Spencer Update He has been receiving treatment for three weeks now. I feel as though he has made an improvement. I need to get him to the vet for a weigh-in. He is still bony but nothing compared to what he was like 3 weeks ago!

7 Sisters Update I added details about my 7 Sisters quilt on my side bar. The number of full blocks, half blocks, connector triangles. As I finish quilting a part I will update my side bar. This has been motivating for me. I told Beth that I would not work on any of my other UFOs until I was 10th on the UFO challenger list or higher or it was the end of the 3rd quarter. She did give me permission to finish 2 little totes I have to get done as gifts, which are UFOs, and not consider it a deal breaker. Yes I can hear her giggling all the way from Maryland. I think she knows me a little too well and it will be hard for me to stay away from another finish on something else. This is the only way I am going to make any progress on this quilt. Wish me luck! Go tell Beth to be nice to me too!

My Sweet Boy Turned 15 Today!

Happy Birthday! Momma loves you!

Quilt Holder in Training I didn't notice the bottom of the subject when I took this pic but had a good laugh when I loaded it to the camera. See this post. I had seen my friends dh in her pics and when she quilted my quilt I asked him to please hold my quilts as well.

I then asked my quilt holder to turn the quilt around. Notice my quilting assistant in on the act as well. Smart alecs!!

Mamacrafty's RR

Sweetjessy's RR

The Following Are Actual Events.... No names have been changed as there are no innocent

Let's set the stage. This UFO obsessed person just got a UFO back from the quilter. Trying to decide what to concentrate on...a fast finish or longer term finish.

Me: You know I am in this UFO challenge where there are 100 women that all have to finish a UFO each quarter. As you finish your name moves to the bottom of the list. If your name bubbles up to the top of the list you have 1 week to finish something or you have to pay a fat quarter... You also have to have 1 finish per quarter but I already have that.

dh: okay....

Me: So I am trying to decide what to work on next. I have this big quilt to hand quilt and I wonder if I should just work on that and save the binding for a fast finish...

dh: (blank stare)

Me: What do you think?

dh: All this just over a fat quarter???

Me: Well....yeah....

He just doesn't get it. I went and consulted with my buddy Beth. She thinks I should machine the binding on and save the hand work if I get toward the top of the list. I like that woman! She gets it!!

Kindness of Others My family has been through a lot over the past few years. If you have been reading along you know the stories. Over this time I have experienced several random acts of kindness. One was a gift certificate to equilter from Sharon where I purchased the following:

The next was a kind offer to quilt a UFO for me. I did not act upon this at first but then later accepted the offer. In return I am donating a QOV to the quilter. I know this is dark but the quilting really shows up well that way. Thanks Alycia!

Quilt back

I am truly blessed by the kindness of these friends.

Did You Hear Something? Maybe it was the loud thud of me falling off the wagon. 21 yards later but I am happy. A birthday gift from hubby. 2 quilts and one tote are in plan for this yardage.

Arlington Quilt Show and Saturday Sew In

Pics of the booty I got at the quilt show.

Winnings from the Sew In. I met up with a group of gals from the Quilting with a Passion quilt forum. We played some games and I won some cute notepads and 18 FQs. It was a LOT of fun! Thanks ladies.

May Goals Here we are half way into May and I didn't list my goals. I am sure you know I am on a finishing frenzy. I have already finished two UFOs this month and have my sights set on the next one to finish. I will be working out the quilting plan on my Chain Events quilt and continue to work on the 7 Sisters. I really need to get some serious time in on the 7 Sisters or I am going to be caught as the Queen of UFOs with that one.

• quilt Chain Events by end of May
• get to half way point on quilting 7 Sisters
• move round robins along a little more quickly
• put final touches on ugly challenge tote bag

Another UFO Finished I started this Round Robin last year and it came home to me this year. I counted it as a UFO as it met the criteria of when it had been started, before January 1 of this year. I picked it up from the long armer Friday and sewed the binding on it the same day. I stitched on that binding every spare minute and put the last stitches in it this morning when I got up. This RR represents many firsts for me. First round robin, first time I had done the blanket stitch by hand, paper piecing, machine applique. I know many have bad experiences but I think this one turned out wonderfully. Many thanks to Teresa, Becky, Beth, Jane and Paulette for your work on this RR. I love it!

