Weekend of bent and broken needles. I had every intention to come home Friday night and jump right into quilting on the 9 patch. But about mid afternoon I started feeling queasy. I had a migraine coming on and no matter what I did I could not ward it off. I limped home and fell into bed. I lay down for an hour or so and started feeling well enough to get up and make dinner. In fact I think hubby had already grilled the meat so I just had to reheat that and make sides. I cannot even remember at this point if I went into my sewing room to sew that night.

Saturday I got up and we all got ready to go to the Real Texas Festival here in town. They now gate up all the vendors and carnival rides so that you have to pay $8 a person to get to these people when they used to be lined up in old downtown and you had free access. We had gotten free tickets so no big deal for us. The crowd wasn't that big but we got there when it first opened. I am sure the younger crowd showed later that evening for the music. I quilted half of the top in the first direction. There were some rough spots but all in all it was manageable. I went back later that night and that is when the trouble began. I was hitting the bumps in the seams and first broke a needle trying to work through that. Not a minute after changing that needle I bent the new one. In spite of all the trouble I kept going. I got to a point where I decided it best to stop. I noticed the tension was loose on the last two rows so I picked those out and called it quits.

Sunday I got up again with the intent to sew. I had lots of things to accomplish and knew my time would be split. I mananged to work a few hours on calls that I was required to be on and got groceries. I even cooked dinner. And no, I didn't make it to the sewing room!

So much for 2 more finishes this month!

Stash Storage. I have been ogling and coveting everyones stash storage solutions. I came across this cabinet and am very tempted to buy it. I am actually wanting two. Tell me what you think. The frame is composite with oak veneer. The doors are solid oak. It is 48" x 26" by 9.25". 5 shelves, only 1 of which is not adjustable.

Please comment!

Weekend Accomplishments. This past weekend was the stashbuster retreat weekend. I quilted the baby Irish Chain top and am trimming up the thread tails so I can quilt the border. I also managed to baste my peach and blue nine patch top as well. Last night I began quilting it and after two passes ran into some trouble. I think it is the monofilament I am using. I had bought this thread a very long time ago and think that the quality isn't as good as the newer monofilaments. I will find my sulky and try that. It has a much better feel to it than the other and will probably work better.

I am now working on UFOs that had been made by other people. If you read previous posts you will see that I usually talk about why the UFO became a UFO. Let me start with the baby quilt. I bought this top off ebay. As it turns out it was a friend of mine selling it. She had quilted about half of it by hand therefore it was obviously all basted. She had pieced a cotton batt together for it. It has a muslin backing. The colors in it are nice and I just could not really see a reason for her to have given up on it. I picked out the hand quilting and started machine quilting it. I quilted it across the diagonal of the squares. The quilting went well but as I got further into it I could see where points were not matching and the quilting design was a little wiggly trying to follow the lines. I don't think these things took away from the quilt at all. The hand quilting would have been fine and whomever received that quilt from my friend would have loved it. I don't think there were any glaring errors that would warrant it being abandoned. So now I will finish it. I didn't have any particular person in mind when I bought this quilt. Since I have been on my crusade to finish my UFOs I learned that a friend of mine is expecting a baby. And of all days he is due on my birthday! I think I get the message!! I will gift the quilt to my friend and her new baby!

The peach and blue ninepatch on point. I bought this completed top from an antique store back when I was a new quilter. I picked it up from an antique store in Garland, TX that was near a quilt shop I frequented. I remember at the time I was wanting to get some tops that I could quilt and possibly some tops that might need a little restoration. I have 4 of these tops. 2 need no repair, 1 needs a small amount of repair and the last needs a lot of repair. It needs so much repair that I am not even counting it as a UFO. I am currently planning to practice restoration techniques on it only. But as I sit here typing this I am thinking I may have to cut it down a bit and finish it too. But I digress.

I quilted the first row of quilting in the ditch. It went fine and I was encouraged. **Note to self, roll that quilt better so that it is easier to handle please. The second row did not go as well. The points were not aligned and my walking foot would not walk over the seams as there was a big bump at the points. Then the monofilament was not cooperating either. I may just use a peach cotton/poly on top but will give the sulky a shot. I plan to stitch in the ditch on this entire top which will echo the quilting design in the plain peach squares between the 9 patches. Having handled this top a lot in the past two days I noticed that the creator was using every bit of scrap whe could find. There are 4 different blues in the top. The main blue seems to be a knif of some sort. One square even has a small print on it. A few of the nine patches were reversed in the color arrangement with the blue being predominant rather than the peach. The solid peach squares are all cut from a single piece but several of the nine patch peach squares were pieced from scraps. This quilter really had to draw on her resources to finish this top. I think I would have given up on it too. But after being so resourceful why stop there? Did the quilter pass away to the great quilting frame in the sky? There was no history with that quilt so that story is lost. I will label this quilt and credit the area where I purchased it and preserve some portion of it's history.

My Favorite Quilt Store. This is a hard question for me since I have been avoiding the stores since I am "no buy". I was also away from quilting a bit and got out of the habit. Let me tell you that I love all quilt stores. They all have a personality of their own. I like to look at all shops just to see what kind of character a store has. I also like just the "right" level of customer service as well. When I go into these shops I love when you are greeted with a warm "Hello, how are you today? Is there anything special you are looking for?" I don't like to be hovered over but if I turn to look for someone to help me I like that I don't have to play "Hide and Seek" to get that help.

With this said I will mention a few stores that I frequent. Quiltmakers in Dallas, Texas. Quilt Country in Lewisville, Texas and The Carriage House Quilt Shoppe in Plano, TX. They each have their own personality. They all have a nice selection of fabric, books and patterns. Each has a little something that no one else has.

Momma Got Her Quilt and in record time too! I mailed it on Monday at 1:00 p.m. and just talked to her about 10:30 a.m today and she had it. Less than 48 hours. Wow! She really likes it she said. First comment was that she was going to put it away until the fall. It is because she wants to use the lighter colored one I gave her last year. I told her she had to sleep under if for a week before she put it away!

This quilt was originally intended for some friends of ours that divorced. I had it pieced with the exception of the borders before it became a UFO. When I went to work on my UFOs again I had to choose a new recipient and Mom was the only one I knew that had a King size bed and that I wanted to give a quilt to. She and I discussed whether she liked the colors. She said she did. I happily finished it knowing it would be a birthday gift for her and hoping she would forget she was getting it. She did!

