Quilt Delivered...

Quote for the Day:

"Friendships are sewn…one stitch at a time."

~author unknown

It's February.  That means that it is the "dead of winter", as they say.  We've had a couple of "cold snaps" in the last couple of weeks where the daytime temperatures were only around 15 degrees F.  BRRRR...that's cold in any language!  

I don't know about you, but in the winter, my butt gets COLD!  I think this is because I have too much "surface area" (ie, "junk in the trunk") and not enough blood vessels to supply the blood to all that area!  LOL  This past weekend, when the outside temp was only about 12 degrees, I was so tired of my butt being COLD that I resorted to this...

That's right.  A heating pad on my sewing chair!  I'll say this much...it did the trick!  LOL

Not only was it cold outside, but we also had about 4" of snowfall, making our backyard look like a "winter wonderland". 

I took this picture on Sunday, and since then, we've had about another 4-5" of snow on Monday.

Sunday was the Superbowl game and we went over to our friends, Diana and Shaun's house, to watch the game, visit, and eat lots of good food!  :)  We had a GREAT time!  

I also delivered the dresden plate quilt to them that day...

Diana's mom made the top, so I felt honored that she asked me to quilt it for her.  I'm so glad they loved the way I quilted it and are happy with the finished product!  :)

After finishing this quilt, I started replacing the binding on an antique quilt that I've been commissioned to repair.  I have the binding about half done and hope to finish the rest of it today.

Stay warm, my Friends.

Loretta

Quilting Update...

Quote for the Day:

"Quilting is cheap therapy."

~author unknown

This coming Sunday is "Superbowl Sunday"...which means that there is a big football game on TV and people congregate at "Superbowl parties" to watch it with friends.

Our friends, Diana and Shaun, have invited us to their Superbowl Party.   Now...Diana is the owner of the Dresden Plate quilt that I've been hand quilting since August 12.  The top was made by her mother and Diana hired me to quilt it.  I gave myself a goal to have it finished in time to deliver it to her on Sunday.

As you can see, the quilt is finished and rolled onto the front rail, ready to be removed so the binding can be attached.

Here's the binding, all cut, joined, and rolled...ready to be attached to the quilt...

When I was trimming up the quilt in prep for attaching the binding, my "helper" decided to check out the quilt...

Ginger, I hate to tell you this, but it makes it awfully difficult to move the quilt around when you are sitting on the part that touches the floor!  LOL

Even with her "help", I got the binding attached to the front of the quilt and have started hand-sewing it to the back of the quilt.  I'm going to work on it tonight and tomorrow...hoping to finish it, so I can then wash it to get the markings out and then give it back to Diana on Sunday.

Here's a picture of the back of the quilt...

And a close-up of the stitching...

I hope there is something interesting on TV, because I'm going to go back to my sewing room now and work on that binding!  :)

Loretta

So Sorry...

Quote for the Day:

"I like to make the mundane fabulous whenever I can."
~Rufus Wainwright

I realize that I've been very quiet on this blog lately.  It's been eight...oops, nine...NO...TEN LONG DAYS since my last post.  (I feel like I'm at Confession, "Forgive me, Father, it's been ten days since my last confession..." and I'm not even Catholic!  LOL  [No offense intended to my Catholic readers/friends.] )

Anyway...back to what's going on around here...

A couple of weeks ago, my work shift changed from 3PM-11PM, 3 days per week, to 11AM-11PM, 2 day per week...(plus whatever other shifts I pick up to help out with the short-staffing at work.)  I have worked 8 hour shifts for the past 20 years, so my body and mind have been gradually making the change to 12 hour shifts.  I can truthfully say that last Tuesday was the FIRST day that I felt "normal" with the earlier rising and longer shift.  

The GOOD part to the longer shift/fewer days per week is that, "in theory", I get more days off!  WooHoo!  (Until I go and mess it up by agreeing to pick up extra hours on my "days off".)  But...I'm a sucker.  'Nuff said. 

Here it is, the 17th of January, and I have two three goals to try to fulfill by the end of January...

