Change is Good (?)

Saturday and Sunday I spent a little time in the studio.


Saturday I finished my block 4 of the Carol Doak Mystery BOM.  If I say I am really excited about how these fabrics are looking with  these blocks, will it sound like boasting?  I think this is going to be a really classy quilt.  However, Carol is one month ahead of herself (this is September’s block) so I may have to find something else to work on next month. 




I have also started work on one of my Christmas quilts.  What you can see here is the center with three rows sewn together.  I would have gotten them done but DH came in and invited me out to dinner so there goes my sewing time for today.  However, an invitation to the Mellow Mushroom is not to be turned down!  Tomorrow I hope to finish the rows and put a red stop border on before turning to other projects.






And I have to add a picture of my new iPhone cover.  I found this in Books-a-Million this week and was so excited I didn’t even get upset when the clerk and customer ahead of me talked for 10 minutes.  What you can’t see is that this is 3-D.  Isn’t this just me?









Now, to the change………

This has been a very busy and eventful week.  I did get some sewing done on Monday but Tuesday, Wednesday,  Thursday and Friday were all devoted to Weight Watchers.  And all through the week I began to feel tired and wiped out.  I do have a heart condition, rapid heart beat, and it got triggered Tuesday and I couldn’t get it under control until late Wednesday with some slight flair-ups on Thursday and Friday.  And I found that during this time my ability to deal with job or home irritations was limited.   So as of Friday I am no longer working for Weight Watchers. 

I can’t tell you how sad I am about this change but I also know that this is really the best thing for me.  I am a retired person but have been working for WW, more and more, for the past 3 years, and really need to get back to a more peaceful way of life.  And both my puppies and the studio are very glad that I will be home more. 
So today part of my time will be spent working on setting up a new, not too busy, daily schedule: wish me luck.

Chic-Chick

These chickens have come home to roost.  These are the first six blocks of the Funky Chicken BOM from fatcatpatterns.com.  I only have two more to make and I will be all caught up.  And I cannot tell you how much fun I have been having picking the fabrics for all the pieces.  I am hoping to be able to start some of the stitching this afternoon but first I will need to decide on thread and what stitch I will be using. 




And this is what is on my main wall.  Actually, these are two sets of Christmas swap blocks that I need to get made up (2009 & 2011).  I did have some heart stopping time when I went to get both sets and could only find one.  It took me a couple of days to spot the second set.  And then, when I found it (set on the left), I found that I had already made a second set of blocks to go with them.   




I have 13 of these as well as the sashing, already cut (light fabric) and borders (darker fabric).  Looks like this one is going to be pretty easy.



Now all I have to do is figure out how I am going to make the blocks on the right become a quilt. 

One thing that has been keeping me out of the studio is that I have been working on EQ7 lessons.  I joined an online group that is working on the lessons that are found in the program.  I have to complete 2 lessons a week and post a picture of whatever was covered.  So far I have been able to do everything and am even a coupe weeks ahead.  It really is fun to be able to make that program work.  There are still several more lessons to work on so I have a lot more to learn.


I have even less time for sewing now-a-days as I , once again, have agreed to lead a new Weight Watcher’s meeting.  The really good thing about this meeting is that it is only 5 minuets from my house so I will be able to run right back to my sewing machine. 

But before I get back to my sewing, I'm going to spend a little time with Judy at Patchwork Times.  I know she will welcome you, too. 

I Love Winter Cold

Well, as everyone who knows me knows, that’s a lie.  However this morning, while taking the dogs out, it was 24F with no wind, the sun was shining low in the Eastern sky, and it was beautiful.  Everything had the frost twinkle on it and it looked like the landscape had been sprinkled with diamonds.  Of course I didn’t have my camera with me and with two dachshunds on leads, I didn’t have any hands for a camera anyway.

 

 

As beautiful as the outside was, I was really ready to come in when the dogs were.  And this is what I was ready for: hot oatmeal, a banana, and hot coffee (a 4 point breakfast for WW’s).  Now I am ready for whatever the day brings.

 

 

 

 

And I am happy to share where I am in the Color Pallet Challenge.  This little quilt is a fused “art” piece.  It is 8 1/2 x 11”.  I only have it fused in place and hope to begin some form of quilting this week.  I used my Go to cut the shapes and played with the design last weekend.  One lesson I learned, from Laura while watching a segment of Sewing with Nancy, was that I need to fuse take the paper off of the fused fabric prior to cutting the shapes.  It is not always easy to get the paper off of small shapes and the whole piece of paper is usable  whereas the smaller pieces just get thrown away. 

