Quilting fun

Yes! I'm having some quilting fun this week. I'm playing on the Quilty Pleasures blog and doing a blog hop. I picked up this button

And I'm playing on their blog to get to all the different places. I've done it for the last several issues and managed to "win" a copy of the magazine a couple different times. Once I scored a bit of fabric too!  You can't win if you don't play.

So tag along by going to Quilty Pleasures blog - it's rather simple. http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/

I have the first 6 volumes of the Quiltmaker's 100 blocks and I plan to have the rest that follow. They get more fun and grab my attention more as we go along.

Good luck!

2 more finishes

Yes, it's true! I've been a bit lax in finishing my quilt projects. However I do have a couple that I finished this month. They are small and somewhat related. They are both Patch Ability patterns from 2012's BOM (block of the month) that I purchased the patterns for, raided my fabric stash to make, and now present for your enjoyment.

This one to the right is "Liberty" and she represents the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Old Glory waves proudly to show that we believe in our military and support them. We pray for them and when we can, we say thank you to them. I hope you do too. She had to have a background of bright blue to show her to her best. The stars around the edge represent the active duty military. Long may she wave!

The beautiful Canadian Maple Leaf flag is representative of our neighbor to the north. She waves "hello" to both us and our Old Glory. I made this one to be a companion piece - I have no family there and no true ties to Canada. I just love the parts of her countryside that I have been privileged to see. I have friends who have friends there and so I have chosen to be friendly with Canada in their honor.

I am working on several more small quilts and hope to have them ready to show by the end of May or before. I have several that I want to do. I'm trying to make these small ones by using fabric I already have in the house. Bit of a challenge for some as I don't have the vast array of colors that I should. I'm not a big fan of reds, oranges, and yellows. So to make these two, I did have to buy some fabric. The blues, the star fabric, the white, and the gray I had.

I'd best get back to working on my quilts so I have something for show and tell later. Hope you all have wonderful days.

April is here!

Yes, April is here. It's my birthday month along with a few family & friends who share the month with me.

I celebrated by re-doing the stuff on my Kindle. I goofed one day and reset the thing to factory specs. That was a heck of a shock to realize that could be done with such an accidental touch. Well, I now know I can reset it without too much headache. Me and the games are just starting over to get the high scores.

I recently put out an Eastern Star Chapter newsletter. I didn't think it would take that long, but it certainly did. Maybe because I had to insert our roster as well? Who knows. Won't have to do another one for a while.

I've been working on small quilts and getting more of my UFOs done. No pictures yet, but soon. Have to remember to take the pictures on a sunny day so I don't have to use the flash on my camera.

My husband and a couple of our friends went into the mountains today to open our cabin up. Said there was very little snow up there - less than what we normally see Memorial Day weekend. Guess that means we'll be on water rationing this year.

Well, I'm off to email a friend the address for my blog and then get some dinner.

Miserable, miserable

Misery! Yep, I finally caught whatever it is that's going around. I"m so miserable that I can't decide if I want to sneeze, blow, or cough. Then there's the I need a drink in there somewhere to stay hydrated. I'm coughing so bad at times I can hardly catch my breath. I believe it's time to see the dr. That will be on tomorrow's list as today is Sunday. Course I might not get in right away, so it might be longer than that. But I will call in the morning.

Meantime, in between all this misery, I've been resting. Yep, taking it easy and not doing a whole lot. I managed to get two loads of laundry through the washer & the dryer today. One load is still sitting on the bed waiting to be folded. Have to get up some energy to do that and energy seems to be missing today. Does misery love company? I can honestly say - not today! Would hate to give this to anyone else. I very rarely call in sick to work, but I think this is going to one of those rare times.

Okay, enough complaining! I am hopeful to enjoy the nice weather later this week. Last weekend I got two of my unfinished quilt tops finished. Now all I need to do is find the backing and get them sandwiched. I also have some little ones that are already sandwiched that need to be quilted and bound. Maybe I can work on them this next week? We'll see how the week goes. Wish me luck - I'm not sure yet how I want to quilt them which is why they have been sitting waiting patiently for almost a month.

