It's Freezing!

A butterfly block from my row quilt.

Paper pieced Kimono block I am working on now for the row quilt.

It is freezing outside! Our driveway is a sheet of ice. The garbage had to go to the curb, so out I went to brave the cold. I hung on to everything in my path- the house, the truck, the gate-just praying the whole time I wouldn't fall on my bum. Chucked the bag by the side of the road and made my way back following the same path. Finally, the back door. AH, I made it without falling. I act older than I am, just in my nature, I'm a very cautious person. The garbage man, however, didn't make it. :o( Through the window, I watched him pull up, jump out of the truck, looking confident, threw me a wave, then he disappeared under the hedgerow. Poor man....he got up and gave me a half smile, tossed the bag in the back of his truck and hobbled back.

I keep saying I'm not ready for the winter months. Like it or not, ready or not, they are here!

A week ago, I went to the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate. It was a good distraction. So many wonderfully talented people out there. I just love to see what the artists are up to in their work. Everywhere I looked were signs saying that photography is prohibited. Yet, all around me were people holding cell phone cameras and pocket cameras. It put me off. Being a little rude, I got in a few of their shots on purpose. I'm bad.

Why can't people respect the artist?

The vendor halls were so crowded, I felt like a lost sheep trying to get out of the herd. Finally, I came upon the Bernina stall. Drooling with anticipation, I asked the salesperson about the 440QE machine. This machine is so awesome, it's been on the market for 4 or 5 years. Unlike computer stores. You would never go up to an HP or Dell dealer and say to your hubby, "honey, I want this, I wont leave this hall until I have it". I look at computers and say, "I guess if we NEED it, we'll HAVE to get it, but there are strings, we can't get the extras (and under my breath, it will be out of date in a couple years, money not well spent)" . There's just no love in buying a computer or anything else as far as that goes..........uuuhhh except fabric! hahaha

Back to the Bernina stall, the salesperson showed me all the cool stuff on the machine, quizzed me about my Bernina, it's a 160 Virtuosa almost 11 years old now, and really didn't have to pitch me much of a sale. Once I actually tried out the BSR, I knew I had to have it. I've been reading about it for 4 years! AND the machine came with some free extras, like the really wide acrylic table, the walking foot, and a free gift! Now we're talkin' !

In just 3 LONG days, it came to my door. Yeah, it was an expense or should I say an investment, but at least it lasts a lot longer than that stupid HP! I could possibly sew on this machine until I'm in my 80's, if I live that long!

I sewed and sewed yesterday and didn't even realize how late it was when I finally took a break.

My older Bernina was the same way, I could sew for hours without a care in the world.

Now if I can get my mind straight on what to work on and stick to it. I am going back and forth between finishing the 30's row quilt I've had in my UFO pile for uummmm......6 years, and working on the art work for my new series of postcards. I want to make them using the phrases and silly sayings I talked about in my last post. By the way, thank you to those of you who have given me some interesting and surprizing suggestions.

Now I'm off. It's actually sunny outside and the ice is starting to melt. Happy sewing to you all. ;o)

Rainy Sunday

I love this picture. It reminds me of a Koosh ball. It also looks like flowers you would see Dr. Suess put in his books. The colors are almost unreal, but believe me this was not altered.

It's raining cats and dogs today! Why do we say that phrase anyway? Anybody know? Our English is riddled with all sorts of crazy phrases that we seem to carry on for no particular reason other than it sticks in your mind as something you heard one time or more often at some point in your childhood. My mother said all kinds of wacky phrases that I really couldn't put a logical reason to. Like these:

"For Pete's Sake"

"For Crying In the Sink"

"Were you raised in a Barn?"

"For the Love of Pete"

"Honest Sakes" - This was my Grandmother's favorite phrase

"Come Hell or High Water"

"The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease" - This was my Father-In-Law's phrase

"One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure" - This was also my Father-In-Law's phrase

I am sure you can think of so many more that you've heard or even caught yourself saying. Sometimes a phrase will slip out and I'll think "why did I say that?", and there's no going back once it's out there, you've proved how old you are. Luckily, these phrases won't be passed to my son, he's never said anything remotely close to a cliche/catch phrase.

If you have a great old catch phrase, then please send it to me. I am thinking of making a collage/quilt out of some phrases.