The hand quilting in the baby quilt is all ripped out now. Now for that swatching tonight to get my quilting plan in place!

The Baby Irish Chain. I sat down to decide how to quilt this quilt. I unfolded it and to my surprise found that it had been half way hand quilted. I had purchased this quilt from ebay for $17.50 a few years ago. I knew that I would not finish hand quilting it so went to work ripping the hand stitches out. The quilting was not that fine so it is coming out quickly. I hope to complete the ripping tonight and will then make a swatch of some of the specialty stitches so that I can make a decision on how to proceed.

12 Days of Christmas. I pulled this quilt top out and looked at a piece of white fabric that I had already cut. I am not sure what I had intended to use it for but it wasn't large enough for the backing. I took the bolt of 60" wide bleached muslin and cut a piece and threw it into the washer with my load of wash. It is sitting in the dryer waiting for me to pull it and press it so I can baste the quilt. I am planning on stippling the blocks and may put some specialty stitches in and around the sashing.

Wow, two more finishes this month sure would be nice! If possible I will even squeeze in the 9 patch that I have everything ready for.

What am I going to work on next. Hmmm.... Well I have your votes and you voted on the 12 Days of Christmas. I have that topped now and just have to baste it then quilt it. I am thinking about stippling it but have to play on the new machine first to get some practice. The next item you voted on was the Denim and Flannel log cabin. That one is done. Then came the Baby Irish Chain. That one will go very quickly so while I fiddle with getting the back together for the 12 Days and get it basted I think I will quilt up that baby quilt real quick.

My buddy DrBeth-MD sent me a great quilt last year. She had quilted it using specialty stitches on her machine. I have to look at the stitches on my machine and choose one. I may go with a combination of specialty and straight stitching. You know I am a planner! Of course I will make a test swatch first to make sure I have my tension right. Then I have to choose my thread color! LOL! Yes I am a mess! She warned me it will take lots of thread. That will be a consideration as well. I did get my free cone of Sulky variegated thread when I bought my machine. I'll look to see if it matches the fabrics.

Another finish!! This was my oldest UFO that I made. I have others that are older which I purchased. This is my first pieced back as well. My friend Beth quilted it and I just finished binding it. It will go into the wash shortly then get wrapped and shipped off. You know my mother never reads my blog unless I ask her to so now she will without being asked! This is her birthday present for her birthday on the 21st this month. Happy Birthday Momma!!

Stashbuster Topic of the Week. How did I become a quilter? What was my first project and where is it? I did not inherit quilting from my ancestors. Both of my grandmothers worked and had large families. I am not sure if their mother's quilted either. I went home to visit my parents in the late 1980's. While I was there my mother took me to my Aunt's house. She and my cousin showed me a quilt they had made using Eleanor Burn's Quilt in a Day Log Cabin. They showed me how they used a blanket as the batting. I was hooked. Up to that point I had sewn clothing and pillows.

In 1988 or 1989 I went on vacation with my parents and husband to Myrtle Beach, SC. The guys went and did their thing and Mom and I went and did ours. We happened across a fabric store. We went in and I found Eleanor Burns book and I bought the fabric to make my mom a blue and mauve Queen size log cabin. I sort of read the book and sort of followed the directions. having sewn clothing I used my standard 5/8" seam. Oops. Needless to say her quilt wasn't quite big enough. I quilted it in the ditch using batting and not a blanket and sent it off to her. She still has the quilt but it is in her basement with seams that have started pulling apart. She is a washaholic and washed it to death. I never think to get it from her to see if it can be saved. I will have to try to remember to do that.

You know I made myself a Log Cabin as well and still hadn't read those directions closely. I also used a 5/8" seam on that one as well. I finally read the directions closely to see the error of my ways! Now I read the heck out of directions to make sure I don't repeat that mistake!

Reflections on March. I forgot that I planned to reflect on the previous month each month. So here we are a third of the way through the new month and I just remembered! I didn't think I accomplished much but here goes!

• Topped my 12 Days of Christmas quilt
• Topped my floral Irish Chain quilt
• Finished my denim and log cabin....ummm...hot pad
• Got my King Log Cabin back from the quilter (currently binding)

So all in all not bad. I am now down to 8 UFOs from 10 at the start if the year.

I got Tagged. Well I am honored to have been tagged by Leigh to name my 5 favorite or inspirational sites. Honored because she named me as one of her 5 favorites!

Please note this is in random order. And I will whine like all others when I say that it was hard to choose just five. I quickly listed 8.

I adore Triller. She is a cat that blogs with the help of her Mum Cat. She and Chelsea have some great adventures. Mum Cat is quite the artist and Triller shows off her work all the time.

Mary has the most beautiful quilts. She is very prolific and shows great pictures. She is a large part of Heartstrings and has exchanged emails with me many times to help me see why a quilt speaks to me. She is very generous with her time in many ways.

Darlene has this huge stack of UFOs. She amazes me. They don't stop her from starting new things either! I want to be more like Darlene but momma keeps asking when I am going to finish all my other stuff. She has been doing all these great little projects with charm packs. I STALK Darlene's blog and I am not afraid to admit it. I can't wait to see what new goodies she has to post.

Lisa just did an amazing quilt that she painted and then did some extremely detailed quilting on. She does such a variety of work. I like to see what she has done lately....it let's me know what is possible and inspires me to try new things.

Beth in MD is my bud. She encourages me herself. We laugh all the time as we discover one more thing we have in common. Are you keeping a list Beth? She cheers my every little accomplishment and cyber hugs me when I need it. She really helped me get through a tough year last year! Her blog is great. She has lots of lists. I push her to add more to that completed list all the time! ;) She is the Queen of UFOs in #quiltchat but I wonder if Darlene could unseat her....hmmm...watch out Beth!

So those are my 5 but I am not going to stop.....

Sharon does amazing miniatures work. She and I chat a couple times a week and she recently blogged about Blog Pressure. Gee, could that be me?!?! Sharon has lots of lovely work and shares it most generously with all. She is a sweet gal!

