Happy New Year!

I hope all my friends will have a wonderful 2010! I am glad 2009 is over and have great hopes for the coming year.

We just had a scientifical experiment....we made King Crab legs for dinner tonight...talk about ritzy! We are going to have white chicken chili tomorrow...not the black eyed peas as in tradition but close enough.

We have several movies to watch tonight and I am planning to finish binding my tree skirt. Didn't make it on time for this year but I am ready for next!

Happy Holidays!

I hope all my friends had a lovely Christmas and that 2010 is the best year ever. 2009 has been interesting, frustrating and rewarding in strange ways...I am grateful that I remained employed and that my family is healthy and relatively happy.

Santa's work

I am going to start making some personalized pillow cases for the daughters of a woman I work with. THEN I need to finish my Tree Skirt for the new baby Christmas Tree! I will post pictures later.

Holidayish...

Well...we picked up a new table top Christmas Tree yesterday. I wanted to downsize and found someone that would use my old (25 years) 7 foot tree...so we have a new little one. I like it. Katherine and I put it up this morning. Now if we can just keep Evil Puss from eating the feathers we have adorning the little tree. We also have two peacocks. I will take a picture when the decorating is done. I have to start wrapping presents. Get those out of the way.

I hope everyone is happy and healthy! Take care!

Christmas Log Cabin finished!

Oh darn, it looks crooked but that is just my poor camera work. It is very happy looking in person. Made from Crimson and Clover (Jo Morton / Andover) and an EQ6 block pattern. It will be the offering for our December Heritage Club. I am so glad to be done....and even early!

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and is well on the way to being ready for the rest of the Holiday Season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all my friends are having a great time with their friends and families! We are headed to my sister's house and I am bringing "that corn thing". My yearly foray into cooking. Good thing we are hardy people, no one has died yet. Phew!

I am working on the December quilt for our Heritage Club. We are having such a great time doing our own thing that we don't even miss Jo Morton's Club. I think Club Nine is out now but we won't be doing that until next year and then we will just fit it in as time allows. Jo really did us a favor when she got behind in her club offerings. Our show is in January and I will post the site so you can see our stuff. I am proud of what we are doing.

Katie laid out my Night at the Opera quilt for me last night so my next big one is one step closer to being done. That is going to be one gorgeous quilt!

Candy Day!

Stephanie, Joann and I made candy today....it is our yearly thing. Joann makes Caramels and Cherry Mash bars. Stephanie made tons of stuff and coated pretzels is one of her standards. My Mom made fudge and Nut Goodie Bars. I made Peanut Brittle and English Almond Toffee. We all had a great time but it gets harder to do this every year. It is worth it...good times with great friends.

Adventures in Sewing...

I just got back from Quilt Camp....my friend Lois
set up her family room for sewing and she entertained me and my featherweight. It was lots of fun, as usual. Lois sewed circles around me, as usual....she is so prepared for sewing days like this. I need to take a lesson from her. We also experimented with Inklingo and I failed badly...but will try using Inklingo on my next project that requires a large quantity of half square triangles. I want to be able to make them accurately without having to trim a bunch.














Of course, Lois had an assistant...hmmmm...
This may be why she got so much done. Look at that young man iron. He is a whiz at the sewing machine as well. Gavin was very busy helping Grandma. He also found time to make a rocket ship for himself. What a cute guy he is!


Next quilt camp is in April....and I can't wait! Let's see...what did I accomplish? I finished the stars for my Vienna Nights quilt and made a practice block for the log cabin quilt we are going to use in December's Heritage Club. I worked too!

Not so chatty lately!

I have been busy...but that is not a good excuse I guess. Let's see, what has been going on? I am getting close to finishing that quilt with the blue, brown and red stars. That is going to be gorgeous!

I have also done something I am so excited about! I ordered a desk to be hand made for me. It is wonderful. The man who is making the desk is a real craftsman. He uses all old wood working techniques, no nails, fits the pieces together with dovetail joints. The desk is going to be made out of butternut and will replace a big, dark, heavy roll top desk I have in the living room now. I want to have a smaller, lighter piece there. I feel I will make use of it rather than use it to hide junk.