First, I'd like to get the commissioned Dresden plate quilt finished hand-quilted for my friend/client, Diana.  I am currently working on the lower half of the LAST ROW, as you can see in this picture.

I've had this one in the frame since August or September, and am ready to be done with it and move on to the next quilt!  (I get that way after I have a quilt in the frame for a while...ready to move onto the next...)

Second, I'd like to get the blocks finished for the "Easy Street" quilt.  Other people who were doing the mystery have their quilt finished and QUILTED already...and slow-poke me is still pluggin' away on the blocks.  

 

To get these two goals accomplished, my plan is to complete ONE block/day (on my days off as NO quilting gets done on my work days anymore) of the "Easy Street" quilt, and then spend all other quilting time on the Dresden Plate quilt until it is finished.  

It's hard when you have a piecing project and a quilting project going at the same time because time spent on one is time taken away from the other.  Mary Kay Ash used to say, "you can't chase two rabbits at once and expect to catch either one."  I think that works with quilting/crafting projects, too.  :)    But, since it is soooo like a quilter to have multiple projects going at once, when it gets down to the finish line,  I just have to set goals for myself.

And, last but not least, my third goal is to get the binding changed out on a quilt for a client.  I met this lady through our local quilt shop owner who referred me to her.  The lady has some vintage quilts from the '30's/'40's that a family member had made.  However, the bindings were not put on properly and need "repaired", aka "removed and new binding applied".   I have the first of three of these quilts here, along with the fabric for the new binding.  I had told her I thought I'd have it done by the end of January.  Let's see if I can make it...

Now, let it be known that when I take on an order from someone I tell them UP FRONT that it will get done when it gets done, but I try to give them an estimate of when that will be.  NOT ONE of my customers has ever put pressure on me to get the quilts done faster, but I know that I have so many more quilts that I want to get done but can't till I get my current ones done.  So the pressure to get things done in a timely manner is ALL ME...not my wonderful customers!  

So...for today...supper is in the crockpot...making it easier to spend time quilting...

...Applesauce Chicken and stove-top dressing!!

One more thing before I go...today I received a DVD in the mail that I had ordered...

...Season 1 of "Call the Midwife"...I've not seen any of these episodes, yet, but I've heard such good things about the PBS series!   

I'm going to go put together one "Easy Street" block and then get settled in with my new DVD while working on the Dresden Plate quilt...(this way I'll be ready for Season 2 when it begins in March!!) 

Loretta

 
 

 

A Quilting Update...

Quote for the Day:

"Is a nine patch part of a twelve step program?"

~author unknown

On Sunday, my friend, Pat, came by and we worked some more on the BOM (block of the month) quilt that we started back at the first of the year.  Since the original pattern only uses 20 blocks, and for the size of quilt I want I'll need 36 blocks, I looked online for some quilt block patterns that finish at 12" that will go nicely with the original 20 blocks.  

Here's what I've got completed on this quilt between the original blocks and the ones I added in so far...

 
The colors are pastels and remind me of sherbet, so I've taken to calling this "the Sherbet Quilt".  LOL   The picture definitely doesn't do the colors justice.  :(  They are so much prettier in person.  

I am going to a Bonnie Hunter quilt workshop next weekend and plan to take my "new" Featherweight that I picked up in Tennessee last month.  Today I pulled it out and used it to make a couple of these blocks.  I wanted to make sure that I was comfortable using it to piece so I don't have to take my big, heavy computerized sewing machine to the workshop with me.

This weekend I'm going to gather the items I need to take with me to the workshop.  I've already got the fabric cut out so basically I need to gather my rulers, thread, pins, scissors, etc., to take with me for a weekend of sewing.  :)

When my sister, niece, and great-niece were here last week, I had to fold up my hand-quilting frame and put it against the wall so there would be room in that bedroom for the guest bed.  Even though I wasn't able to hand quilt for a few days, with it in that position it makes it easy to see the back of the quilt!

Now that the bed has been taken down and the frame moved back into the center of the room, I've been able to work on the hand quilting on this quilt some more.  :)

In fact, I think I'll go work on it NOW!  :)

Loretta

Such Fun...

What do all these foods have to do with each other???

And what do they have to do with my blog post???