Beth is an inspiration to me. I was a soccer mom, now a tennis mom and will soon be a golf mom. She helps kids with chess tournaments. Any person that spends one minute helping a child is #1 in my book. I know there are many kids out there lost...not getting that "thing" they need. I had many teachers that helped me with that "thing" that I needed at the moment. Beth, I am sure there are many kids out there that will remember you for a long, long time!

Bonnie at quiltville has a great website in addition to her blog. She makes the greatest quilts and gives out her free designs. She has lots of tips about organizing your scraps. Her site is a great read. Read Bonnie's blog from March 31 and April 1, 2007. Here is proof to the world that no good deed goes unturned. She has been so generous and when she needed help it came to her ten fold. Bonnie, you are a treasure!

There are so many blogs out there that I love. I picked those that came to mind immediately. I am sure I will be remorseful that I didn't pick this one or that. There are so many that inspire me.

Please be gentle! This is my sewing room and overflow area. To add to the misery we are trying to remodel which came to a screeching halt. This room is about 9 x 10. I really need to just haul it all out and setup the basics. My table, storage shelves, etc. The problem is there really isn't any place to haul it to. I am trying to figure out how to accomplish this now. I really want to finish the UFOs I am working on instead of stopping and cleaning up. I know this will be beneficial in the long run. So should you choose to leave a comment please be encouraging! I need it!

Stashbuster Topic of the Week. What kind of quilter am I? Well I must admit I picked this topic myself because my own answer makes me giggle. Yes, I laugh at my own jokes. I am a STRIPPER!!!!!!!! Thank you Eleanor Burns and Donna Poster! You did this to me! LOL!!

Okay, okay, calm down. This has nothing to do with my clothes....well except those old jeans I am planning to cut into strips. My favorite quilts are all done in the strip method. I like fast and easy.....hmmmm.....no, I won't comment on that. Even when I am looking at other patterns NOT done in a strip method I try to see if I can use that technique to speed it up a bit. I machine piece and I machine quilt. I do have plans to try some hand piecing, Cathedral Windows, and some hand quilting in the future though. But fast and by machine is my prefered method.

The other characteristic I have to comment on is that I do tend to lean toward the more traditional patterns. The majority of my quilts have been log cabins, irish chains, rail fences. There are a few more "modern" pieces in my history though.

We have a finish! I took a class to learn a quilt as you go process. The quilt was to be a denim and flannel log cabin. When I took the class I enjoyed all the techinques shared and the other tips I learned. When I dug this UFO out I had fully intended to make a throw quilt out of it. As I studied the block I realized the amount of work that would go into doing that. I was not really big on lots of hand work. I cut my plan back to just make 3 more blocks and make a table topper. Even doing that did not excite me. So the block and I had a little chat. It told me "Just bind me, I want to be a hot pad." So there you have it. My second UFO finish of the year.

Next up? I will be binding my King Log Cabin that I got back from my friend a few weeks back. Onward!

I picked up my new machines Friday afternoon. I called ahead to make sure they knew I was coming. I picked up DD and then went to the store. They had everything ready and the sales lady was demo'ing to another lady so we loaded the machines while she finished up. She knew what I needed to see and called us over when she got to that point in her demo. We just needed to see winding bobbins and threading the machines. She was great. Showed us what we wanted to see and a little more. I bought extra bobbins for DD and me. I know how I am and use lots of them. DD suggested I just pull all the thread off the bobbin instead of the spares. I do that when I am at the end of the bobbin but not when it is full. I am happy with the extras.

DD and I headed to Starbucks and talked a little then went home. I went into my quilt chat room and everyone asked if I had sewn yet. They ribbed me since everything was still out in the car. I finally left the room and brought it all in. I loaded it on the dining table since I was not prepared to set it up in my sewing room yet. I had to finish my current project on my old machine. I didn't want to relearn on the new one. When I finished I folded the old machine down into the cabinet.

It was a strange feeling to put this machine away since I knew it was because my primary machine was now taking a backseat to the new one. I am happy to have the new machine but I have history with the old one. My mother bought this machine when I was very young. She can't remember exactly when. I have many memories of mom using this machine. Sometime before I married she bought a newer machine with fancy stitches on it. When I married and was getting ready to move she told me I could take her old machine. I remember it sitting in my apartment and then moving to the house. I can't recall how much I used it but about 4 years later I became interested in quilting and really put it to work. It has been a very good machine. I just want to do all sorts of new techniques and this machine doesn't have specialty stitches and is hard to fit for new feet. Both my mother and husband are pressuring me about what I plan to do with it. My plan of course is to keep it. It is funny since I also have MIL's machine, never have used it and he hasn't pressured me to get rid of that one.

So the new machine. I played with it for a little while Saturday night to get the tension set and try the different stitches. I feel like I have a decent feel for the machine now. The next day I pieced a backing which required a simple straight stitch. Next I sewed a binding onto a UFO, again a straight stitch but used my 1/4" foot and sewed through several thicknesses. So far so good. When I finish my hand sewing on that binding I will then bind another UFO on the machine. To do this I definately need to get the machine setup in a better place than what I have now.

Progress:

I did sew last night. I have 2.5 colors done. Have other committments tonight but will try to get through the green. Half way through the three blocks on the green and it is a fast sew. The block can be seen here.

Puppy Update:

The dogs, except for a light cough for Augie and Pepper, seem to be well now. I have read that the cough just takes time to go away. We are giving them cough syrup twice a day when we remember. Usually if they are coughing a lot we remember, otherwise.... So nice to see our little girl Pepper barking and playing again.

A little bit stuck. Shifting gears is one of the hardest things for me to do. I was wailing away at the UFOs but knew I had to stop on those to work on some swap blocks that need embroidery on them. I don't want to stop working on my UFOs.... So I pull out the blocks and start the embroidery. I have conversations in my head that go something like this..... "I wonder if I should just wait until I get my new machine. It is better equiped for this sort of work. No I better do it I need to get these out to the ladies. I have been promising them for over a month now. " Then the interruptions of conference calls for work taken from home. I have to keep motivating myself to get back in there.

I have four thread colors to do and was planning to do at least one a day. I did almost two the first day then none the next two days. Come on girl get back in there! Tonight I don't know of anything that will interrupt my sewing time. Someone made some suggestions to me so I will make a practice piece real quick to see how it goes. If that works out well I will try to get through the third color tonight.