One other rambling thought.  I am Facebook friends with a 20 year old  who has a 3 year old child.  Almost every day she writes that she “has” to go to work and how much she hates having to leave her child or how much she hates her job.  I want, so much, to tell her that she doesn’t “have” to go to work.  She can stay home.  Of course she will have no money for the house she wants, for her son’s clothes, food, or the fun she wants to have.  And I want to tell her that there are lots of people who really want work and would be happy to take her place at her work. 

I thought of all of this yesterday as I was leaving at 7 am to begin my once a week 13 hour day traveling and leading WW meetings.  My first thought was that I would much rather be in the studio (I am retired, you know).  Then I remembered my Facebook friend and realized how lucky I am that I can share my success with others, that I have the health that allows me to hit the road and travel around, and that I then can come back home to be greeted by a loving husband and some really great puppies.  I do thank my God that I am so blessed.

Movement

This looks a lot like my last Design Wall post (2 weeks ago) but there has been progress.  The top two rows are all sewn (done after this picture was taken).  The rest is sewn into two piece blocks, ready to be completed.  I think this is going to make a really neat comfort quilt.

 

 

I got a little bit done on my Hearts Desire block.  These are the flowers for the block and some of the stems and leaves.  I still have several more leaves to make and a lot more other stuff.  And then I have to do the whole thing three more times.  I am really challenged by this quilt and have decided to slow down and only work on it a little at a time and spend more of my limited quilting time on other projects.

This past week I experienced the “end of an era.”  I did my last Weight Watcher meeting in Port St. Joe, FL.  I have been traveling there once a week for a year (365 miles round trip) and have loved it but finally both WW and I decided it was time for a change.  For the past 10 weeks I have been training the new leader and Thursday I left all the paperwork and products with her so now that wonderful group is her own. 

To celebrate the change on my way home I got something to eat and had my dinner at the beach.  I have been able to go to the beach every week for the past year: I will miss it.

 

And when I got home, this was what was waiting for me.  DH had gotten me flowers, the new cookies we like and a note that made me feel ever so good.

 

But I am  not done with Weight Watchers.  Tuesday I started leading two groups (9 am and 12 pm) and another on Saturday morning.  It is a brand new center so the groups are small ( 1 & 2 people) but we hope that they will increase with time.  It is exciting and I am only driving a little over 100 miles each day.  And I drive by two quilt shops and my sewing machine dealer.  Now how’s that for a great way to work?

 

And now for another  gratuitous cat picture.  I heard this funny noise and turn around to see this.  The container is where we keep the cat food.   Someone, it was me, left the top open.  There she was, tottering on a large plastic bowl, attempting to get into the container.  However, almost immediately after this picture was taken, down everything went.  What a mess.  But Ms. Murphy helped by trying to eat as much as she could before I could get it all up.  Wasn’t that nice of her?

Mid Week

Well, here I am, finally getting back to at least twice a week posting.  You can blame Esther Aliu for this.  She has started a WIP Wednesday on her blog.  So I decided that if I want to be a part of things I need to get back to Wednesday blogging.

I have been somewhat busy.  I got a backing sewn for my JR quilt and got it all on the frame yesterday.

That's as far as I got but Friday I will decide on the thread and pattern and maybe even start the quilting.  It should go fast and then it can travel with us next weekend.

I also finally cut the white squares to fit in with the 16 patch leftovers for a comfort quilt.  I have the top two rows sewn, not together, and plan to finish the rest this weekend.  Right now it is only 36x48 so it will need a couple of borders before I can call it finished.

And I did something that is unusual for me.  I cooked.  This is not my creative bent but my DIL posted what she was making for dinner and it sounded good to me.  I changed it a little to fit my Weight Watcher’s points (and what I had on hand) and look how my Ange’s Oven Fried Chicken turned out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t that beautiful?  I must say that those chicken breasts were huge so we split one, and look how I packaged the other:

I wanted to remember where I got the recipe when I find it again in the freezer.  

Today was my last day to lead one of my WW meetings and I am feeling a little down.  I hate closing a meeting when there are still some people who want to continue but we just don’t have enough to keep going.  I also feel I am loosing friends who are helping me as much as I am helping them.  But they have the tools and a list of other, further away, meetings where they can continue so we are all moving on.

