HERE I BE

Well, its been HOW LONG and I finally managed to get back to my blog.
The fire came through after that last post and wiped out previous creativity, currant activity
the entire house and a stash that was sooo lovely, It also wiped out all guilt, shame and pretty much hope to ever be me again.

I have discovered that if fire burns down a tree, some trees will come back from the roots. Their first leaves are huge and somewhat tender, but then the stalks start to grow. Thats what I am seeing and I am hoping that in the new year alot of them will be doing fine. We are having a wet fall-early winter,
so I am hopeful.

And I hope that that holds true with me. That I can revive,survive and so on. I have a sewing table, a mat, new ruler,  and thanks to a whole bunch of wonderful people from all around the world, a new stash. Audrey and I made it to the local area shop hop and I added some personal selections to the stash. I had great plans. My eyes are much worse than they were. I am wondering if I will be able to function at the machine.
The new machine is a Janome memory craft 6300. I used it in the single wide trailor house that we lived in while our New HOUSE ON THE HILL was being built, and loved the feel of it when I put the "pedal to the medal" so to speak.

The new table is a 'cheep" one compared to the Horn that I had, but hey, I am old and won't wear it out, and its laid out as I want. My daughter Jan bought me an ott light, a tall one with a huge magnifying glass on it that I can flex into proper direction. Sewing was a pleasure in the trailor. My only attempt here, I couldn't see the needle. But persista\ence paid off, but seeing what I was sewing?? I still haven't sewn in this house. we have been here 7 months. I think that I am chicken to try. But I have also been very busy setting up my office, having company, shopping for essentials, making thousands of decisions and thats my excuse.

I think that I am so terrified of not being able to do it-- that I won't try.

I do not admire fearful  cats!

But I have started "dreaming" of designs and fabric colors and layouts.

Today I finally got back into my lost blogs. Tomorrow????

Easing back to homelife I hope

Wow!
Think I have been overtaken in a whirlwind or something. Something anyway that turned my life inside out.
Nothing terribly tramatic, just bouts of sickness, influx of kids, grandkids, mustdo's, camping and stuff like that. All normal, interesting, stimulating, exhausting and so on- but off a "Moma does her own slow easy thing "mode.
I wondered into the quilt room this morning. Well, I have been in there off and on last week, but took a real gander at it this morning.

Yes, its still the mess of mess's.

But there has been a few changes. When my daughter #4  was visiting, she found a bookshelf kind of leaning drunkerdly in a neighbors barn door. It was perfect for my sewing room, so we pursued contact with the owner to no avail. And then on another morning walk, she ran into one of the contacts and he said, just take it if you want it. So she did. And she scrubbed and painted, and painted. We threw fabric just any which of way to clear a path when we had some help to get the thing moved in. Later, my husband screwed it to the wall, and Liz started folding and stacking fabric.  Of course her time here was about up so work did not progress any furthur.  I have wondered in there and folded some but, when I fold fabric, I get ideas and progress goes in a different direction.

So here is what has been happening.

I think that I only need 9 of these blocks for a baby quilt. I hope for something, old, homemade, a little off center and quirky verging on vintage but nothing quite on. Yes, that sounds like me alright. I thought about making it for Eli, a brand new nearly 10 lb baby in the church family---- but on the other hand there is a new grandchild  comming up and its mother likes, old,vintage, looking stuff. Will just see what comes together. Maybe a nice dog blanket! LOL! It doesn't matter much. Its interesting, eazy and I am having fun. I guess that is what is important.

This has been on the design wall for eons. I keep tweeking it. I had never planned on pink, but I really like what it does. The triangles were supposed to be "Indian Trails" but  I don't think I will finish that pattern. I kind of like the small 1/2 triangles interjecting, but do not want to  add them all around the triangles. This looks cleaner, lighter, less regimented. I don't know if I will use it or where it is going but this is making me happy---so far. Slow thinking here.

This is the shelves up and slowwwwly recieving fabric. This narrow bookshelves gives me new access to my cutting table from two sides, room for a trash can, and good light. It is not perfect, but it is better.