When these are done I have some other items I have been promising. A pair of fleece socks and two ear flap hats (knit). Weather is getting too warm for these but I should just get them out of the way. The socks I can get out of the way in about an hour or so. The hats I can work on in front of tv when I want to watch my shows and can't sew anyhow. Am I your classic procrastinator? :D

My Buy Week at the Dallas Quilt Show.

The fabric plan:
- Daisy fabric
- Fuschia fabric
- Coordinates from Dick and Jane Fabric Line
- Backing for Irish Chain Quilt
- Backing for the 12 Days of Christmas quilt
- Vintage fabric to restore the Seven Sisters top

The fabric reality:
- Daisy fabric
- Fuschia fabric
- Coordinates from Dick and Jane Fabric Line
- Backing for Irish Chain Quilt
- Vintage fabric to restore the Seven Sisters top
- Fabric for dd to make a brights quilt including backing
- Fabric for dd to make a gerber daisy quilt including the backing
- Sanctuary Jelly roll
- Green marbled fabric with gold dragonflies for a gift

- Hummingbird fabric

I went to the Dallas show on Friday and spent the entire day there visiting every vendor. I thought I would be able to find at least one vendor with Christmas fabric. If it was there I didn't find it. I even test drove a Husqavarna sewing machine and the fabric mover. The sales people were very high pressure and the person showing me the machine had several issues. The machine was not selling itself to me. I also test drove a Janome 4900QC. I went for the purpose of looking at the Janome JEM and asked about the next machine up. I sewed a little and asked some questions. I liked the machine and decided to talk to dh about it. I am glad that I did as I recalled the discussions on the 6500 and 6600 models. When I left that day I had made all my planned purchases with the exception of the 12 Days backing and the vintage fabric for my restoration project.

I went back to the show the next day. This time I took dd and met up with some friends from quiltchat. That day my goal was to photograph all the quilts I liked. I did that, saw the Alzheimers exhibit and saw a special exhibit of gorgeous quilts that were purchased at garage sales, antique stores and even found in the trash. DD and I had something to drink so she could rest. 12 yo's don't like all that walking at a quilt show. We went back to the Janome dealer so that I could ask about the other two models and made a decision. I had almost talked myselk out of buying a new machine. I asked for a comparison between the 4900 and the 6500. Then a comparison of the 6500 and the 6600. I decided the extra for the 6600 was not worth it to me. I test drove the 6500 and asked lots of questions. I sat and thought a bit and asked if they would "give" me a rolling bag for the machine. They would not agree to it. She agreed to give me a spool of YLI thread. I saw the owner and asked him if he would give me the bag. After a little negotiation we agreed to $100, less than his cost. I was psyched. While the gal was writing up my order I asked her about a good starter machine for my dd. She pointed out the Hello Kitty machine. I didn't want that. She pointed out two Jem's. I was looking at one I think was the Gold and she said for the money she would get the Platinum 720, so I did. I told dd this would be her primary machine but my class machine when I took one. She agreed. They asked me to swing by the shop to pick up the machines since I was local. I get them this Saturday since the Jem won't be in until Friday. I am really excited!

It’s official. All my UFOs are now at the top stage. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I got my King size Log Cabin back from the longarmer today. I will bind that next since it is a gift for someone’s birthday in April.

I am off to the Dallas show tomorrow and Saturday. Plan to meet up with old friends and some new. I will be using this as my buy week and have several planned fabric purchases. Will show you the loot when I am done!

Another UFO topped! I added the borders tonight. The weekend was crazy with internet and tv service messed up for 24 hours. I did manage to sash it and just got the borders on. Next step on the UFOs is to add borders to the Irish Chain. My goal is by Thursday to have that topped!

Stashbuster WEBRING Topic of the Week.

What is your oldest UFO? The oldest UFO that I made with my own two hands is my King size log cabin. I have purchased 4 tops that are from the 70's or before, 3 of which I plan to quilt. They are the "oldest" but not of my doing ;).

Why did it become a UFO? When I stopped working on this quilt it lacked the borders. I can't specifically recall why I put it down. I am sure something else came along. Then the intended recipients divorced. There was no urgency to get back to it at that point. I didn't know anyone else with a king bed!

What are my plans to finish it? I sent it off to be quilted by my friend Beth in MD. She finished quilting it last night and is sending it back so I can bind it and send it to someone for a birthday present.

How many UFOs do you have? I have 9. 4 I purchased from someone else. 2 I made just last year. With the addition of borders to two tops all my UFOs will be in the quilting stage.

Found a fix. One of my 12 Days swap blocks was 1/2" too small. I had to find a solution and had an idea to add fabric to two sides to give an attic window effect. I started searching for a fabric to use and saw the scraps from my Rail Fence I quilted in December. It was a great coordinate. I layed it next to the block and decided to just frame the block with it. There will be a very narrow border that will give it a picture frame effect. I planned to sew it last night but was too tired. Hope to add it tonight and get my pressing done. Then I can finish the top for the quilt! Then onto my search for a backing! Pictures tomorrow. I promise.

Augie, the puppy is hardly sneezing now. He is almost well. Pepper feels better but is still coughing and sneezing. I am hoping she will turn the corner on that in the next few days. We are losing sleep as her fits wake us up and keep us up several times a night. Now Jack is hurting. He cries getting up and down or if someone bumps into him. We are giving him aspirin and watching to see if a vet visit is in order. Hard to watch him get older!

A very productive weekend! I went to JoAnn's to buy more cotton thread. They were having a 50% off sale on thread for two days. The first store I went to did not have the grey I wanted so I went to a second store Friday night. They didn't have the grey but had a neutral. As I was checking out with my thread I saw a flier on the counter. It had 2 coupons, one for 50% off a cut of fabric and one for 40% off any regular priced item. I took it with me and started calculating my backing needs for my remaining UFOs. I intended to go back and shop for backings on Saturday since that was the expiration date on the coupons.

