BOMs Away

This week, for the first time in 5 months, I was able to go fabric shopping.  I had known that I needed some red fabric for one of my BOMs but since I was unable to stand long enough to cut fabric and press the fusible on it, it really had been a  moot point.  But since I have been getting a little stronger (slowly, oh so slowly) I decided it was time to venture out and shop.  I took this picture because those two rows of fabric are all polka dot fabrics and I was very impressed.






Then yesterday I spent some time drawing/copying the applique shapes on my fusible: I did this for three BOM blocks.

And then today I began cutting fabric and applying the fusible.  I’m getting all three blocks ready at the same time so it was a little confusing. I only cut into four fabrics so I still have some more to prepare.  I kind of got waylaid by knitting needles and yarn. 



One fun thing we did last week was to drive our daughter to where she was picking up her very first brand new car. It was 300 miles up and back with sitting time while she went through the car buying process and then we also stopped for a late dinner.  But we had lots of fun and she was very happy.  She even got a nurse specialty car tag.

Health Update:  I saw the oncologist a couple of weeks ago and he is putting me on a relatively new medication that is supposed to help build up my bones while killing cancer cells.  It has to come from a special pharmacy and be approved by the insurance.  It took two weeks of back and forth conversations to get that approval but he finally got it. The medication comes in the mail so we are waiting on that.

Tomorrow I see the orthopedic surgeon with the hope that I will be told that all is well with my hip and clearance to drive.  He never told me not to drive but the home health nurse assured me I wasn’t supposed to.
Then the next day I am seeing the cardiologist who will tell me that the pacemaker is working fine.

All three of these doctors are great but I am ready to not be tied to them quite so much.

I hope everyone had as nice a weekend as we did and that this will be a great week.  Gari

Family, Progress, and Fun

Lookie, lookie, I finally figured out how to get pictures back on my blog.  It seems that Google/Blogger is not playing well with Microsoft Edge which comes with Windows 10 so I had to add Google Chrome so I could access my photos.  

Anyway, this is one picture of part of our family (see list of names and associations on the last post) after we had finished a great breakfast together.  I am the one sitting.  And this was taken prior to my last surgery.

And this is the other part of the family that was here the day before.  I am the head of hair in the lower right corner.  It truly was a fun filled weekend.

Last weekend our oldest son and his wife were here from Atlanta but we didn't take any pictures.  I had finally begun to feel somewhat steady on my new hip so we took off for breakfast at my favorite fast food place, Whataburger, and then to staples to buy a day planner.  I was beginning to loose track of when different people were coming and decided I needed a place to write it all down.  Between all the home health people and four doctors who want to see me I am a very busy lady.

But guess what! Last Wednesday no one was scheduled to come.  Eric and I looked at one another and decided it was time for us to visit Pensacola.  We ate at a favorite place and then went shoe shopping.  And we did very well for ourselves.

Funny, I didn't get a picture of the 3 pair Eric got for himself.  What I did learn is that 3 hours in the car and both of us were stiff in the joints.  I guess we are out of travel condition (and of course we are getting older).

And last but not least, I spent 4 hours in the studio yesterday.

I had already gotten the appliques on the background but hadn't stitched them down. Now this one is complete.  Unfortunately I am 5 months behind on the two BOMs I was working on and hadn't even started on the new one I for sure want to do.  But I did feel productive so I guess I will be in the studio again this weekend.

And when it came time for a rest I could be found on the deck with our wonderful animals.

Have a great weekend everybody, I know I will.  Gari

Stitchin' In The Studio

 

And on the design wall is Block 2 of Fat Cat Pattern's 2015 BOM.  It is a little wrinkled because I was quickly tearing the stabilizer away so I could get it on the wall.

 

 

The close-up shows most of the stitches.  Again mostly I used the button hole stitch and a smaller, similar stitch on the hearts.  And I did try a new stitch on the arm icing but it didn't have a name, at least on my machine.

 

Yesterday I went to buy some fusible from my machine dealer and found that she is no longer carrying it.  She said that this is a new product by Babylock and everyone who uses it likes it.  So I bought 5 rolls because I use a lot and I wanted to start a new project.

 

 

And then I came home and began using it.  So far all I have done is draw on it and cut the pieces out.  I did also pick a couple of the fabrics but that's as far as I got.  I have to keep this a secret as it is a gift but as soon as I get it done and given I will share it.  

This past week saw my new cart come home.  Currently it is residing in the living room as I have not yet moved the furniture around to make room for it in the bedroom.

 

In the meantime I have been bringing some of my quilts out to see them stored on it.  Each night I have been sleeping under one and then putting it on the cart.  Pretty soon I will run out of quilts since I have given more away than I have kept.  But now I can see I need to make more, and more, and more. ;-)

 

 

And here is the crowning day of last week,  a visit from two of our  great grandchildren: Scarlett and Skylar.  They were here on a short visit from North Carolina and now are back home. 