One more thing to tell. I am making great progress on my applique quilt. The pattern is from one of the Dear Jane members and the little blocks are fun to make. My quilt will be made of red, green, yellow and just a hint of cheddar. I am excited to see this quilt progress!

I hope all my friends have a great weekend!

Oh so busy!

I haven't posted all month. I can't believe how busy we all are! We seem to be running all the time and not getting anything done.

This weekend I am going to finish the flying geese I need for the Ohio Star blocks that will go into my next large quilt. I am very excited for October to get here. I am on Kari's list for quilting two large wall hangings. I need to have these bound, labeled and ready for the Heritage Club show in January. It will be wonderful!

I hope all my friends have a great weekend!

Dear Jane Weekend

We have our Dear Jane exhibit in full swing at Four Seasons Quilts. I forgot my camera today but will go back tomorrow and take pictures. I cannot believe how beautiful those quilts are...every one of them. We have 11 of the 14 Neutral Jane Challenge quilts hung on the wall. Each one of them different but all made of the same blocks. That blows my little mind!

Today I am finishing up the quilt for this month's Heritage Club. It is made from a Dear Jane block, with Brenda's permission (of course!), and it is extraordinarily cute!

I hope all my friends are finding time to do something fun this weekend!

Yea for the weekend!

Grocery shopping is done already...Katie is such a great help with that stuff. We tried something new and wonderful. We stopped at Papa Murphy's for the d'lite pizza and came away with something delightful but not "light"...for breakfast we had the cinnamon thingie that they sell. Oh my! Twas good!

This weekend I am finishing up my Neutral Jane so I can turn it in to the shop...we hang our show on Friday and will have our open house on Saturday. I am excited! Our first Dear Jane show! There WILL be pictures!

Major Accomplishment!

OK...so the asbestos chimney liner is out and properly disposed of...the new furnace and air conditioner are in and saving me money (97.5% Efficient Furnace/ 18 SEAR AC vs 60% and 6 SEAR)...the holes in the walls (caused by the removal of the chimney liner) are repaired AND the painting is done. My gosh it has been a hectic and messy month and a half. Phew!

Busy weekend...we will be organizing and trying to get this mess under control.

Wish me luck.

I hope my friends have a great weekend!

Just another manic weekend...

Oh wait...it is supposed to be a Manic Monday. Phooey. Oh well, I will get a head start on it. Katie and I are working on her new school bag. This will be her last year at MCAD so we are going to pull out all the stops and make her a stand-out school bag. We are using the Laurel Burch mermaid as the front...it will be huge and will have special pockets...and she is going to embellish it with Swarovski crystals....I will post pictures when we get it finished.

I am navigating on two hours sleep. Jr. is soooo frightened of thunderstorms that we had a quivering, panting puppy all night long. I feel bad for him and hope we get over this before I die from lack of sleep. Lucky for him, he is a cute boy.

Sigh....Piece and Quiet....

and lemon cake. Yummy! Ms. Katie is in danger of missing out on the treat. Snerk, snerk!

I am going to applique today and to work on hand sewing a binding...and then I am going to prepare for the Heritage Club on Thursday. I have some research to do.

I am excited for Monday. I am having lunch with my former boss, Deb. She is going to meet me at Campiellos for lunch and I am bringing Joann, who also used to work for Deb. It is always good to catch up with what she is doing...she is a very interesting person and I enjoy her company.

Unfortunately, that is the highlight of the week...sigh...until Heritage Club on Thursday, at least.

Finally Friday...

I am going to finish my block of the week (Heart and Hand) and post the last two weeks. Boy was this a busy week or what? My living room has been repainted, Katie's room has been repainted except for the closet with the hole in it...I picked up my new car last night...Jeanne and Connie will be relieved to know it is a SEDAN...no more horrible incidents in Shipshe...at least none that we can blame on the car...PHEW!

JoAnn's shop has her One Stop Shop Hop starting tomorrow...you should check out her website. http://www.fourseasonsquiltsmn.com/Special_events.php. I think it is a hilarious idea and I hope she does VERY well!

Two birthdays coming up this month...Jeanne and JoAnn....what fun is that?