Saturday I got up and went about my day. I took the last two dogs to the vet. 1 ear infection and 1 well dog. Both got their vaccines so no return visits for them. I got my chores under way and then ended back in bed with a sore back and heating pad. When I got up everyone was hungry so I took care of feeding them. I can't really recall what I did the rest of the day but did wait until just before 8 to go back to JoAnns. They close at 9. I got up there and found a backing for my Simple Simon. I had navy in mind and found a nice navy with tan paisley. Very old fashioned looking. Just what I wanted! I had a fall leaf pattern in mind for the backing of my Chain of Events. I looked but this is the wrong time of year for that fabric. Hubby found an orange that had an all over leaf pattern. I went with that but am not sure I will stay with it. I found a great green for my Irish Chain but needed 9 yards and they only had 6. I was tempted to buy it and then try to find the other 3 yards I needed at another store. I decided not to risk trying to match dye lots. So I have two more backings now and only need two more.

Sunday I got up and finally put cutter to fabric. I have all my borders cut for my Irish Chain. I will have to piece them then cut them to length once I press the top. I also cut the sashing for my 12 Days top after squaring up my blocks. These blocks are from an exchange and one of them is 12 inches square when the rest are 12.5. I couldn't cut them all to 12" since some were pieced and it wouldn't have worked. I am thinking of trimming the 12" block even further and adding 2 strips to give it an attic windows effect. Of course now I have to find the fabric to do it with first. And people want to know why I have UFOs?? In spite of this teeny setback I did add sashing to the blocks that were correctly sized and have two of the three rows pieced together. I have started sewing the long sashing strips to these rows as well and have one more I can add before I have to deal with that naughty block. I could have sewn that one on but the kids were clamoring for my attention so I shut down for the night.

Doggy update: Two healthy dogs. 1 with an ear infection but he has meds. I give drops twice a day and he is somewhat cooperative about this since he gets a nice long rub on his ears which then leads to the rest of him. 2 have been wormed. Vet says we will have to redose in 4 months so I guess I can count them as healthy. 2 have kennel cough and have finished their antibiotics. The puppy still has a snotty nose so he gets another course of antibiotics. We have not seen Pepper's nose run but we can hear the congestion rattling in her head. She hardly eats and was up coughing all night. The vet considered giving her a steroid shot the first visit but due to the other dogs in the house was hesitant to do so. Now that he has seen all of them and knows what we are dealing with he is giving her a shot this afternoon along with another course of antibiotics. The steroids should help her bounce back quickly. We hope so. I have never felt so sorry for a dog before. Not sleeping or eating well. Mpre to come!

Favorite Tool and Reflections on January and February. I am not sure that I have a favorite tool but I do love tools. I hate marking things because I can never get the markings out easily or it doesn't mark very well and wastes my time and frustrates me. I am not sure if someone referred me to this but I bought a chacoliner. It looks like a little lipstick tube and has either white, pink or blue chalk in it. It is also refillable. I bought the white and have used it to mark my crazy quilt stocking and then my peacock quilt. The markings stay there just fine even when they are sewn over and then they simply wash or wipe away. I highly recommend you check one out if you need a better marking tool.

Reflections. I saw Kim mention her accomplishments from the previous month and loved that idea. I plan to do this each month going forward. On the finishing front. I managed to finish my Peacock quilt and keep it for myself. I got my King size log cabin sent off to be quilted. I hope to see it in the next week or so to bind it and send it off to the recipient for her birthday. I did buy fabric but it is the backing for two of my quilts that need quilting. I am part of the "No Buy" challenge on the stashbuster yahoogroup and these are legal buys. I also managed to get the center of my Floral Irish Chain quilt pieced. I had hoped for several finishes in the month of February but it just was not meant to be. Progress was definitely made in that direction!

WIP Wednesday. Yeah! I am in synch with WIP day!! When I started this quilt I really expected it to read maroon. It reads green....how did that happen? Oh well, I still love it! This is my Irish Chain center. I am going to see what I can do with the borders to pop the lavendar and maroon. This is an indoor pic so it doesnt show the true color. I will take an outdoor pic once I add the borders.

If you are interested go to my UFOs link and look at the pic of the two blocks that make up this quilt and see what color you thought it would read.

More dog stuff. More quilt stuff. I had to take the kids to the dentist yesterday for cleanings. DD has a cavity and DS needs more sealants. I didn't have any issues! Kids both need braces but they need to brush better before I make that investment. Time will tell on that front.

Because I was home early for dental appointments I decided to catch up other dogs on their annual vaccines. I took Pepper first since she developed a cough. I knew what was coming. Kennel cough. I was right. She is older and was given a stronger 1x a day antibiotic. She feels so bad and isn't eating. I think she will feel better by tomorrow. She has been cuddling up to me a lot since this all started. Usually dh is her favorite but I guess momma's love reaches all corners of the world including the doggy one. I also took our eldest since I did not want him to get sick and hoped to prevent illness. Of course he woke up not wanting to eat then vomited later in the day. By the time I got home he acted a little better. Took him to the vet. No temp, no cough so he got vaccines. He ate last night and a little this a.m. We are watching him.

I decided to take two more since the vet had cancellations on his book. Took Spencer and Sunny since they are both pretty easy to handle. Last time we took them they both had whip worms. The vet tested them for these worms again and yep they still have them. This didn't prevent vaccines so they are current and both have meds to take. Don't faint here but there are two more dogs to go. I thought about taking them up as well but was just too tired to even think about that. They are scheduled for Saturday a.m. So far I have 4 out of 5 dogs on meds with two more to go. Pray for wellness for these two.

DD helped me with all this dog transport so she and I ran to Starbucks for a pastry and coffee. Nice relaxing time with her. She is 12 and told me she enjoyed spending the time with me. It was nice to hear her say that. I have said those words to her before and hope she is sincere and not just saying that to make me happy.

On the quilting front. I sewed the 8 pinned strips into 4 sets. Then I sewed the 4 sets into 2 sets and have those 2 pinned together. I will sew them tonight and then pin and sew the 9th strip and will have a center! Pics will be posted tomorrow for the WIP Wednesday on Quilt Studio WEBRING. Again not the finishes I had hoped for but definitely great progress. It will take me a couple days to figure out what to do with borders so hope to have the top together by this weekend!

