Finishing Up and Starting Something New

Slowly but truly there is activity in my sewing room again :)

I was able to finish the wreath for my Mom (I started before I got the flu)

Thank you again Heidi for the wooden shoes! :)

I finished a pair of socks for my son, Matt...he loves the socks his Mama knits for him. :)

That little knitting bag in the background was a get well gift from one of the Chix. Just love it!!

I'm able to watch the deer again from the sewing room windows.

I finished another sock, this pair will be for Matt's friend, L.J...who said
"hey! where did you get those cool socks Matt?"
and Matt said,
"my Mom knits them and she'll make you a pair if you want."
L.J...
"Kewl! Will she make me a black and white pair and can I have them by Christmas?"
The phone rings....
"Hi Mom, L.J wants a pair of socks too, black and white and for Christmas....
OK Matt....
great Mom, love you bye!" :)
Good thing I like to knit socks!
Sorry L.J. you won't be getting them for Christmas but how about New Year's?

I have been thinking too about what I would like to do in the New Year....
As I mentioned in a previous post I would like to slow down a bit in the stitching department and do some more "hand" work which includes not only the "Floral Delight" quilt but also some more knitting and spinning.

I found this great book from Interweave Press called the Fearless Knitting Workbook by Jennifer E. Seiffert. This book takes you step by step, chapter by chapter and teaches basic knitting techniques such as knit and purl, shaping, cables, lace and openwork and chart reading. Each technique is learned while knitting a small project.
One of my "goals" for 2010 will be to work through this book and build my knitting confidence!

I wish you all a VERY Happy New Year filled with blessings and stitching!

Priceless

Sitting upright, out of bed, no more rib/chest pain, less coughing, no fever, no body aches, no chills, just fatigue....PRICELESS!

"I" decided I wasn't going to "get" it.
I wasn't going to get the H1N1 flu, the Swine flu or any other illness.
I educated myself about the flu, I washed my hands, I sanitized my hands, I nagged my husband to do the same...cover your cough Dear, cover your sneeze Dear, try not to shake hands with anyone at work unless absolutely necessary Dear.
I stayed away from the malls, the big stores, shopped online...basically I limited my public exposure... "I" really decided "I" would not get sick.

Silly me! Who do I think is in "charge" anyway?!
I got the Swine flu!... then I got a nice dose of bronchitis along with it.
Go to the doctor for the second time, you need a "breathing treatment" NOW and if you are not breathing better afterward you are going to the hospital type of bronchitis.
I didn't go to the hospital.
I went home with an inhaler, antibiotics and strict orders of bed rest and plenty of fluids.

Then Dear Hubby gets the Swine flu...he took the Tamiflu that made me vomit when I took it. He never had a fever, no bronchitis, just nasty body aches and chills..he finished the Tamiflu and he has been feeling "fine" for about a week now...thank goodness!

OK now what? I have the flu, hubby has the flu, the Swine flu!
Christmas is coming, what about the cookies, the tree, the presents, the cards?

Um excuse me...remember "Me" I'm in charge here...the presents, the cookies, the tree, the cards are not important....Christmas will be here with or without them.

Once again Tam, I will remind you that Christmas is...
the loving care your husband gives you when he doesn't feel well himself...
the love your friends send when you are not well via daily emails and a cute little knitting bag with kitties on it...
amazing get well wishes and prayers via your blog from people you have never met...
silly Facebook friend comments that you wish wouldn't make you laugh because it makes you cough and coughing hurts, but you are so thankful to laugh anyway....
love via long-distance hugs when you have decided to have a pity party...
being grateful you only have bronchitis and not pneumonia and not cancer or some other nasty chronic disease...

Christmas is "My" Birthday, a celebration of love.

"I am and I am love"

"I am not the cookies, not the presents, not the tree, not the cards."

"I know what is best for you, my timing is perfect for you, I will Bless you and keep you and I love you"....

PRICELESS!

May you also receive the priceless gift of love...Merry Christmas!

Best wishes and love,

An Update and Thank You

Hubby had to take me to an Urgent Care Center last night with a 103 fever.
I have been diagnosed with H1N1 Flu.... AKA Swine Flu.
So much for my philosophy of carrying hand sanitizer with me at all times, avoiding the malls and hiding in our cabin in the woods.
I think this blog intermission is going to be a little longer than expected.

THANK YOU so much for all your kind words and especially your prayers.
They are bringing me comfort more than you will ever know.

Best wishes and stitches everyone,

Be Back Soon

Please excuse this unplanned blog intermission as I "deal with" fever, chills, body aches, coughing type flu :(
I am retreating to my bed with lots of quilts and kitties and hope to be back to blogland soon.

Best wishes and stitches everyone,

Winter is Here and Christmas is Near

This morning I woke up to this....


Another "deposit" from a winter storm....4" of snow overnight, then ice and a little rain and now some gray winter skies.

Last week we had a snow storm that left behind about 2" of what I like to call Christmas snow, you know the kind that glistens and sparkles and is oh so pretty :D



Winter is here and Christmas is near which means I cuddle up in the cabin in the woods and get down to some serious stitching.

I have been working on another pair of wool socks, this time for my son, he likes the bright funky colored socks, my kind of kid!