One more very exciting thing! Katie and I had our first two sales in our ETSY shop. We are pumped and I am hoping that eventually I will see the floor of my sewing room....

Parties!!!

Holy Moley do I have a busy weekend...it is tough being a social butterfly, let me tell you. My friend Carey is having a 3 kid birthday party today. I am heading out to Farmington once I get my behinder off this chair and into the shower. Then, my sister-in-law has a big birthday celebration tonight...and tomorrow is Girlfriend Day at the shop. JoAnn and I are attending the class. We are making Christmas Stockings. I am so excited!

I have fallen behind in my applique. I am going to have to get myself in gear so I don't miss the BOW deadline Sunday.

I hope all my friends are doing well!

Busy weekend!

Yesterday, my friend Hester and I went to St. Cloud to spend some time with our friend Lois. We sewed and talked and ate and had a good time. Hester is visiting from California and didn't have any projects with her...so, good kid that I am, I volunteered several of my own! Hester finished hand sewing the binding to my Vienna Nights quilt and unsewed the wavy borders from my Holiday Inn quilt.

I love you Hester! What an unpleasant task...and she offered to do them both. I am a lucky kid to have friends like Hester and Lois.

I will post pictures of Vienna Nights when I have the label put on and the cat fur taken off.

Today is busy with a work related emergency. No rest for the wicked...

Oh yeah...Katie and I are cleaning out the sewing room...and we have stuff for sale on ETSY... http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6799827

And, finally, here is a picture of the Challenge quilt with borders attached. Isn't it pretty? I am going to take it to my Dear Jane guild meeting tomorrow night and give it to Kari for quilting. Our show is in September!

DJ Challenge Quilt

I cannot believe how beautiful all the challenge quilts are. I can't wait for our show in September. Here is the center of my quilt. I have to get my camera out and have Katie take a picture with the borders on.

We had a great time at the retreat. Eight people finished the centers of their challenge quilts. Check my webshots to see them all. The pictures are in the Dear Jane Retreat 2009 album.
http://community.webshots.com/scripts/misc.fcgi?action=invitePickup&uri=album/288514140ojpKqq

RETREAT!

I am here in St. Joseph with a dozen of my friends working on Dear Jane swap quilts. We have taken over the lower floor of a dormitory in St. Benedicts College and we are making a mess! JoAnn and I went to breakfast at Kay's this morning and were fighting over a cinnamon roll...then I got my own so we were too busy to fight anymore.

I am going to lay out my version of the challenge quilt this morning...I will post a picture or two later.

Happy weekend!

Dear Jane Quilt Camp

OMG! Fun is being had here in St. Joseph....I am not making much progress but I am having a great time with my friends. More later...

Drudgery...sigh...

I am wasting time, putting off cutting fabric for the Hawaiian Pineapple quilt I am making for a class sample. I don't feel like cutting fabric. I would rather be working on applique. Sigh....

OK, I have wasted enough time. I need to pack for my Dear Jane quilt camp. I am leaving on Thursday morning and need to be ready to go! I am going to work on my neutral Dear Jane, my class sample and will be taking some applique with me for fun.

I also want to get back to my Women of the Bible quilt. I have the new patterns and want to see what I can make out of them all together.

To work!

Aaaah....

Well...we have a mess but we also have a cool house. This new A/C is cooling off corners that didn't ever get cooled off before. Our furnace was 59 years old and the A/C was at least 35. That is LOOONG past the average life of either. I am very fortunate to have put off replacing them both for this long.

We also have new holes in the walls. Our chimney liner was well and truly fixed to stay in place forever...being as it was asbestos, I wanted it OUT! So, it is out...and I have to have walls fixed. I am looking for estimates on repairing walls and then will have 3 rooms painted to finish (I hope) this chapter in my life.

One good thing, Katie gets to decorate her room...we will get rid of the Pepto Bismol pink walls and make it more presentable. I am so glad she is back with us! That little darling finished putting my exercise bike together...Thanks Katie!

So, the rest of the weekend is pulling the house back into partial order (I don't want to get carried away) and some hand applique. I have a friend that turned 50 last week so I have to go visit her before she gets so old she forgets who I am. I AM older than she is but she picks on me so much for being old that I have to get my licks in where I can.