We have a mole problem in our yard. He is just making a mess! I think we've tried everything to get rid of him, including pouring urine down his tunnels. We have tried drowning him, although it's nearly always wet here anyway, so he is immune to that anyway. We bought a trap that didn't work at all. He actually dragged it down further and buried it. Maybe he thought it would make a great decorative piece in his comfy home? The sonic pulse contraptions work, but you need probably a dozen of them to line the entire perimeter of the yard. He has just worked his way around them. My husband thinks it's funny. I think HE'S funny. So, here we are at an impass. What to do now? No, we won't be blowing holes in the ground like the "Caddyshack" movie.

Time to throw away the rotten pumpkins and start on something Christmassy! Have a wonderful autumn day! :o)

Tired Aching Feet

I love this picture my son took. He is extremely good at this kind of thing. Anyway I just thought I would share this one with you as it has beautiful orangey tones reminding me that it will soon be, what we Michiganians call, an Indian Summer! Here in England we are going through some of our last days of summer with warmer temps and some bright sun here and there. The colors are starting to come out with the ivy turning a beautiful red velvet color. A lot of houses and pubs have old ivy vines climbing up the walls and it is just beautiful to see it in the red colors.

Yesterday I went with the hiking club to Hebden (which I believe is Patrick Stewarts home town). We had a gorgeous day in a very beautiful setting. We hiked for 5.3 miles. It was not the farthest I've ever hiked, but my feet were extremely sore and this morning I couldn't get out of bed. I think I may have pulled something in the bottom of my foot extending through the heel and up to the ankle. Every time I put pressure or my body weight on it, I just feel extreme pain. If there's anyone out there who may have gone through this before, please leave me a comment on your experience. I've taken Aleve and Tylenol with no relief. Today I am staying off it and hoping it clears up. Sorry about being so whiny!

The country wall hanging I am working on for the New Years Challenge is not going too well. As I suspected before, it's a piece I absolutely hate and really don't want to continue on. I think the best thing I can do now is just finish it and get it out of my way. Donating it to someone or giving it as a gift would make me feel better. If I finish the row I am working on and not go any further with it, is there anyone out there who would want it? Here is a picture of it so far............

And here is the row I am working on. It is not the right length so it needs some bars or something to make it fit, however if someone gets it, they can add whatever they want or take off anything they don't like because the entire top is constructed in rows. The blank rectangle was suppose to be for some embroidery I was going to add.

It measures 42+" across and 34" down with the spool row another 6+ " in length ( width will be the same 42+" across, so it isn't quite square and there are no borders, yet? This project was started 5 years ago as a row robin quilt. There were 5 of us, I think, and we each started with a row and passed it around adding a row to it.
Everyone have a wonderful Indian Summer weekend!

T-G-I-F

Too bad we have wet weather today. DH and I didn't care much we still went out in it and splashed around doing errands and then went gallery hopping, dripping with rain and sloshing in mud from the streets. Saw some gorgeous original art from local artists. Would love to own one of them! Lots of great talent out there. It was so wet today that I left my camera at home, so I have nothing to show you. This weekend is the Great Northern Needlecraft Show. DH and I will go on Sunday and maybe it won't be so wet.
Off to rest my weary feet! Have a great weekend everyone. :o)

One Down......

Here's the first one down with 3 to go. This was the easy one to finish as it is just a small table runner. These fabrics remind me of the civil war type colors.
The next project is more frustrating. I started it 4 years +ago! Three of the rows have been ripped out and tossed, so I am going to be brainstorming today and sketching it all out. There are 5 rows that are definitely staying, but 2 are getting the boot. It was originally suppose to be a wall size, but it is turning out to be quite large. As I progress on it, I will get some pictures posted. Time to get going!

The New Year's Eve Challenge

I am taking part in Finns Challenge to finish your UFO's by New Years Eve. I have 4 projects picked out. There are two that will be harder for me to complete. She explains that "finish" is what you consider it to be like completed blocks, or a completed top, or all the way to a completed quilt. My projects are at different stages. So here is my list:

1) Civil War color/fabrics table runner. It is currently a top needing borders, sandwiching, quilting and finishing.

2) Country themed wall size. A partial top needing more blocks, borders, and embroidery. I want to complete it to the very end, so it will also need sandwiching, quilting and finishing.

3) Autumn leaves wall size or lap size. This is currently just a few completed blocks. They will need resizing, the addition of more blocks, sewn to a top, borders or no borders (I haven't decided) and then to a complete finish....I hope.