Friday Vacation Day I took the day off to attend a little quilt show in Arlington, TX where a friend had a few quilts hanging. It was a very small but nice show. It only took about 2 hours to see the quilts and all the vendors. So what is a girl to do when she has the rest of the day to kill? She finds more quilt shopping!

I went to a quilt store near the show. They had some things at the show that were on display but didn't have any inventory with them. I popped in to have a look around. They had a thimble I was looking for and then I picked up a few batik FQs and one other piece of fabric. I was also looking for some 30's fabrics. Someone had told me of another shop that had plenty. I got directions and drove over there. I walked in the store and my mouth fell open. Huge store with lots of inventory. Wide variety. I looked for a very long time in that store. I was easily there for over an hour. I found some 30's FQs and the yardage I needed to bind my 30's feedsack quilt.

Oh, did I mention that while I was at the quilt show I got my 30's round robin back from my friend who quilted it? As soon as I got home I threw a load in the washing machine along with my binding fabric. Before the night was out I had the binding made and machine sewn to the quilt. Now to hand stitch it down. My second finish in May...here we come!

Kids, dogs, husbands and quilts but not necessarily in that order.

My son was the recipient of his school's Lighthouse Award. It is meant for kids that serve as a "light" in their school. It was a nice ceremony. All faculty and staff are allowed to select a student. My son's school nurse chose him. Her reason was because of him coming out of his shell with her. They selected 3 students to give a speech from the 206 recipients. I cried over the first one that spoke. A victim of Katrina with a previously rough life. She had failed school twice and should be a Junior now but is taking classes to complete her Freshman and Sophmore year in one year. Very admirable. Her turnaround is amazing. The second speaker I had mixed feelings about. He was peer pressured into committing a crime and served 1.5 years in jail. He is a Junior and already has two kids. I am probably judging him a little too harshly. I won't say anymore. The third speaker...I could not believe. It was a former co-worker's granddaughter. She is a Junior now and I have known her since her grandmother took custody of her. I do not know her on a deeply personal level but have heard stories and spent some time with her on a few occassions. A very sweet girl. Her mother drank and used drugs while pregnant with this girl. It was such a struggle for her and her grandmother when she was an infant. She has struggled with learning issues but feels she has overcome them. An amazing child. I really like the purpose of the program and think it is good for building self esteem.

We got Spencer's medication yesterday. I gave him his first dose of B12 and antibiotic. Now for the healing to begin. I hope it works and he gets his weight and muscle tone back. He is such a sweetie.

My husband got his latest MELD score. He is now up to a 20. This means he is closer to get a Liver transplant. Of course it depends on who is ahead of him and what comes in as far as a match goes. He is trying to get his knee replacement back in but I am betting that won't happen anytime soon.

I finished!! I put the last stitches in my Double Irish Chain last night and put it right into the wash. When I left this a.m. it was drying. I will take pics when I get home tonight and put them in this post. A little longarm birdy told me I will have my 30's feedsack round robin back Friday. I will just have to bind it. Watch for another finish soon!

Update: I hate the last border....looks like I will be quilting on this some more....sigh....

I Promised Pictures Not what you might have expected but I added a new header on my blog. Those are all my UFOs that I have left. Do you think I should update it by removing the UFOs as they are finished?

I have about half of one side left to finish on my Irish Chain. My son won an award so we are going to the ceremony today. I am working from home so that I can get to school on time. I will be able to stitch on conference calls so I should have another UFO completed today.

Updates on Machine and Spencer I picked up my machine yesterday. I haven't sewn with it yet but plan to this weekend. While I was at the Janome dealer I got a lesson on the rolled hem foot and she showed me how to use a wing needle made for creating a hem stitch. I had never heard of one before. Fascinating. I bought the needle and will be playing with it this weekend.