I found a fun give-away on my friend Jeanne's blog...I thought I would pass it along so I can enter the contest as well. Check out http://www.quiltqua.com/ for the details! They are giving away a fat quarter set of Frosted Memories fabric...NICE!

Happy Weekend all!

New stuff...

I am pouring over 5 estimates for replacing my furnace and air conditioner. Not so much fun...and LOTS of money. Good thing I have been saving for this for 5 years and more. Man that is expensive but we will be so much more efficient...from 60% efficiency to 97% and nearly the same for the air conditioner. Sigh...I wish it was over already.

The block exchange with my Dear Jane group was wonderful. I have an idea for my blocks that I don't think anyone else will come up with...and my quilt will be quite large (lap robe size) when I am done. I like that idea!

My niece Katie is moving back home. I will be very happy to see her back here. I am sure that Evil Puss will also be happy to have his person back. We need some perking up here.

Have a fun weekend!

Summer is here!

It is supposed to get up to 80 today so I turned the airconditioning on...I cannot take the heat! I am planning to clean a bit and sew a lot. I hope that works out.

We have a block swap in our Dear Jane group on Monday. We are swapping neutral 6 inch Dear Jane blocks. There are 16 swappers. We will have a showing of our Dear Jane quilts in September at the shop. I need to finish binding the Round Robin one and hope to get the Neutral one finished before the show. Good thing we have a four day retreat in August!

I hope all my friends are doing well. My back is still pretty good but I am having trouble sleeping due to pain. I am currently in Physical Therapy and have hopes that I will get past this pain stuff. I am exercising a bit more and need to increase that...I am stuck on my weight loss but I am being a bit lax about the sweets...I am a chocolate hound and just can't resist. I have to get that resolve back and stop with the goodies!

Rainy Saturday

It is about time...we desperately needed some rain. It was a good opportunity to stay in and get some work done. I made a new applique block for my patriotic strippy and will get started on next week's challenge block.

This was a big, fun week for me. I met with Deb, my former boss from Kroll, at lunch on Weds. I enjoyed catching up with her. She likes her new job and seems to be happy. Good deal!

I met with another former boss, Joe, on Thursday. It is always good to catch up with him. He is a busy guy with lots going on at work and at home. I feel bad for him today, he is having guests at his home for his middle child's graduation from high school...and was planning to have these guests outside in his back yard. I hope it all worked out. He knows how to have a good time so I am sure he was prepared with a Plan B.

Let's see...what else....Katie is here washing windows. She needed money to cover a class (belly dancing) and wanted me to help her out...so, she gets to help me out! What lucky kids we both are.

My back is recovering very nicely. This myofacial release work the PT is doing really seems to be helping. The many times I have been to PT before just worked on the area that hurt...and my problems always came back. This time I have a plan...I want to walk out of there with an exercise routine that works for me and that I will do. I also want to have all those issues addressed so I don't have to keep going back. Wish me luck!

OK...enough for today, I want to get back to quilting! Check out my Webshots for pictures of what I have been working on....

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/misc.fcgi?action=invitePickup&uri=album/288514140ojpKqq

Back sliding...

Oh dear...the scale didn't say nice things to me today...I was a little too free and easy with the carbs this week and it caught up with me. Back to the more strict diet and hopefully I will be facing down that plateau spot by next Saturday.

I am off to the quilt shop today to spend time with my Dear Jane buddies. I want to finish the swap blocks for next month. We are swapping neutral DJ blocks in a 6 inch finished size and I can't wait to see the outcome of that swap. I am toying with the idea of throwing in one bright color just to make a point...maybe lime green cornerstones or something.

Long Weekend...YIPPEE!

I love holidays....one more day at home to quilt. This is going to be a nice quiet weekend, I hope!

My friend Susan contacted me today...she is recovering from her hip replacement surgery and will be released this weekend so she can go home and get some good rest. I am so happy that she is doing well. I hope she has lots of time to work on the Heart and Hand applique blocks that we are both doing.