Well...for today this is what my diet consists of.  Clear liquids.  *yay*  

Food of the gods...NOT!!!  

Actually, this is part of the prep for my endoscopy and colonoscopy tomorrow.  You don't even want to know what the rest of the "prep" is that starts this afternoon.  :(  Let me just tell you that the instructions from the doctor's office tell you to stay close to a commode/toilet.  Can you say "UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR"???    

As for quilting...I've been moving right along on Diana's dresden plate quilt.  It has 6 rows of blocks and I am on the last 2 blocks of the second row!  

I've also been working on another small project, but it is a gift, so I can't show you until it has been received by its intended victim recipient.  :)

Loretta

 

Happy Wednesday...

Quote for the Day:

"If I stitch fast enough, does it count as aerobic exercise?" 

~author unknown

I'm moving right along on the dresden plate quilt!  I've already cranked it down once and am currently working on the first row of blocks.  :)  

I also have a book review for you!
 
"Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil" by Deborah Rodriguez.

Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born.

With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families’ breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.

Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family’s debts, the Taliban member’s wife who pursued her training despite her husband’s constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.

With warmth and humor, Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.

I listened to this as an audiobook that I downloaded onto my MP3 player from the library.  (It's FREE, you know!!!  You really should try it!  I can also hook my MP3 into my car's stereo system via the auxillary jack and listen to the books on my drive to and from work!!) 

When I first started listening to this book, I thought the beginning sounded like the author was a little grandiose in her description of what she had accomplished.  I quickly put that assessment aside as I continued to listen to the story.   The author shared both the successes and the failures of the beauty school and her life in both America and Afghanistan.

This book is a definite recommendation!  :)

Loretta





 

Next Up...

Quote for the Day:

"Our lives are like quilts – bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, 

stitched with love."

~author unknown

Well...after finishing my quilt storage cabinet, I was raring to get the next quilt into the frame and get back to quilting!  :)  So Sunday I loaded Diana's quilt onto the frame.

This dresden plate quilt was made by Diana's mother...who likes to make tops but then gives them unfinished to her daughter.  Diana has had a couple of them long-armed (machine) quilted locally, but she wanted this one to be handquilted.  Diana is my massage therapist (and friend), so we struck up a "deal"...quilting in exchange for massages!  :)

This quilt is a big-un!!!  102" X 102"!!  It was actually 5" bigger all around, but it wouldn't fit on my frame at that size, so I told Diana I'd have to remove the outer 2.5" border.  

I spent 2.5 hours on Sunday just removing the border and marking the remainder quilt.  I like to have my quilts all marked BEFORE they go into the frame so I can the "whole" picture to make sure the marking works for that quilt.  I know some people who mark the quilt while it's in the frame as they go, but that's just not me.

I loaded it onto the frame Sunday evening and then sat down and quilted on it for about an hour.  There's nothing like the feeling of putting the first few stitches in a quilt and starting to see the quilt "come to life"!  :)

Funny story time...
Sometimes I hear women talk about their spouses and how dependent the spouses are on them to cook for them.  It almost sounds like the husband would starve if the wife didn't get home in time to make a meal for them.  I even heard one woman say that her husband wouldn't even make himself a sandwich, that he would wait for her to get home to make it for him.

I've laughed at this because if Andy waited for me to cook for him, he would have starved a LONG time ago!!!  Usually, I do some cooking on my days off and he cooks the rest of the time.  But over the last couple of weeks, I hadn't done any cooking...only he had...and I was eating from that cooking.

Well...on Sunday, while I was getting the quilt ready to go into the frame, Andy went grocery shopping and there was no more cooked up food in the fridge.  

About mid-afternoon I started getting hungry and thought to myself, "I'm getting hungry...I hope Andy gets home soon so he can make something for us to eat!"

About that time I started laughing out loud because I realized that *I* had become that spouse that I had laughed at when my friends talked about their husbands being dependent on them to eat!!!

But to set the record straight, when Andy got home *I* did cook supper for us.  I figured I had relied on Andy long enough...I'd better start doing my share of the cooking again, too!  LOL

Okay...there you have it...

Loretta