What a weekend! Both good and bad. I started the weekend off working away on my Irish chain quilt. I decided to finish all the cutting Friday night so that I could get up in the morning and finish pinning and sewing the blocks together. I woke up to a puppy that did not want to eat. I didn't mention that he has been coughing all week and had a snotty nose when we got him. We knew he probably had kennel cough but for some reason thought he had been treated. What we realized was they gave him the vaccine but no antibiotics. Oh well, what can you expect from the SPCA. They are trying to get these dogs adopted. I asked dh what he thought and he said yes call the vet. Of course the vet is booked so I described the issue and name dropped. We have been with this vet for 21 years and he has all new staff so they didn't know who I was. The vet said come now. 1/2 pound weight loss and 103 temperature. Vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and a weeks worth of pills and told us to hope it isn't Distemper. Great. Of course, now we have to worry about the rest of our crew being ill. The former baby has been hacking and gagging so we are sure she has it now too. Let me just say Augie acted somewhat better yesterday a.m. and by the night was quite active. He was up and attem and eating pretty well this morning so we are relieved.

Back to the quilt. I sewed off and on all day Saturday and managed to finish my blocks. I did have a few pieces that I had to still cut. Somehow I miscalculated. Typical! Sunday I got up and started pinning and sewing the blocks together. I now have 9 long strips sewn. I pinned 8 of them in pairs to sew and decided to sew just one together to see how it looks. I think it is coming along great! When the entire center is sewn I will show a pic. Hope that will be tonight!

Oh yes. Augie found his way into my sewing room yesterday and peed on my floor. He is banned from the room until he is older. I told the "official" quilting dog he is not to allow Augie back until Augie learned the proper quilting dog protocol!

I got my 15 in tonight. I have been so tired this week. I think it is all the mental work at the office writing peoples appraisals. I have 2 more to go. Will be glad to have those behind me.

When I finally got done milling around I sat and pinned block pieces together. I am at the point that I either have to cut or sew. I decided pinning was safest tonight since I was so tired. If I am tired again tomorrow then I will sew. I am working on my Irish Chain and have only made crib size before. This one is queen size and requires 99 blocks. I have half of the blocks done. Just need to keep plugging away. Should be able to get the top together this weekend then will top my 12 Days quilt. Once that is done I will have one project in the piecing stage and 8 in the quilting stage. Doesn't look like I will get all those finishes I had hoped for but I am going to get as far as I can on those I had hoped to finish.

Next month is the Dallas quilt show. I need to buy 4 backings and some vintage fabric to restore my 7 Sisters top. I plan to use my "Buy" week at the show so need to get some ideas of amounts for various quilts. Will make the call when I am there! But know at least I can buy my legal B's!

Puppy is doing great! He hangs all over my daughter and loves dh and I. He doesn't spend too much time with ds and ds' nose is a little bent about this. I told ds the pup is still getting adjusted and to just keep playing with him!

Stashbuster retreat took place this past weekend. What that means is you have a sew-in and leave the family to attend to themselves as though you are away at a retreat. I had some lofty goals to accomplish and was pleased with my progress. I did not get everything done but I know I am too aggressive on my goals.

I subcut my strips for my Irish Chain for the most part. One block set is completely pieced now with the exception of a single block. I have those pieces ready to stitch to complete that grouping. For the second block set (25 patch ugh!) I have a lot of the subcutting done and have pieces pinned together to start sewing. I will cut and sew throughout the week as the mood strikes me.

The 12 days top. Well, I thought about it. I had planned to use a green print for the sashing but would have to fussy cut it to make sure not to lop the trees off. I may use the red swirly fabric as the sashing. Will have to audition that one and decide. I don't want to lose the swirly effect either! Ok let go of the perfectionism!

I know this news will get out sooner or later. There is a new addition to the family. Augie was adopted from the SPCA Sunday. He and hubby bonded immediately. They were so cute playing together. He is an Australian Cattle Dog/Border Collie mix. He will fit in with all the others. He already has a pile of new toys and a warm spot in my daughters bed. He slept all night and no mess! That is great for a 2 month old. He feels right at home but the rest of the herd is bent out of shape right now. They will adjust when they figure out he is staying and that he is a fun, interactive toy! Pictures tonight!

I spent this past week getting my strips sets for my Floral Irish Chain sewn and pressed. They are done! I took a break and worked on a fleece blanket for my dd for her Valentines present. It was one of the Tinkerbell ones that were sold at Walmart, Hobby Lobby and other stores. I found one half price at Hobby Lobby and snatched it up since Tinkerbell was hard to find. She and I worked on it together to sew an inner border on the layers of fleece. I helped her trim the fleece then I started fringing it. I tried to show her how to do it but she was afraid she would ruin it. I finished it up the next night and she is thrilled!

Tonight and tomorrow I will be back to my Irish Chain subcutting the strips and sewing them into blocks. I may go ahead and put the 12 days top together since it should be pretty easy and I will then be able to find a backing and get it ready to baste.

Once I get the King Log Cabin back from being quilted I am going to bind it right away. At this time I should have 3 quilts ready to quilt and will get those quilted so that I can post 4 more finishes this month! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

My first finish of 2007! Yes. I finished the peacock today. I was sewing the binding down last night and the machine started acting a little funny but I persevered. I turned the last corner and ran out of purple thread. I don’t mean the bobbin. I was completely out! To add insult to injury I turned the quilt over and saw that my tension was a mess. I would have to re-sew everything I had just done. I was so mad. I went to bed and planned to run to the store in the morning to buy more.

As soon as I got home I sewed a test piece to make sure the tension was ok. When I had that adjusted I sewed the binding down. As I was coming to the end I found a piece where I didn’t enclose the edge properly the first time. I was able to easily fix that. I was so happy when the last stitch went in. I threw it in the washer then the dryer. As soon as it finished I hung it on the neighbor’s fence and took new pictures.

I hope you like it! It was quite an effort!

I am still here! I took my peacock quilt to work and trimmed it up so that I could bind it. I have a hard time doing this at home for my larger quilts. There has not been one more stitch this week though. I have spent my time planning this week. Working to figure out what I will work on next. I am aiming for 5 finishes this month. I think I can make it. I have 2 bindings to do. I have one top to sash the blocks for then layer baste and quilt. I have another top that is ready to baste and pin and then one ready to quilt. I would have to buy a backing for one of these. The last three are smallish and should go quickly.

I like to have several things to bind at once. I get my rhythm going and then can get through them quickly. I hand sew the mitered corners then quilt the binding down all around (I self bind).