I am going to be taking my car to the body shop next week so I will have a rental...I can't wait to see what I get to drive for the next two weeks. I am sure it will be little and stinky. Why are rental cars always stinky? Oh well, I am sure you will hear about it. I hope the body work I have to have done will be it for this car...I turn it in for a new one in November.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Woo Hoo!

I am feeling good today! Lost 3 pounds over the last week...that makes for 16 since I started working on it in earnest about the end of February. Good progress!

I am going to sew today. I need to finish my block of the week for Heart and Hand and then finish the swap blocks for my Dear Jane group. They aren't due until June but I want to get on to other things and these are in the way.

I hope all my friends are doing well. Susan has surgery coming up next Wednesday, I am praying for your successful outcome and swift recovery.

My house smells like lilacs. The very best part of spring....lilacs. Happy Saturday!

Feeling better...

I had the second spinal epidural today. This was a totally different experience. I went to a different doctor, not related to the Sister Kenny Institute, and he was infinitely more professional. This shot caused both of my legs to go numb, which should happen, and I am feeling much better already. He was able to get the steroid in the right place and they had me lay on my back for 30 minutes after the shot so the stuff stayed where it was supposed to be.

I feel good and hope this lasts. It is not convenient for me to have back surgery now.

I am going to work on my little applique block tonight...have to get it done by Sunday and it is a bit complicated!

Busy, busy!

I have been a very busy girl...and have been keeping out of trouble, isn't that nice?

I have switched doctors for my back issue. This guy seems to know what he is doing, came highly recommended by my doctor so I have hope that we can get something done. I have a spinal epidural scheduled for Tuesday and then another one the following Tuesday. I hope this lasts longer than the first one. At least I know what to expect, know the doctor looked at the MRI, the EMG and the X-Ray so he should NOT be saying "I can't see where I am going" "What is this stuff?" "I should have looked at an X-Ray first"....I will NEVER go back to that place.

On a more positive note, I am making great progress with the Heart and Hand blocks. I love these little things! Just finished the goldfish, am working on the frog and have a couple others prepped and ready to go. I have a special applique block I am working on for Brenda as well. I need to buckle down and get that one done.

It is good to be busy...and YEAH spring!

Such a social butterfly!

Man, I have been busy lately! Last night I went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Chanhassen Dinner Theater. That was so good! I need to drag out my VCR and watch the movie again.

I have finished the next set of borders for my Holiday Inn JLWC quilt. JoAnn's class comes before mine this month so I need to go the the shop tomorrow night (poor me) and drop off the sample. JoAnn will be so happy. She hasn't been feeling well...poor baby!

I have to stop playing with Blogs and get to my applique. I need to finish the Reel block for the Heart and Hand Applique club...need to keep up with my block of the week. So...off I go!

More Photos uploaded

OK...the rest of the photos are up...I just need to edit them and put in names, etc. Maybe later.

It is so good to be home...and back at work. I love my job. Isn't that sick?

Chicken Chaos

Oh dear...we have had difficulties with chickens here. We had a mystery class with the chicken sisters and I had a senior moment. I have a guest blogger here to describe it for you. In our defense, neither of us had made the project ahead of time. Pictures will be posted to my webshots when I get home...please welcome JoAnn Atkins:

So, we brought all the supplies to have this mystery mini class for the Chicken Sisters and the project was Polo Loco. I started teaching the class and the first clue was for them (Deb and I were also making the project) to make two nine inch blocks and quilt them on to some thermore batting. As we were doing this I inadvertently said, out loud, " my chicken will be puffy". Jeannie looked at Connie and said "do you think we could be making chickens?" THIS PROJECT WAS NO LONGER A MYSTERY. PERSEVERE!

Well, we continued on and I got behind and I asked Deb to take over the class.

We got to the part where you add the beak the the "fun fur" beak and comb to one block, sandwich the blocks and turn them right side out to stuff. There was much discussion as to where to place all the parts. Deb held up her sample to show us how to place the parts. Those of us who trusted her and followed the leader didn't do too well.

She turned her chicken right side out only to discover the beak was facing north and the tail was facing front.

The next thing I knew, I saw her chicken lying in the garbage beak and tail up.

The rest of the class carried on without the teacher and were successful in making beautiful chickens.

