days is I don’t have cabin fever. I am actually looking forward to those cold days where I don’t want to go outside and run errands, but at the same time I am enjoying running all the errands I can now without worrying about snow, or bundling myself and R up. I have been stocking up on things to do, and as I have mentioned I have lots of quilt projects in mind. Lots to keep me busy and entertained. I am going to take my tip money this week and get some books by my favorite author and put them in my bedroom for those cold days when all I want to do is curl up with a good book under a warm blanket.

I have talked to A and made an update on my resolution to never start a project without finishing what I am working on. I know this is my least favorite part (the sandwich) and I like the quilting part but I get bored with it especially on my small machine with limited space, but we have agreed I could make lots of tops this winter. There is a reason behind that. Let me back up and tell you more to the story.

A few years ago my mom and I went with two of her friends on a Shop-Hop, the 2005 Western Washington Shop Hop to be exact you can get information about it at http://www.westernwashingtonquiltshophop.com/ ). We found a few shops we would visit again and a few that were great for the shop hop but not something we’d drive all that way to gather material from. We had lots of fun memories and lots of time spent telling stories. I was young (this was the summer before I became pregnant with R) and really let my mind wander and enjoy the time away from school, work, and responsibilities. It’s wonderful to get lots in a world of fabric. I still have not finished, nor even started, the blocks from the shop hop…I have been very intimidated by them so far (I have my moms and mine in a box in the laundry room) I plan to start and work on them slowly (this is one of the exceptions to the rule, I will work on blocks individually when I have time and need something to keep my hands busy between projects) and finish them before the next one I move onto.

I was looking online at In The Beginnings Fabrics and did an MSN search for the Shop Hop. This year it’s in late June, the 24th-28th. I wanted to go back and do the hop again with my mom but having R I didn’t think I could for a while. Then I thought about it, the Pacific Northwest Historics is always the 4th of July weekend at Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA (information about this event can be found at http://www.northwesthistorics.com/ ) My family has been involved in these races since the fifth year or so…so a long time. I have missed the past two or three races because I took my vacation in early June to be with my family instead of trying to make it to the races with a baby. I miss them. This year I will go to the shop hop, then rest a few days and go to the races and rest a day or two and come home. A two and a half to three week vacation. I am saving up all my tip money and anything else A may give me after gas and groceries for these events.

That is part of why I am only going to work on the tops of quilts, because I want to save my money for more! Also there is a fabric outlet near Boeing Field/the Museum of Flight in Seattle that has wholesale discontinued fabrics. A whole warehouse of them! I forget what it is called, I want to say Pacific Fabrics but that might be another store I go to often. I was thinking of saving money and buying all my backing fabric for tops that I finish this year that are not recipient specific gifts and finish them next fall and winter, using this fall and winter to explore new patterns and next year to explore new quilting techniques. This plan may fall to pieces when I miss making tops or when I start to build up too many but it’s an idea for now. The backing fabric doesn’t have to match the top…in fact it could match, it could be similar, it could be complementary or it could have nothing to do with the top at all, that’s why it’s on the backside! I think if this pan does work though I might ask A or my parents for a quilting loop to try my hand at hand quilting. I love my machine but it I am working on new techniques next year might as well try something totally new! We will see though!

I can’t wait for my vacation in June, but I need to get to work on some of these projects before I go and get new ideas and new inspiration. I also really need to work on setting aside my cash for this! If nothing else, I deposit a small portion of my paychecks into an account A doesn’t have access to to build up some emergency money…I could use some of that and then rebuilt it up. That’s my money (ok I don’t play that game with him mine vs. yours it’s all ours) and needing fabric, I think that’s an emergency! =)