Lots of work to do--but I know that I will just piddle away at it because on a good day, you can sail away on a fabric flight of fantasy, let the scraps fall where they may.

Its in the 100 degrees now, but the airconditioner works fine. So its a lovely ??? well, pleasant for me, work place in the early morning hours, or just whenever I take a whim.

But--- hot weather means water, water, water, so I had best go change my water, tend the garden day needs, feed the poultry and be ready for lunch in town with a group of friends in two hours.

Ouch, maybe tomorrow I can go looking for a fabric store that has some old fashioned, directional  NAVY blue fabric. I guess NAVY has just not been my thing before. I can't find a decent peice in this fabric bonanza mess!

So- maybe will find somethin just right. I have heard that they have a new quilt store in the tourist town heading toward the pass. I like the sound of that! Never enough fabric, and never enough quilt stores. I try to share some cash with them to keep them in business.

Duty calls.

Talk about frustration.
After 15 years of having the same e-mail, microsoft accounts, hotmail accounts whatever has taken me on one mind blowing trip It has been nearly 2 months since I could get on my blog.
Talk about wanting to smash things!

MMMMM--

Anyway. Nothing to post tonight really. Housefull of family, graduations, camping etd. You noticed I did not get my Bonnie Hunter quilt done. Guess for now I will put it in the UFO pile I am still trying to pot my pots for the deck and put some more plants in the garden and of course it is wedding month and anniversary month for so many people.

Guess I will just see what kind of life I can actually recover-- but not tonight.
Just glad to be back and ME

Once Again

This morning found me working on Chevrons for the celtic solstice quilt again. I did a lot of chain piecing  and whized right along. Unfortunately, I think the whizzing was telling me something. I am not happy with the haphazardness of these blocks and pieces done today. Sloppy. So if I can remake them easily I will, and if not-- well I will cut some more out.

I really think it is time to take a break from this and  do a refresher with something else. But will I just be pushing this stuff into the UFO bin? I don't want that. Maybe I can promise my self a break AFTER
I finish chevrons or set some kind of "break it up, and go back" goal plan.
Will think on that.

These nice spring days are lulling me I think. Just wanted to sleep all day today, so back and forth kitchen, sewing, genealogy office work. Can't stay put. I did drag out some 4" pots to bleach so that I can pot up tomato and pepper plants. All things needy-- but I need to get this quilting project going.

Hmmm. Guess that I will sleep on it.

I have been in the sewing room a few mornings.

Nothing too interesting to record here,or  to look at.

After a blitz of the "Yuck" some nasty virus, I am back to popping into my sewing room for a little rest and relaxation before anyone gets up,and sometimes later.

All of the 24 blocks of the 54-40 or fight type are done, ironed and in a box. I am counting the blocks done toward the border of this "Bonnie Hunter" mystery quilt, and that means that I amjust past the half way mark to a finish piecing job.

I have mixed emotions. When I lay the blocks out, I like them. Bright and good movement there. When I am working on it, I am wishing that I had added more fabrics. I get bored with the sameness of this.

Yesterday, I cut out and counted and recounted all the 200 rectangles I needed to make the chevron blocks. For now I am going to hope that the 2 " squares of yellow and neutral are at least close to enough. This morning I sewed body parts, chain stitching, and then put 8 of the chevrons together. Even scrappy, they are not exciting, but look not too bad either. I have actually finished enough chevrons for two of the 25 blocks that I have yet to make. I think Bonnie calls this her Birthday block.I will reserve judgement on it. I like the little triangular corners. I do not like or at least very rarely like pinwheels.

I also had to add another print to the bit of half triangle blocks that I am making to "maybe" frame my vintage looking center fabric up on a design wall. One night, a sleepless beginning and the mind not resting, I climbed back out of bed and went and rooted around my stash until I found a soft blendy rose, and pink kind of nothing fabric and layed it out to add into my design wall quilt. Then went back to bed and slept like a top. It is funny how the mind is working when you don't even realize it. I DO realize that mine must work in super slow motion! Well, we will see where it leads me down what path with this quilt.