(Deb's note - Notice the lovely fluffy tail. I think my chicken was just looking back at his tail. A very flexible chicken, perhaps a member of the "Cluck de Soleil Circus").

I dug the pitiful reject from the garbage and told the teacher (Deb) if she would only rip out the mistakes, I would finish her chicken for her. This lead to immediate success. (See picture.)

You too can make a chicken with the help of a good, experienced and qualified cluck instructor.

Here is Deb back again. JoAnn laughed so hard while typing this, we relived the whole fiasco again. It was fun...I think JoAnn just called herself a cluck instructor...funny!

What a way to start the day!

JoAnn, Brenda and I went to the Blue Gate for breakfast...what a breakfast!  I had stuffed french toast...couldn't eat the whole thing...Brenda had sausage gravy and biscuits and JoAnn had eggs, of course.  It isn't breakfast without eggs.

We had the most wonderful conversation with Brenda.  She is so interesting and has such wonderful ideas.  When I grow up, I want to be just like her.

Keep checking the blog and the webshots for updates on fun in Shipshe!  Show and Tell is tonight.

http://community.webshots.com/user/dmkloss

Thursday in Shipshe

Oh holey moley...we had fun today!  JoAnn and I went to breakfast and then to Lolly's and the Davis Merchantile for some shopping.  The Chicken Sisters joined us at about 3pm for some fun and hijinks...somehow the noise level of the room was increased after 3pm today.  We had our dinner at the Amish farm tonight and the Quilt Show in Goshen.  Check my webshots album for the pictures.  I still need to add titles, rotate, etc but that will happen when I have time.

FUN!

http://community.webshots.com/user/dmkloss

Here we are in Shipshe!

We arrived at about 5pm...left around 6:30AM and drove pretty steadily.  It is nice to be here.  The room is wonderful and bright...and we are sitting right next to Brenda, who is the Queen of the Blanket Circus.  What fun!  There are lots of folks we know, and new people to meet.  

Here is a picture of JoAnn working on her exchange blocks...and my penguin isn't accomplishing a darned thing

Yahoo! Off we go!

I am so ready to go on vacation...except for the packing part. I have to get my self in gear here. I know what I want to take so it shouldn't take too long! I am bringing my camera so I should be able to do a daily diary of sorts....

Happy Easter!

What a day! I had to cook TWO things! Oh man...Monkey Bread and that Corn Thing. No one died so I guess I did OK. PHEW! Katie brought boyfriend and large lab and Katie's Mom joined us for our very strange, many coursed feast. I wanted to have a brunch and Grandma wanted to have a dinner...we both won.

I am packing for Shipshe and also working feverishly on a Hearts and Hands Applique challenge block. Turns out I am working on the wrong block but I think they will forgive me. I have several things to take along for Shipshe and hope I will be able to keep out of mischief...NOT!

I am so excited to get going. JoAnn is going to show up in my driveway at 6:30AM on Weds morning...then off we get...11 or so hours later, dinner at the Blue Gate and off to set up our sewing stations and save two spots for the Chicken Sisters. I miss you guys so much!

Relief!

Well, I must say that spinal epidural thing was a miserable thing to endure but since Wednesday I have been mostly pain free. Thank you GOD! I have hurt so badly since mid November and was starting to lose my happy disposition.

I have the grocery shopping done and am going to work hard on my quilty stuff this weekend. First project will be to make a new collar for my cute little doggie...not very quilt related but something he needs. It is going to be a lovely springy green.

I also have to start planning for my trip to Shipshewana. I can't wait!

Survived....

...but did it work? I won't know for a few weeks. That was a not so much fun experience. I have so much arthritis / ossification that the Dr. couldn't get a needle in to where he was supposed to put the steroid. He tried a couple of places before he finally found a spot. That was not fun at all.

On a more positive note, I finished the center of my Holiday Inn project that I was working on at Lois' house. Isn't this pretty? I really love the colors I picked out. There are more borders that go around this center but I love what I have so far. We have our class tomorrow and for once, I am ready!

Who is doing the happy dance and why?

This is my friend Lois who just finished the last block of her wildflowers quilt. It is beautiful!

Teeny Tiny Little Star....