If I meet this goal this month I will be half way through my list of UFOs. Wow! I do plan to finish them all this year, 10 in all. Have been impatient for a finish. They are drawing near!

Why Did My Peacock Quilt Become a UFO? I made this quilt because Donna Poster needed quilts to be models in her book. I wanted a quilt in a book. Shoot, who doesn't. I picked the colors and she approved them. Mind you that I was still fairly new to quilting. I had been using white thread for everything and this quilt was no different. Note the dark color of the quilt top in the picture. There are lots of setin points on this quilt and my white thread showed. Seams were pulling a little loose. I got the top done fairly easily but could not get it quilted in time. It is in her book but it is only basted. She never said anything about this. I am sure she was not pleased with me. Sorry Donna!

Before I started quilting it I spent time hand sewing some of the really bad set in points to try to improve them. Now I did start quilting this quilt. I was doing stitch in the ditch and it just killed me. When I went back and picked it out I was amazed at how much I had accomplished. I had to twist it this way and that and that was a lot of maneuvering. This time I am doing straight lines. I found two designs that would look good but preferred the one I settled on. It took a lot of hours to get done but I got it quilted.

Why did I stop? Wrong color thread, badly sewn set in points, really hard to quilt. When I decided to just finish it I even ran out of thread in the right color. You have got to be kidding me! I often wonder if this hobby is meant for me. Amazingly I found another small spool in the right color and completed the quilting.

I had planned to just stop with one row of quilting to go on the border. It was getting late. I had to go to bed since I had to go to work in the a.m. When I came to the planned stopping point I set my jaw and said "This is ridiculuous. Just finish!" So I did. Now to bind it and this baby exits UFOdom!

Coming down the home stretch! I quilted a lot last weekend on my peacock quilt and planned to finish it. I over did it and only completed the center. My shoulders ached from leaning over my machine so much. This weekend I planned to finish it and completed quilting the borders. Now to trim the batting and bind it. It is nice to see the quilt getting finished. I need to set less aggressive goals or I will burn myself out. This weekend was better though as I took more frequent breaks.

I will take a picture of the quilting and post it tomorrow. I am a straight line girl. I quilted this quilt on point using the squares as a guide and came out with a square in a square pattern. I then stitched in the ditch on the 2 narrow borders, down the center of the 2nd border and copied this whole pattern to the last border. To me, it gives a Frank Lloyd Wright stain glass feel. Very structural, architectural feeling. I love it. This one is mine and will grace my bed soon! You can find this quilt top in the link "My Pictures" in the UFO album. Enjoy!

WIP Wednesday I have seen posts on other blogs that are in the Quilt Studio webring that post a picture of their WIP on Wednesday. I heard there is an e-mail reminder but haven't seen it yet. Here goes. I actually have 2 WIPs but this one hasn't been posted about much. This is my Floral Irish Chain that I made 2 blocks for to see how the colors went together. I just pressed the fabric again this past weekend as it was sitting idle for many years and have begun cutting my strips. I work on this one when I need to take a break from sitting at the machine.

Take a Poll. I am currently finishing up 3 different UFOs. They are the King Log Cabin which I will have to bind when it comes back from the quilters, the Peacock which needs to have the borders quilted then also be bound and finally my Floral Irish Chain which I am currently cutting the rest of the strips for. I thought it would be fun to get input on which item to work on next. The 7 Sisters quilt is not listed on the poll as I need to find some vintage fabric to repair it and will not be able to do that until March when I go to the Dallas Quilt show. Feel free to pencil it in the comments as your vote if you are so inclined!

Focusing on my priorities. I joined a group on yahoo last year dedicated to finishing UFOs and using up stash by not buying more. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stashbuster/?yguid=192166788 . Last year I managed 3 finishes and many new, and completed, projects. As a natural progression I quite buying new fabric unless it was to complete a UFO or work on that new project for the most part. I set a goal this year to finish all my UFOs. There are 10 of them in all. I have one out being quilted by a friend now and another that I have about 3/4 quilted.

There have been so many temptations this year already. I have been asked to join in swaps and challenges but really feel the need to stay focused. There have been two new mystery quilts that I turned my back on. I have a couple items that I plan to start this year so I am not concerned about burning out on my UFOs. My plan isn't quite THAT strict. So now when you see me with my blinders on you will know it is me trying to avoid temptation!

A Knifty Knitted Shawl and some swooze logic. I inherited some yarn from my mother-in-law when she passed away. I held onto it for many years and finally accepted that I would not use the majority of it. I sent most off to a lady that knits for charity. There were several skeins of this white nubby yarn. I now know it as boucle. I was really intrigued with this yarn and was determined to find something to make with it. I happened upon these 4 round looms. I don't remember how they caught my eye but I was intrigued and decided I would make something on them with the yarn I was saving. I knitted myself a hat and matching scarf and was quite pleased with how it turned out. There are two little pamphlets that were put out by Provocraft for the looms. One of them had a shawl in it that I was just intrigued with. It called for knitting on every other peg and was done on the biggest loom. I went to work and finished the first panel. I decided that it wasn't wide enough so I made a second narrower panel and sewed it to the first then added fringe. The first one I made was in a green and now happily resides in Maryland. My co-worked saw it and really liked it. I hunted for just the right yarn and color for her and whipped another one out in a week. I presented it to her for her birthday last year. Here it is along with the happy recipient.

I started out with a few skeins of yarn that I wanted to make into something special. Now I have huge bags of yarn for my Knifty Knitters and have bought more looms in different gauges.

The thread thread. The topic of what type of thread came up on the stashbuster yahoogroup. I had been taught to use cotton covered polyester. People reported their quilts coming apart at the seams or the thread melting when they have used this thread. They said the thread being stronger than the fabric is what causes the issue for the seam coming apart. The melting was from a too hot iron melting the polyester. YIKES!! I was in the middle of piecing the backing for my Log Cabin. I froze in fear. What do I do?? THIS is exactly why I have UFOs. I decided to complete the backing and buy a good cotton thread. The main issue seamed to be with piecing only. People still quilted with the cotton covered polyester.