 

Sometimes I am amazed that we have been married for 54 years, have 4 children, all over the age of 46, have 9 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.  All of this coming out of a college romance.

 

As usual I will be linking with Patchwork Times and What a Hoot.  And after I check them out I will be back at work in the studio.  Have a great week.   Gari

Owls and Other Things

Last week I was having a great deal of trouble getting a post done.  However since my design wall hasn't changed I am happy share it now.

It was the week of the owls BOM.  I completed the April owl and this is all I have done so far.  These are on the wall in the order the designer planned.  I still need to put the borders on a couple of the little ones and then plan the sashing but we are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I had a really good time picking the fabrics for this month's owl: the body fabric is really tree tops but it just looks fluffy on him. 

When he was ready to fuse to the background I discovered I couldn't find the background fabric.  So I had to take quite some time out to clean off my cutting table and, lo and behold it was buried deep under several projects. 

And here we finally have our owl, firmly fused to the background fabric.  I think he looks quite different from when he was resting on the wax paper.

Over this weekend I went to a quilt show in Pensacola and attended a workshop put on by my machine dealer.  The speaker was Diane Springer of Quilt in a Cup and since I had bought two of her cups more than 5 years ago, I was interested in seeing her in person and finding out what other items she had created.  Here is a picture of what I will be making for myself soon.  I also bought her book:  I will share a picture of it later this week.  Diane is a unique quilter, and former school art teacher, who sees color and excitement in almost everything.  Can you tell I had a great time?

And here is another reason I had a good time, my new machine.  I have wanted this machine for the last 2 years.  It has been upgraded twice since that time and I felt this was the right time to make the leap.  What you see here is me looking at some of the paperwork and disks that came with the machine.  Boy am I going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow to get this beauty registered and running but doesn't it sound like fun?

And I even have been doing some knitting (dishcloths) and bought yarn for two sweaters.  Of course I can't knit and sew at the same time so sewing and the new machine will be taking most of my time.  And I know everyone feels sorry for me.  ;-)

Have a great week,  Gari

Many Projects/So Little Time

Tomorrow is DH’s 73rd birthday.  Sometimes it is hard to believe that we have been together as long as we have and it is only by looking back at all we have done and been through that we can see the very large number of years we have both lived through and been together.






My big project this week, however, has been this quilt which is DH’s birthday gift.   And I can’t say that all has gone well. 












   
    The first problem was that I couldn’t figure out how to draw the layout I wanted in EQ.  I want to use two or maybe three different sashing sizes and EQ didn’t seem to allow for that.  So I decided to revert to graph paper, which I used to do all the time, and really enjoyed working that way again.  BUT, after I was cutting my pieces to match my drawing I realized that I added a row to my center panel which isn’t in my real plan.  So back to the drawing board I am going to figure out how to make all my pieces fit.






    These are my 9 pieces before I started cutting to size.  They are embroideries from Artistic Thread Works and I am thrilled with how they came out.  Now I just need to figure out how to make them fit. 













Ever since I started knitting again, July 2013, I have found it the most relaxing way to avoid doing either what I should be doing (housework) or am frustrated doing (quilting).  However lately I have grown tired of just knitting socks and am still afraid of starting a sweater so I took up knitting dishcloths.  This is the second one I have done and I really like them: they are soft and easy to work with.  And they have kept my hands busy. 



   
   

   



    And last, but certainly not least, one of my mug rugs has found it’s new home.  This is my DIL(youngest son) with her birthday gift.  She tells me this is how she looks before she has had her morning coffee and that my son is “very afraid” of that look.  The funny thing is that my son does not drink coffee (can’t believe he is my son) but has always gotten up in the morning and made coffee for his wife.  I guess I taught him well: happy wife, happy life. 



   

Our oldest son and his wife will be here tonight so there will be no sewing until possibly Sunday afternoon.  Guess DH will be getting quilt pieces for his birthday tomorrow. 

BOMs & Mug Rugs

So here is the beginning of the last of the BOMs for this year (I hope).  This one, like one other I am doing, has more than one block for the month.  These two blocks are “block 1” and are 18 x 24” each.  Since this is an all applique quilt I am going to try to use only scraps or fat quarters except for the backgrounds.  That fabric is white on white with snowflakes, perfect for hats, scarfs, and mittens, don’t you think?  I hope to get them appliqued this week but since this is the first “block” I may let them sit for a while.












I did get the last two letters of the Alphabet BOM’s second block (s) attached to the background fabric and then began working on the patchwork parts.














This is the patchwork the will be going with the letter “C”.  Doesn’t it look great?  And it is except that I didn’t read the instruction to size down the HSTs and thus it is 8” rather than 6 1/2”.  I have already cut the pieces for a new square and this one will become a mug rug.  Meanwhile, I just must learn to read ALL of the instructions.






That said, I have cut the fabric for the D’s patchwork.  And it is all waiting at the sewing machine for me to return.  And you better believe that I will read and reread the directions before I sew it all together. 