We got a call from the vet yesterday. I think the news was pretty good. He has a lower intestine infection. He will be on antibiotics for 6 weeks and has to take a B12 shot once a week for 6 weeks. The antibiotic is called tylosin and is actually a horse medicine. The vet had to call the compound phramacy to have it made for a dog. We should have the meds in the next few days. I hope Spencer regains the weight and muscle quickly. I think he is starting to show weakness in his legs now.

On the UFO front...I have the third side of the quilt almost bound. Tonight I will turn that corner and be on my way to a finish. This will put me at the bottom of the Queens list for awhile on the Stashbuster UFO Challenge so I will be concentrating on my 7 Sisters. I need to start making progress on that quilt if I hope to get it done this year! I keep saying by end of June I will have all my UFOs done. I should say, except this one. If I am not careful this quilt is going to get me crowned.

When it Rains it Pours I had a project deadline of Saturday at midnight. I had been sewing every spare minute since Wednesday to meet it. That is the project I had all the cutting issues with. Well I was working steadily at it Saturday morning sewing pieces together after playing with the layout. Suddenly my 1 year old Janome won't catch the bobbin thread. I take her apart and clean her out. I can't see what is wrong but do see the thread getting caught. I got up and drove her immediately to my Janome dealer. They fiddled with her and said they thought the timing was off. How the heck did I do that? I didn't hit a pin. The only thing I can think of is I was working with batiks and they sometimes sew like steel. I probably should have changed the needle before that project started. Some of the intersections of seams were tough to get through. Hmmm.... They say I can pick her up today more than likely. Yippee!!

Luckily I had also bought a Jem Platinum as a class machine last year. It is also known as dd's machine. When I got back I set her up and went to sewing. I was pressing the piece when I noticed I had sewn the lining wrong side out. Sigh.... I had pinned so carefully too visualizing the piece so that when I turned it it would be right. The lining wasn't in that visualization. Darn! So I just pressed it well and went to take pics. Dead camera. My dd loves to play with my camera and had used up the battery. Luckily I have a rapid charger. I charged it up and snapped the pics. I finish with 4-5 hours to spare. Wish me luck! The piece is sitting on the cutting table waiting to be unlined so I can correct it and finish it properly! Pics after voting is over!

Along with the challenge piece I planned to sew the binding on my Irish Chain. It is a large queen size and I am halfway through. If my machine had not gone wonky I was going to start the quilting on my Chain Events. I think it was for the best that it did as I would not have progressed as far as I had on the UFO. I have decided to concentrate on the UFO and just get it done without thinking about other projects. I am creeping up the Queens list for the Stashbuster UFO Challenge and do not care to be crowned Queen.

That's all folks. Sorry to be so pictureless lately. I will try to get some pics in this week.

As the World Turns....or maybe the cookie crumbles... I know you all have been there done that on this. I have a deadline that I was allowed to slip 3 more days. I am doing a challenge and have to fussy cut the focus fabric and then cut my strips and subcuts from my other fabrics. I managed to fussy cut all my HSTs...only 36 of them. Then I took my background and proceeded to cut 36 HSTs from that as well.

My next step was to create a fussy little block that I call a square with wings. I was in my right mind and decided to make a test piece. I had seen several blog posts where people created a four patch and then they sliced through the middle of that. I thought perfect! That is just what I need. So I made the four patch and looked at it only to realize that wasn't exactly what I needed. So now here I am grumbling to myself...while also realizing....those 36 HSTs of my background....I didn't need those. Argh! I hope I don't run out of the background.

So, back to the drawing board. It turns out the focus fabric squares were the right size. I just needed to make the triangle a 1/4" larger so that they would form the seam allowance when I add it to my focus HST. I made another test piece and it turned out great! Then I sewed it to the focus HST. It looks really nice.

At this point I decide to make some notes of how many pieces of what I need to make, etc for my project. This always helps me jump in where I left off so I don't waste time milling about. When I got up this a.m. I decided to look at my plan and realized I had cut too many HSTs. At least it wasn't the other way around, too few. It also dawned on me to check those un-needed HSTs from my background to see if they would be the right size for my "wings" if I cut them in half. They are! Yeah! No waste!

I am back in the groove again. I just have to cut those background HSTs in half and then also cut 30 squares from my focus fabric. Sometimes when things don't seem to be going well....it's just a disguise!