I came home from town the other day with another stack of 5 project boxes to sort body parts and store made blocks and things of projects that I am actively using from time to time. That gives me 10 of these boxes now. And when I get the "notion" I will kind of rearrange these piles of fabric in there to make room for a little temporary fabric storage in there. I threw out a plastic 3 drawer thing that I bought one summer about 6 years or so ago when 2 of my grandkids came for Ok to stay 3 weeks, and then on second thought hauled it into my sewing room for tempory storage for new fabric.  Or maybe I will put  UFO's in there instead and use my tall little drawer stacker for fat quarters? Hmm. I will wait for the brain to work on that one.

It is a bright and sunny day outside with drifting occasional black rain clouds, Just a nice springy time day. So think I will go play with my poultry and do chores and  make just a very little gardening motions music.

My son is building me a series of 3 compost bins and I can't wait to pile them full of stuff to decompose! Except for the fact that I will have to overcome my inherent laziness, that is!

I wonder if thats what I am doing in my sewing room? Making more compost bins?

For sure I can't count right

It seems like its been so long since I have been here.

BW came down and helped me pin little NW quilt. I started it 3.5 years ago before she was born and was determined to finish it by this her third birthday. There is only so much guilt that you can handle. I had already made a mess of receiving type blankets for her event but had created a larger crib size for later. The top has been done since before NW was born. Just sitting there.

We pinned it out. BW was such a help and she learned that it really does make your back hurt even though we had the thing duck tapped to our large table that is used for everything. Right now it is my husbands office and has to be 1/2 cleared for every meal! Its a large conference table that a cousin found years ago and KNEW it was perfect for our lifestyle. Over the years I have tried to get rid of it but everyone yells so loud we continue to use it even though most of the time there are only 3 of us rattling around in this house. We have had it now for over 20 years, and it hogs the dining room but it really is handy for  our life. I have thought about getting a breakfast size table to use for normal eating but I am not sure exactly where I would put it????


When we were done pinning we discovered some oops places on two sides of the quilt in the border edges of the backing. Enough for the time. We were so aching.

No way was I going to get it finished for her 3d birthday! But B said that was fine. They had moved her party to a week out because our varsity BB team was headed to STATE. With two granddaughters on the team--well, everything stops for state tourney!

We spent 3 days in Spokane, DH had some business to do for  a day and a half, so I either rode in the truck with him or slept in at the motel. I managed to get in two quilt stores and fabric that I surely don't need, and we tried out different places to eat and went back to a few favorites. The girls WON their first game with the team that had trounced them last year and that were currently undefeated.They  lost
their  second to the defending 5 year champs and then came back strong for the Championship round and  Won 3d place. We are SURE if the draws had been different we would have placed second-- but that is the way the ball bounces as Chuck Bolin would say.

Satisfied, I came home to a load of laundry, and a load of clean unfolded laundry, spoiled to not having to cook and ready to sew.

I had purchased a varigated thread to blend into this scrap quilt and Lynn at Needle N Time had sold me the right topstitch needles for the heavier wt thread and it went pretty smooth after I had repinned the oops out of the quilt. The oops didn't take as long as I thought. When you are tired, an oops can be overwhelming but is not  as alarming as you thought and that is how it was. I took three different days to finish it and took it to my daughter up the road to bind it for me. I really HATE to bind. I am not sure why and so when I can, I trade something to her for a binding job. Its always nice to have an OWE on hand for something like that. I haven't saw the quilt yet and I have to make a label for it and sew it on before the party tomorrow night.

I have been sick with the YUCK for the last 2 and half days. Spent most of my days sleeping in the chair in front of the pellet stove. I think that I will live now though not feeling the best. I still want to buy a little toy or something for the party-- do I venture out? Or save myself? Well I think the printer used the last of the lazer roll so maybe it will be an OUT. We will see. I don't have much cash right now to have a really good time with it, and I don't want more sickness. But I am a sucker for getting out of the house and eating out. I enjoy cooking, but have been pretty much been fixing lunch and dinner for awhile because the guys have been working alot in the office.....ie.... my table.