4) 30's Queen size Row Quilt. This is also a partial top needing more blocks, rows, and borders which I want to finish to a completed top. I will ship this one off to be quilted on a long arm.


Good luck to everyone whose joined in...... :o)

Insomnia

Can't sleep, so there's no doubt I'll be dragging my feet later on. Sometimes it's just hard to get to sleep and stay asleep. Maybe it's the thousand or so thoughts racing through my mind. You know, scattered thoughts about what didn't get finished that day. Or what will get accomplished tomorrow. Seems like I have a running "to do" list in my mind at all times. Exercise, especailly yoga, is great to get myself relaxed, but usually it's just more quiet time for me to concentrate on "the list". Shopping is also a great get-away for a few hours, I end up buying things I need on "the list". Vacations and holidays are always great, but then I find myself longing for the list and feeling guilty that I couldn't check something off it that day. Even though the list grows and shrinks constantly, I'm convinced I will never be rid of the list. It's attached to me and to be honest I would be lost without it. Ordered these fabrics before our move and I just love them. They will make a really fun quilt, but I'm stuck on what pattern to use. I want to show off the larger print fabrics and minimize the smaller print wild ones. Any suggestions? I also bought this group of fabrics:

Aren't these fabrics yummy? I love them.....so much that I'm afraid to cut into them. So, really, give me your suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. :o)

Finally, I'm back

I can't believe how long it took me to get hooked up again after our move. BT and Sky don't work well together that's all I have to say about that. It's done with and I am back. Yeah!!



Isn't this flower gorgeous? I love it with the dew on the petals. My son took this one with his video camera. We were wandering around Valley Gardens one June morning and we just had to stop and gaze at these beauties. Of all the pictures I have, I would like to take my favorites and make mini quilts out of them one day.



My sewing room is all set up waiting for me to get to work. The movers did a horrible job of mixing up everything they possibly could. It took me days to find the legs to my cabinets and I had to find them before putting the fabrics in. My fabrics are jumbled as well, so one day I will have to sort out everything into their proper color groups. It's a good week to stay in and do all this as we have predicted weather of rain until Friday.



I hope to get back in the swing of things and visit the blogs I've neglected over the last few months. It will be nice to catch up with you all again. Cheers!

Beautiful Season

This is truly the beautiful season. Everything is in bloom and the air is filled with the sweet scent of spring flowers. My lilac tree is just beautiful this year. I love this color of purple. Just glancing across the yard and seeing this tree in full bloom is relaxing to me, then the scent hits my nose and fills my head with memories from years gone too swiftly. It's an escape I need right now, as this is also the moving season for my family. The past couple days, my heart has been heavy with emotion. My son will be leaving the nest. It's comforting to know that both DH and I have taught him things he will need to know on his own. He is taking my love of cooking and his Dad's work ethics. He's got talent in storytelling and writing. He has the tools to succeed, yet in these uncertain times, I do worry.

Since I have been helping my son pack out, I haven't had time for myself. There are so many projects I would like to start and finish. However, it will have to wait until after we move.
Germany has been a lovely experience. My German language skills are minimal after 4 years. I tried hard, but it just didn't sink in good enough to carry on a conversation.
Gutentag - good day (or hello)
Danke - thank you
Bitte - please
Ich mawkta ein mal schnitzel mit pommes, bitte - I would like 1 schnitzel with fries, please
Ich ben Americaneran - I am American (female)
Ich ben Americaner - I am American (male)
tsooes (choose)- informal good by
Auf Wiedersahen - formal good by
These basic words and phrases helped, but I guess I didn't feel confident enough with it and would usually end up saying this along with a desperate expression on my face:
Bitte, sprecken zie English? - please, speak you English?
Most of the time I would get a smile or laugh from them and they would break out with way more knowlege of English than I could ever know of the German language.

My son had 2 years of German in high school and 2 semesters of German here, so his skills are better than mine by far. When you get a doctor bill in your post box with a payment slip to take to your bank that throws me off a lot. I couldn't read the bills at all. The telephone company was the worst by far. I could never get anyone from customer service who could speak English.
Finally, we had to find someone at work who knew enough German to help us. The post here really needs a liason to work with everyone. If there is one around, we never knew it.

Maybe there's a quilt idea in here somewhere. Will have to dwell on it and maybe get my sketchbook out. Have a wonderful day. ;o)

Snow? Not Now

Look what we woke up to this morning! SNOW and it keeps coming. My tulips are now buried under a thick blanket of fresh snow. Why didn't we get this in January or February? Nature has waited until Spring to give it to us here in Europe. Oh well, it won't last and we do need the precipitation. Sigh..... Good day to stay in and get some work done.