Call Me Crazy

Tomorrow I start a new venture. I am already leading a really great Weight Watcher’s group on Friday afternoons. And tomorrow I will drive 120+ miles to start leading a new group and then drive another 40+ miles to take over an ongoing group. And when that one is done I will, I hope, go to the beach for a breather before heading home. Please now look at my profile which clearly says I love being retired. Even my mother thinks I am crazy, and has said so. However, I am looking forward to meeting new people and helping them work toward their goals.

Now, this is going to cut into my sewing time and that is the part I am not so happy about. I

am going to have to be much more organized. To that end I worked this week on this

This is going to be a baby comfort quilt. An abuse home has requested baby quilts from our guild and I was recently given a lot of this bear fabric. I am, again, doing a Disappearing 9 Patch, my go to pattern.







The blocks finish at 16” so I may only have to make two more and then border it with a 5” border or maybe a 2” inner border and a 3” outer border.

I also got some work done on my Christmas projects and even got part of it done. And, since it’s still September I am impressed at how far ahead of the gift game I am. Let’s see if I can keep it up.

The first thing I have to do is thank Mary at http://blog.maryquilts.com/. Mary told me how she quilts Baptist Fans, freehand. I have to say it took me quite awhile to understand what she was telling me but on Monday I had a “light bulb” moment.

And so I began to quilt.

I did mark each row in 2” increments, just to help keep me on track.

And I quilted some more.

Do you see a problem there? See the wiggle in my fan? It shows up at the same place on every row and I have decided it is a scar on the rail somewhere. I will be calling HQ next week to see what can be done.

However I kept quilting and finally got it done on Tuesday.

Wednesday found me gearing up to begin a new Weight Watcher’s meeting. I had agreed to one and while I was stocking for that group I was asked if I would take on a second group. So home I came with lots of literature, paperwork and WW products. I start the first group tomorrow: it is 30 miles from home. The second group will be starting next Thursday: it is 75 miles away. I am wondering if I have cracked up. But I did tell DH that I will have to give up doing any housework in order to have time for my WW classes/paperwork and sewing/quilting time.

Anyway, this morning I sewed the binding on D9P#6 and he is finished.

And see how good he looks relaxing on the hammock.

Have a great weekend!

New Venture

Before I tell about that, I will say that this week has been busy. Monday, we already know, I made the Halloween mini quilt and then I worked on a couple of BOMs (nothing completed).

Tuesday I rearranged the cutting/pressing room in the studio so I can sit in my recliner and either see the TV or DH when he visits. This, of course, required me to clean off the pressing table and a cedar chest that is located there as well as the hide-a-bed so it was an adventure as well as work. Then I traveled 70 miles with DH and while he was teaching his class I took my sewing machine in for some repair. Of course, on the way home, we stopped to eat and found a wonderful steak house way out in the middle of nowhere.

This morning I continued work on BOMs as well as doing some appliqué using an older machine. Now that was interesting as it has been a while since I used the knee lift. That really takes some eye, hand, knee and foot coordination. Then, this afternoon, I showered and dressed nicely to begin a new venture. I am now a Weight Watcher leader. And I am really excited. I went to meet my new group, a WW at work meeting with a room full of teachers. The district manager met me there and led the meeting while I took down the weights and smiled. However, next week the meeting will be all mine. I haven’t worked for the last three years so even a couple of hours a week seems daunting right now. However, I feel that I have something to contribute and I have always loved helping others achieve their potential so I am really excited.

Hungry/Habit

I don’t know how many of you have seen the Weight Watcher’s TV adds featuring “Hungry” but I get a kick out each and every one of them. So when they had Hungry for sale at my meeting, I had to have one (three). Although I don’t experience hunger very often, I find that Lifetime/Maintenance sets me up for falling back into old habits so I have renamed my Hungrys “Habit.” And where, do you ask, do my Habits live? Well, one is on the refrigerator, of course. But I also put one in the car.

He is there to remind me not to just swing through the drive through and mindlessly order junk food. He is also a reminder that I can eat anywhere, I just have to make good choices: I like that.

The third one resides in the quilting room in the studio.

Because I keep a refrigerator and microwave in there, he is there to remind me that I have quality snacks available for break times and don’t need to “graze” in the kitchen, especially to sooth my nerves when the quilting doesn’t go exactly right. He is also on the machine where I can see him and smile.

And now I need to get out of this chair, take a shower and get back to that quilt on the machine. I am so very close to being done…yea!!!!!

Besides, Habit is waiting.