I finally finished a "winter" quilt for the sewing room



I say finally because as I was quilting this quilt the quilting machine foot broke :(
Please bare with me as I vent........
Of course I did the sensible thing and called the local sewing machine dealer, who knows me well, and asked to purchase a new foot....I was told the foot was discontinued...my machine is a Babylock Quilters Choice Professional and only 5 years old! I was told there is a "stronger and better replacement" foot that will work, I said OK as long as you say this will work, after all YOU are the expert.
Dear hubby drives an hour away on a late Sunday afternoon purchases the foot (it looks totally different) but I put it on machine...the foot fits but the machine will not stitch correctly :(
BUT the expert said this is the right foot.
So I spent EIGHT hours trouble shooting my machine..new needle, different size needles, new thread, cleaned and oiled the machine, re-threaded the machine a dozen times....still not stitching right....so I said OK it has to be the foot, can the expert be wrong?
Hubby rigged up the broken original foot, put it back on the machine and guess what?!
Yup! It stitched beautifully!
So Tuesday morning I call the expert and I said the foot is wrong and he says NO way I took it off our QCP model (because he had none in stock) and went through all that trouble just for you! I said well I appreciate that, but the foot is wrong....we had more conversation...and I threw in a couple of terse words, not potty mouth words (although I was tempted) after he mentioned a new quilting frame and machine "On Sale for only $8000.00".
He then said he would call Babylock and see what to do....meanwhile I did some research got some info on the original foot and called the expert back. I said what about this foot it looks just like my original one and he said well I'm glad you called because I just found out I gave you the wrong foot......"someone" must of switched feet on the Babylock QCP on the store model and what I gave you is for a Juki machine!!!

As Forest would say "and that's all I have to say about that"

The expert ordered a new free motion quilting foot for me.....hopefully the right one!

So the mitten quilt is quilted, not wonderfully, but it is quilted and hanging in the sewing room :)

The Chix came by on Monday...poor things! They were here while I was trying to get my machine to quilt properly and shared my frustration.

I taught the gals how to foundation paper-piece in between my quilting issues and must say I think they liked it and they have found another quilting addiction, this is what they stitched....




Well done Chix!

I have also been paper-piecing, but by hand and using the English paper-piecing method to make these little Dresden plate blocks

I am finishing these blocks into pincushions.....

using antique lace from my stash.....

and Finn sheep wool and corn fiber cat litter as the stuffing.

I think the wool and the corn fiber litter will keep the pins nice, clean and sharp.

And for all you cat lovers out there...here's a picture of Ashley using her paw-dunk method to snatch a little leftover milk....


silly kitty!

Best wishes and stitches everyone!!

I Won!...Part 2

Yesterday I went to The Mountain Quiltworks and did a little shopping with my "winnings".
As promised I took a picture of all the blocks that were entered in the challenge.
These blocks are going to make a beautiful quilt!

And oh yes I saw this too....



A 1947 Singer Featherweight for sale.....NO, I didn't buy it :(
(I think I just heard my hubby sigh in relief)....but thought if any of you are interested in purchasing a Featherweight I would take this picture and post it here for you.

You can get in touch with Amy, the owner of quilt shop here for any details.
I did not sew with the machine but I do know Amy has an excellent reputation concerning her shop and selling sewing machines.

OK as far as shopping is concerned this is what I bought...

A triangular ruler rack....

the cutting area in the sewing room is better organized now and a little more spacious.....ahhh!
much better!! (No laughing Patty!)


And I bought fabric of course :)
Fabric for the Floral Delight Quilt.
The background fabric I bought online at thousandsofbolts.com at a VERY reasonable price.
I spent quite awhile at the quilt shop deciding on what I would like to choose as a color theme for the Floral Delight quilt.
Right away I went to my usual choice of the darker, warmer shades of red, green and blue and I must say I still do love these colors...but then I saw the Civil War Homefront fabric designed by Barbara Brackman and the Old Primrose Inn fabric by Blackbird Designs and thought "I really love these colors!" Browns, mauves, burgundies, mossy green, a warm teal blue and then some lovely rich gold...I'm also thinking of a nice plum color would be nice, but have yet to find the fabric.

I'm nervous about the color choices but I'm excited too and must say I am feeling more comfortable with the colors this morning and after having a few pieces of chocolate last night ;)

For the past several years my quilting life was involved charity quilting and teaching, so quilt production needed to be high....kids needed (need) quilts and quilt shop owners needed samples to fill classes. Classes, shop owners and bright colors for kids dictated my quilt choices.

I would like to start slowing down my quilt making process, more hand work, which I so enjoy, perhaps create something of heirloom quality and definitely step out of my box and try different color choices.
My goal for the next year is to find my true "quilter" self again in between getting some pesky UFO's finished.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I would like to be more creative and less productive, does that make sense?

Of course the Chix came by last Monday for some sewing :)
It was time again for some charity pillow cases!

Nuts decided to nap under the warm lights but couldn't seem to fit his tail in the basket!

Willow, once again, felt the lighting in the sewing room is far too bright for napping!

Those Chix when not sewing here are busy at home sewing away at Christmas gifts...

Dolly's Cathedral Window pillow foundation

...and some pretty placemats yet to be quilted.

I finished knitting a pair of socks for my Dad...hope Dad likes these colors as much as I do.

And speaking of Christmas, my dear quilting friend in Texas, Patty, stitched and sent me an early Christmas gift!

A quilted advent calendar along with the hanger!!
Patty and I love snowman and I just LOVE this wall-hanging!
Thank you again Patty, love and hugs to you Girlfriend :D

Best wishes and stitches everyone!!