How I wonder how the heck you got IN thar.....OK, I got bored with 8" Sawtooth stars and had to make them a bit more challenging.  So, I decided to add a 4" star in the belly of the 8" star.  Well that was OK for a few...but got boring again.  Sigh...  So, I added a 2" star in the belly of the 4" star.  Well, you see where I am going with this.  I had to make at least one block with a 1" star.  I learned that 1" star trick from Brenda Papadakis when I was working on my Dear Jane Papa's Star block.  Now, I got to put it to use again.  How fun is that?  Thank you Brenda for your teaching...and your friendship!

Progress!

I have finished the center of my Holiday Inn quilt and this is  a picture of my friend Lois holding the block.  Isn't it fun to quilt with friends?  I get more done that way!!

Quilting with Friend....

I am in St. Cloud, sharing some time and space with my friend Lois.  She is knocking off quilts (table runners) right and left and I am putzing along with my applique.  I am so pokey!  Anyway...we are having fun and that is what counts.  Lois is having a big birthday on Wednesday...and I wanted to be here to help ease it in.  I will add a picture or two in a bit.

Dear Jane Workday

Lots of folks showed up for our workday today...JoAnn and I were working on our Neutral Jane exchange blocks. I like the fabrics I chose. When I finish the blocks, I will have to post a picture.

I am feeling much better these days. Good drugs, I guess... I have a shot scheduled for Weds, April 1st and I am scared to death. Katie will take me to the hospital for the spinal epidural. Eesh that scares me something fierce. I hope they give me something beforehand so I don't care what they do. I am so funny about having someone touch my back anyway...this won't help a bit! I have to focus on the outcome and feeling less / no pain... I want to stop taking these drugs, they make me so sleepy!

Well..back to work on Holiday Inn and my exchange blocks...I have to get ready for my class on Thursday...

It was a....

Happy National Quilting Day! I got a lot done. I am still hand appliqueing the center for Holiday Inn and am also working on blocks for Vienna Nights. I have put the small 1" star center in it's 2" star...ready for inserting into the 4" star....that one is going to be really something to see! I can't wait to see if people notice it. I will take a picture of the block when it is done.

This has been a pretty good weekend, pain-wise...I have a follow up with the doctor on Tuesday and hope we come up with the course of action. I want to get off these pills and get my life back. I am still walking crooked and not able to go very far. I am tired of this!

I am looking forward to spending some time with my friend Lois...she has a big birthday coming up on April 1st. We will bring it in with a fun time in the sewing hole. I could use some vacation time for sure.

Equal Time....

Evil Puss demanded equal time...look at that face! He was so disgusted to see all the doggie pictures and not one of his handsome self. OK..I fixed it!













Junior Jett Man (aka Dapper Doggie) had a bath and haircut today at Shampooch. Isn't he cute?

Two years old!

Oh, isn't he cute? He is a two year old doggie today! Look at the messy sewing room...what a shame!

Taxes done, whew! Shipshe to look forward to...

I can't wait for the return...maybe a flat screen TV for my bedroom? Something fun anyway...

I sent in my reservation for Shipshe. JoAnn and I asked to be in the room next to the Shikken Sisters.....I can't wait!

Good article to share on relationships and obsessive hobbies. Does quilting count as obsessive?


http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/articlematch.aspx?cp-documentid=17858320

Oh no! More Snow!

Icky! I hate snow! I should have taken a picture of my car before I cleaned it off...driver's side was snow free...and the passenger side was buried under an 8" snow drift. How weird is that?

I am looking forward to the weekend. I need to finish the applique center for the Jo's Little Women's club project before Thursday's meeting. We are going to demo how to do applique by basting from the back...for the 3rd or 4th time....the ladies keep asking for it.

No Ambition...such a bum!

Man, I have absolutely no ambition these days. Spending too much time hurting or doing physical therapy. I need to get back into my quilting. I need to get into the groove again. Where did all my creativity go? WAH!

Good To Have A Goal!

I have a goal....I want to be six feet tall. Now from the way I see it, I am going to need a year in traction and some high heels...but I should be able to accomplish that. Holey moley, is traction fun or what? This is the first time I have been in one of those machines...determined little devil it was...pull and pull and pull...soon, Debbie is 6 feet tall! YAHOO! Then I can finally reach the top cupboard.