On Friday I put 4 mug rugs on the frame but I haven’t gotten back in there to begin the quilting.  I hope to have them done this week, also.  Wish me luck,  Gari

Mid-Week Accomplishments

It has been a great week around here so far.   
I finished DH’s new hat just in time for the temps to rise to the lower 70s. 















However it will be going down to below freezing by the end of the week so this hat will be put to good use. 













And I got a little further along with the new BOM, From Heat to Toe.  These are all six of the hats that go on the first two blocks.  Now I really do need to figure out the background fabric.

On Friday I am going to the first of four “Spring” quilt shows.  I look forward to the inspiration I know I will find there.  And I will have a reason to look for fabric from the vendors.  The really cool thing is that one of my favorite fabric stores is on the way home from the show so I am sure to come home prepared to get these blocks done.

And in between all of this creativity we were able to sneak in a lunch with our daughter.  With three of our four children living in other states, we are so lucky to have her close by.

I won a giveaway from Stephanie of Loft Creations and the box arrived yesterday.  I am still checking it all out and will report on it Sunday night.  Isn’t it exciting to win “stuff” from a great designer?

Gari

Almost No Sewing

I/we were on the road a lot last week.  I spent a lot of Monday with the dishwasher repair men (no it is not working) and Tuesday was away looking for matching vinyl to repair the new furniture (see Sherlock’s story below).  I can’t seem to remember what all kept me from the studio Wed – Fri except that I have spent a great deal of time at the sink.  I had forgotten how much I don’t like washing dishes and have completely forgotten the “dish washing rules” my mother pounded into my head.  Saturday DH and I went looking for a footstool that would allow our doxies to get up and down from the couch without taking that great giant leap (bad for doxie backs).  We spent all day and decided on this one: 
DH found it but we thought it was a little expensive until we trekked through many other stores and saw lots of stools and all for more money.  So, back to Hobby Lobby and home she came.  Doesn’t se fit in with our eclectic quilts motif?





Sunday afternoon I finally got into the studio and started on this, my last BOM for the year.  It is from Denise who seems to have high expectations for us. 










This is the layout for this block.  Please note that it takes 6 sheets of paper.  That’s because it is an 18” block!  Not only that but she expects us to make two of them by March 15th.  The making is not the hard part, it is the drawing, choosing all those different fabrics, and figuring out the best background fabric for the whole quilt.  Of course I could have done some of that before she released Block(s) 1 on Saturday but I didn’t.





So this is how far I got.  Doesn’t look like much, does it?  Well, it isn’t but mostly that is because I didn’t read the directions and only drew and cut fusible for one of the two blocks.  So today I get to do it all over again.  The good part is that I made a mistake and didn’t realize that one of the hats is reversed so when I do the second set of hats I can do two reversed ones and all will be right.  Then it is on to the fabric hunt.






While we were in Pensacola we did our usual stop at the book store where they had 2014 calendars for $3.  We found this one that was perfect for Sherlock.  He has eaten into clothes, both old and new, two quilts and a throw, and the new furniture that we had not had for even 24 hours.  He now is not left out with the other dogs when we go away, even to the studio, but must be crated.  I have never crated a dog but this has become a necessity.  And it is hard for us because he is a very loving dog.






However, he does not really like being left in the cage and has been able to push the door open to escape.  So DH put a cement block against the door and look what happened.  We now have Sherlock/Rudolph the Red Nosed Doxie.  Needless to say we will be putting something with a smoother surface against the door next time. 





It appears that our winter weather has finally returned to normal and we may even be seeing the beginnings of spring.  This is our front yard with leafless trees and the sun just beginning to make it’s way in.  This week I need to cut back the gardenia bush that was hit hard by the ice but I think is still living.  This will be the second time Winter has tried to kill that bush but it will live to bloom another day.

We have family in NH and MD that are still getting snow but everywhere else things appear to be improving.  I hope that winter is beginning to break where you are living and that you have a great week.  Gari 

BOMs Caught Up

The last time I reported on teapot stitching I was in the middle of stitching this one.  And I am now calling this teapot the Wow Teapot because of all the curves.  I did complain to Rhonda but she just laughed at me.








Then I stitched my Asian Teapot.  Look how much easier this one is.












Easy














Not so easy














And the last one I got done was my Orange teapot.  And with that I am caught up, at least for 3 days.
















DH will be home for the next 4 days but I am hoping that I will be able to spend some time quilting on the HQ as well as starting a new, to me, BOM (really every two weeks).  And I am anxiously waiting to see the two new BOMs Esther Aliu is planning on releasing soon.  Well, no wonder I have not been able to start a new piecing quilt, I am working full-time on BOMs.






But it has not been all work around here.  This was the puppies and me this afternoon.  I was having lunch on the deck while the puppies were “resting.”  I love our deck: it is such a peaceful place to spend time.













Of course we have one more restful spot in our yard and we are already enjoying it.  Here is DH demonstrating our technique.  There are no pictures of me in there: swimsuit pictures of me are NOT allowed.