Yesterday I went shopping and had to buy some cheery flowers for my living room. The flower shop had mums, tulips, Gerber Daisy's, and lots of bouquets with springy flowers, but when I laid my eyes on these roses, I just couldn't resist. They are so beautiful. Roses are my absolute favorite flower and there isn't one variety I don't like.

In my country phase, I made a queen size quilt for my son's bed. This was about 9 years ago. He's used it everyday since then and I've washed it probably a dozen times. The binding is the plaid fabrics you used to see a lot of. They are a looser woven fabric compared to the quilting cottons today. Well, I should have known this would happen, but it's showing a lot of wear and tear. So, someday soon I will have to take the binding off and replace it with something else. Probably a solid double bias cut binding as the corners are rounded.

Here's the back of the quilt.
Here's a couple pictures of the tears.

Now this is only a couple edges. I would have to say that 80% of the binding is still in excellent condition, however, this is disheartening and I will have to fix it. My lesson for today, do not use loosely woven fabrics for the binding even if they are a double thickness. :o)

Spring has sprung

Oh my gosh, it's been forever since I posted something! UUGGGHH! I feel bad as I have nothing to show for my being MIA either! Well, let me tell you that I have been busy with

packing boxes up, inventorying everything, and tying up those loose ends before our move.

Moving is extremely time consuming, however, I would like to darken my sewing room door
a few more times before that inevitable day when it all gets packed into boxes, then crates and shipped off to the final destination. Such a process!

This is a wall quilt I made a couple years ago from scraps I had lingering in my scrap basket. I really like the way this turned out and now am sorry I didn't make it into a lap size quilt.

Here's another wall quilt I love. It was a challenge for me with all the set in seams. Go here http://www.jinnybeyer.com/ to visit Jinny Beyer's site. However, I don't think she has this pattern there. You can find out how to recreate it in her book; "Designing Tessellations". Wonderful book that I don't spend enough time with. I'm not sure if it is out of print. Anyway, here it is:

The sun is finally shining today. Even if it is still chilly, the sun is a much welcome sight. The daffodils and tulips are blooming here. The fruit trees and forsythias are in full bloom as well.

The picture at the top is from last May. I love taking pictures of flowers and trying to recreate them in a quilt. Here is a quilt I made a couple years back for a family auction, so everything in it is family related.

And a close-up of the center.....oops! kinda dark, sorry. It it a bright blue and white quilt. I loved the dark navy fabrics in this with the blue and white toile.

The pansy's in the center are appliqued and I used fabric pens to paint on the centers. One day I'll try this again and keep it for myself. I am a firm believer in making quilts and samples to keep. My sample book is heaving, so I will have to make another one one day.

Here is another family quilt I made for my mother this time. She loves red and white. Again, sorry it's so dark. I didn't get a very good picture of this one before sending it off to her 3 Valentine days ago. I have been to her house since, and she did have it hanging.....do you ever wonder how appreciative people who receive your blood, sweat and tears of a quilt you made just for them is treated? Most gifts I give for weddings or graduations or birthdays....I don't care what they do with "they know where the garbage is" if they don't like it and I don't mind (now this is a gift I am talking about like a coffee maker). BUT, if I make a quilt.....that's a different story all together. I don't make quilts willy-nilly. They take a tremendous amount of time and patience (and a lot of other things, I assure you), of course you all know this. So I really care if it is thrown into a closet on the floor, or is being used to sop up water from a leaky clothes washer. If anyone gets a quilt from me, I won't say it, but you better appreciate it. Otherwise, they won't get another gift from me.......ever. They could very well hang it only while I'm around and neatly and properly put it away when I leave, that's fine and that makes me happy....thrilled as a matter of fact. OK, so I said my peace!

Moving on...... I just finished Robin McGraw's book, yes, Dr. Phil's wife. It's titled "Inside My Heart". It's pretty good, however, I think a lot of it is, DUH, no kidding....who is she trying to get through to here, young 20 somethings who have just gotten involved with a significant other? She repeats herself quite a bit, too and I find that very irritating. My son is reading "The Mist" by Stephen King. We saw the movie a few weeks ago. It was disturbing in a way and I didn't remember it being that bad in the story.