Happy Valentines day to my friends! I think I am going to get my tax stuff ready and then do some quilting. I haven't done much of that since my back has been hurting so bad. Phooey on pain!

Yeah Weekend!

Big day today! Katie came over (with Buddy the Large Lab) and we made breakfast. Buddy and Jett have a great time playing together...Buddy is 90 pounds and Jett is 10 pounds...kind of interesting to see how careful Buddy is with Jett.

Let's see...then we went and raided Cub Foods...$240 later and a trunk full of food...went home to watch a movie. That is where we are right now...except Katie decided to take Buddy and the groceries home and then come back. We are going to watch Mystery Men.

Tonight, my sister-in-law has a concert with the Twin Cities Women's Choir. I can't wait. The music is always wonderful.

No New News...sigh

Well...how disappointing is that. I figured the doctor would fix all my back issues today but she didn't. Sigh....at least she is going to sign me up for physical therapy. That should help some.

Junior got scared again today. We had someone come in and fix the smoke detector...I kind of ripped it off the ceiling in my efforts to stop the beeping...and he tested it so Junior got the full dose of horrible noise. Poor baby!

I was in a quilt class with JoAnn last night. She is a difficult student. You can't keep her on task to save her soul! Runs around all over the place. I was a star pupil...of course! I am glad she doesn't read my blog. I would get called a Diva and much worse, I am sure.

Wasted Sunday

Not so much today...Junior was scared out of his mind last night...
It seems Mom's smoke detector was beeping periodically...needed a new battery...and it was scaring my little doggie to death. He was panting and pacing and wouldn't calm down. Poor little guy!

Anyway, that leaves me pretty tired out today. I am going to press the fabric I need for tomorrow night's Back Home Again class at Four Seasons Quilts...then, who knows...dig around in my Jo fabric to see what I want to use for my next big Jo project...

Katie and I went to Sam's Club and Cub this morning so all the grocery shopping is done..poor Ma had to put a bunch of junk away...I am good at getting it into the house but that is about it for me...Oh yeah, I eat it too...

Super Saturday

Boy have I got plans for myself today. My back is hurting something fierce already but I am still going to try to make some progress...OK...plans are for:

• Sew another thread on the binding for my Vienna Nights quilt..if not two


• Make a bag out of the Vegetable Dye fabric from Andover - learn something from the pattern


• Finish a needlecase for JoAnn


• Wash all that fabric I bought yesterday...Jo's new line

Let's see how I do...♥♥♥...Genie taught me the heart trick! What fun! Thanks Genie!

Progress Report @8PMish...

• Not one thread, or two...but THREE! I have one whole side done on the scalloped binding. Phew!


• Needle case done - SEE! I finished the red one tonight...

• Bag is done too....I don't like the pattern. The bag is too squishy...don't like the fabric either...but, I learned technique from the experience at least...

Now that I have these done, I can work on my stars tomorrow. Wait till you see THAT quilt!

Freedom!

Not that I don't LOVE my job, because I really do...but I have tomorrow off and I am excited. I am still very tired from last weekend and could use the extra time for sleeping in and resting. I have big plans! Besides sleeping until 100 o'clock, I am going to the quilt shop and to lunch with JoAnn. Then, I am going to find a movie and sit in Mom's chair in the basement, watch the movie and sew on my binding. Just wait till you see the quilt I am finishing!

Katie, you are going to have to show me how to upload pictures, etc...

Yeah Friday off!

Two followers!

Man! I feel like a real celebrity! Now, since Genie is watching, I will have to get to work!

Wasted Weekend

I don't see how "young people" can do it. I worked one overnight shift this weekend and the whole weekend was wasted. I didn't get anything done that I needed to do...and I am as tired as if I had cleaned my house from basement to attic...which we all know, it needs it, but I am VERY unlikely to do that.

I am at least going to finish a pincushion...maybe also a quilt block...then find something good on TV and work on a binding. Sigh...how do young people manage this without getting totally wiped out?

Blah, blah

Here I am, wasting more time on the computer when I could be sewing! OK...enough posting, I am going to quilt...