Yesterday, I was up enough to square all the 4 patch blocks that I had made for the celtic soltice quilt. I now have 8 more of the star type blocks to finish. I don't know how many times that I have counted them and then forget and count again and the numbers always are different for me. It must be a brain malfunction that I was born with. ..... I pinned the block pieces together and need about 4 more sets of right sides of the fifty four-fourty points while I have a stack so high of the left sides. How do I do that!!
It drives me nuts. Anyway. I have 8 more blocks to finish, press and store before I work on the next set.

I was in a frenzy to finish some of the pieces for those blocks, so really, I don't know what I have, not much I know, and I am sure that I counted it all wrong anyway, since I am so good at that.

But my goal is now to just work on that steady, and switch off with either my design wall project, which is not comming together at all------ or to drag out another UFO and work on that, slowly clean  up my sewing space, look for a bookcase with sides 3' x tall to store more fabric in and to PUTTER.

I can putter fairly well. I just can't count or remember what I counted!!!

Why is it?

Sunshine, glorious sunshine outside, glistening snow all over Billygoat mountain.
I can do what ever I want today--. Not. There has to be some goals, and some determination.

So as I set firmly at the machine and sew my mind is not on my business. It is tumbling, asking questions.

Why is it such a soaring pleasure to sew some days. You feel like you have air under your wings and you can do almost anything and like it?

And some days its just kind of grime, counting the amounts finished and counting the amounts to be done.

I have been amazingly well as far as virus's etc go this winter. All about me people have been sick and dragging and I have done pretty well. But its impossible I think to get by in the winter and not have some virus, or  quite a few hit you. I mean, you have to buy groceries and so does the sickly ones and so you meet and intermingle among the cabbages and romaine and zip, you come away with a little icky bug that will get you down in the dumps soon. And it finally happened to me. When it was over, I shopped frantically. Was I searching for another bug to bring home to get me down?  And when all was said and done, the aisles wondered up and down, there wasn't much I brought home except for food supplys.

Yesterday I approached the dreaded deadline ahead, must do, get this done forever quilt. I had worked on it over the weekend and the backing was almost done. I had hunted and hunted for a special backing fabric for this very scrappy quilt that I had pieced for my granddaughter  but thinking baby quilt I hadn't purchased enough fabric. Now I had to piece on side boarders and hope they looked alright. I didn't want it patchy too, so decided to borders down the sides of  the back of the quilt.It was soon, hurry hurry get this done, and the peices ironed.
I duck taped the backing to my table top and marked the center ( just on one end, mind you. What was I not thinking?)  I cut and laid out the white warm and natural that I prefer to use. Stood back and looked at it . My son GW came in and asked is that the quilt? You want some help. And he called his wife to come and help.

Pinning is a merciless job. Its bad on young backs and old backs alike. I used to have to do it on the floor and am really thinkfull to have this 4' x 10'table to work on. But it is still hard on the back.
When everything was pinned about 3" apart, we turned it over. As always there are some boo boos.
One on either side to be unpinned and redone and even oops a little resewing.   The quilt is resting in the living room over couches and chairs. It should be warm enough in there. I hope so anyway, as I had went ahead and marked it while it was stretched out with a friXion pen.. And we rerely use the living room this time of the year, so thats ok. Our REAL LIVING room is the dining room with the pellet stove and the lazy boys in it.

My back is rested, but the memory remains and I will give that quilt and me, a few more days to relax.

Back to the Celtic Soltice blocks. Now what it different? Why are they not fun anymore? Why are they kind of just a chore?  I am getting tired of the fabrics. I cut most of the pieces and pieced quite a bit. Then had to cut more because I can't count properly. I still had enough variety I thought-- but now I am wishing that I had even more variety. "Remember that for the next scrap quilt".
I just made my self sew anyway. It wasn't fun. It wasn't uplifting.. I wasn't happy. Was it really the Celtic Soltice Quilt? Or was it the painful chore of pinning the day before. Maybe I am just lazy.

I now have 15 of the 54-40 or fight blocks done. Nine more, I promise my self and you can switch gears and take a break on something else. But not for long. I do not want this to be another UFO.