Off to take a short nap!

Beauthful day

Okay, the weather is gorgeous outside here - warm enough to be pleasant and a breeze to keep it that way. We, my husband & I, picked the oranges off their tree and then picked the lemons off their tree. We didn't lose too many of either due to the frost we had last month.

I took advantage of the weather outside today to sandwich 6 of my small quilts. Don't like the smell of the spray baste inside the house and neither does hubby. These little ones have been patiently waiting for either a nice day or my small quilt group to meet. Since we cancelled our small group for this month, I just had to take advantage of the beautiful weather. The breeze made it a bit of a challenge to work but I persevered and triumphed! Feels great!

I worked yesterday on a couple of more small projects, getting them ready for handwork. I'm bound and determined to get things done and when I'm in the mood to work on them is the time to make sure I work on them. People say I can do that any old time - well, nope - have to be in the mood. This weekend has been and still is a mood - means I will get more done yet today.

Have to get one more load of laundry done before too long. Might do that before dinner, depends on how I feel - but it will get done today.

I'm off to do more work on projects. Hope to have some pictures before long.

February already!?!

Good grief! We are one third done with February and I'm still thinking January. Egads!

Well, I've finished one more of my UFO quilts off my list from 2010. Yes, I know, it's a bit late, but it's finished. I haven't had time to take a picture yet, but will try this next week to do that. I was working on a quilting project today and promptly ironed the wrong side of the fusible stuff to my iron! Yes, I was very unhappy. Had to let the iron cool down before I could clean it.

Weather has been good lately. We could use some more rain, but we don't seem to have any in the near future. We've had a north wind the last few days which has made it seem a lot colder than it actually is. Maybe it will go away and the rain will come for a visit?

I got a new Kindle Fire HD for Christmas and have been having a blast with it. I've got Angry Birds on it and I'm learning to hate those blasted grinning pigs. Yes, it's only a game, but they have a way of grinning that gets to me. It's like they are saying "nanner, nanner, you missed me". I have also got some books on it and can check my email. Course the keyboard, such as it is, is a bit small. Which as anyone who has ever used a Kindle for email will tell you - makes one prone to spelling mistakes. The other bad thing is that the Kindle has a tendency to tell me I don't know how to spell my own name and tries to correct me every time. I finally added me to the "dictionary".

Well, I'm off to see what there is for dinner and get things going. Then I'm going to relax for a while before bedtime. Have to work tomorrow and it's going to be a long week since we are short a couple of people.

2013 is here

Okay, seems that the Mayan calendar started a new cycle since we are all still here. Or is it that we are all in the same heaven? The end of the world didn't happen this time. Guess we wait some more. Seems like this is a lot like the scene from Fiddler on the Roof where they are moving again because they've been asked by the government to leave. Maybe they are on the right track?

Anyway, 2012 was a good year for the most part. I finished 3/4 of my UFO Challenge list for quilt guild. I'm healthy and doing well. I was installed as Worthy Matron of my Eastern Star Chapter in November. I have a roof over my head and enough to eat. I guess I have enough.

What will 2013 bring? I have hopes, dreams and wishes for this new year. My hopes are to stay healthy and employed. My dreams are to enjoy life to the fullest to the best of my ability. My wishes are that all I know have the same good health and a steady job. What are you thinking about the new year of 2013. I hope to use the number 13 to my advantage. I have good luck with that number. It's a good number - contrary to the superstitious jargon.

I wish for you a life full of happiness, good dreams, fun & enjoyment in all things, and above all a strong faith to make it through whatever trials are thrown your way. Maybe my next entry will include a completed quilt. Maybe it will include a picture of something I've seen. Maybe it will tell of a trip I've gone on. You will need to tune in to find out what pops up.

Until later, my friends!