I discussed this topic in quiltchat with my friends. They are the ones that shared a little info about it being ok to quilt with the poly. That gave me the confidence to continue on with the Peacock. Discussion on this topic has been ongoing and my plan has been confirmed by everyone. Some say use up the poly in your piecing, some say switch over to all cotton. I plan to piece with cotton and quilt with poly to use it up.

This experience shows that it is good to continue your education in quilting. There are new products on the market. People learn about new techniques and methods. I have not taken a class in at least 10 years. Ask lots of questions! When someone mentions a new thread or tool ask them how they like it why they like it. You get the idea. I hope to create quilts that hold together a lot longer now! I have only heard of my first quilt (made in 1989) falling apart at the seams. I attributed it to my mother being a wash-a-holic. I will have to ask around about other quilts to determine their fate. I own a few of my early quilts and have not seen an issue. May your quilts hold together forever!

I am on a roll!! Yesterday I finished the backing on the Log Cabin and decided to keep forging ahead. I took the time to clean and oil my machine and put away several things that were on and around my machine. While I was at it I put my walking foot on the machine and tightened it with a screw driver. Usually I just hand tighten it, it wiggles loose, starts to fall off and I break needles. I have been quilting and it hasn't loosened at all. I even quilted a few lines on my Peacock quilt. Click on the "My Pictures" link and look in the UFO folder. This finishing business is very addicting! I hope it lasts until all my UFOs are done and onto future projects!

Today I had grand plans to sew and work around the house all day. I got hooked by the TV for a little while and then dh needed help packing. Next he wanted me to go to the store with him. That ate up 3 hours then I OPed for an hour. I was a little frustrated that I hadn't even sewn yet. When I finally got to sew I quilted quite a bit. I had hoped to get half way through the quilt then hoped for a quarter of the way through. I accomplished neither but still made fair progress. I plan to sew on it every chance I get this week so I can finish it this weekend. My name is launching toward the top of that UFO challengers list. I do NOT want to be queen.

I will report my progress through the week. Hugs y'all!!!

All hail the King. The king log cabin quilt that is. When I put it down it only lacked the borders. I cut those and sewed them on without too much trouble. It just took several days to complete as I had limited time to work on it. While I was working on this someone mentioned pieced backings on the yahoogroup stashbuster. When I saw how much fabric I had left over from making the top I decided I would make a pieced backing for this quilt. I cut 20.5" blocks from the dark fabrics and searched my stash for a light to use since I did not have any of that left. I cut blocks from that as well. To make the most of the fabric I had I did cut a few 10.5" x 20.5" wide pieces that I then pieced into a 20.5" block.









I spent several nights piecing the blocks into rows and then sewed all the rows into a 120" square backing. That is 10 feet square! That is huge. I had quite a few logistical problems working on this quilt. No good place or way to press the seams or lay it out for a picture! I had planned to hang it outside on our fence this morning. By the time I found the string to hang it from and got everything together it had started to rain. I decided I would just throw it on my queen size bed and snap a few pictures. They are not the best but you will get the idea.

The quilt top and backing is all boxed up now and ready to be sent off to my friend Beth in MD. She has agreed to quilt it for me. I just cannot imagine quilting this one myself!

I have already pulled out my next 2 UFOs to work on. One is the Peacock. Go to my links and click on "my pictures". You will see it there in the UFO folder. I hope to have it quilted in the next 2 weeks. I need to get it done to avoid being Queen of the UFO challengers! I also pulled out the Lavendar and Green Irish Chain. I need to cut most of the pieces for that quilt. I thought it would be good to stand and cut when I got tired of sitting and sewing.

Why does a project become a UFO? I know why I stopped quilting in general for awhile. My kids came along and I spent all my time with them. Like I tell my kids, you have to choose how you want to spend your time as there is not enough time to do everything. The kids are at the age where they can entertain themselves and happily do so. They still want me to spend time with them and I do but they don't want every minute any longer.

I have a goal to try and "sew" 15 minutes a day. This just means work on a project. It may be pulling fabrics, ironing, cutting or actual sewing. I kept myself from sewing for so long because I felt I had so many other things to do. I was not allowing myself to sew until this things were donw. I got to the point where I never sewed and I never got all these other things done. So when I say I make it a goal to sew....I make it a goal to give myself permission to sew everyday. It has worked wonderfully for me so far.

My current project? My King size Log Cabin. The main portion of the top was done and only lacked the borders. I started cutting those this past weekend and finally totally finished the top last night. Why did I stop working on this one? I think it might be because it was so large and hard to handle. Then again the people this was intended for did get a divorce. I look at other unfinished projects and realize it is probably that something shinier and more interesting came along. This all seems to point back to me not having the discipline to finish what I start. That is probably the reason I have the UFOs I do have.

When I worked on the King Log Cabin in short sessions it seemed much more maneagable. If I grew tired of fiddling with it I could stop as I had my 15 in. If I felt like continuing I could. In fact, last night while sewing on the first two sides of the final border I decided I would cut the last two sides and stop. After I cut them I decided I would just pin them on and leave the last seams for the next session. Then I decided I was this close why not just sew them on real quick. There I have it, a completed top! I plan to piece the backing...hope to finish that by the weekend so I can mail the whole thing off to be quilted!

I believe there are angels among us... I got an e-mail from a friend of mine asking me if I had gotten her Christmas card. To be honest with you, all my cards and my other mail was sitting around here in stacks, unopened. Too much to deal with these past few weeks. When I got home from work I looked for her card. I opened a few others that I had received while looking for hers. I had originally intended to open all the cards on Christmas day with my family. I don't know why I didn't do that now. Inside was a check. She got a Christmas bonus and decided to send it to me. Why did she do that? She knew about my husband losing his job but I didn't mention any money troubles. I make decent money but because we both got a new car this past year that made it just too tight on one income alone. I have done everything I can think of to trim back. Refinanced the cars. Keep the thermostat turned down a little bit. Cut way back on the extras like eating out and movies, etc. I even lowered my 401K savings to just the amount my company matches. I have even easily plowed through the majority of my emergency fund to pay the medical bills. That pesky little item that insurance wouldn't cover but you are still responsible for. I have to call everyone looking for money now and play let's make a deal. Will they write it off? If not, will they take $5 or $10 until it is paid off. Even at that amount with the number of people that we owe, it will be tough. How do people that make even less than me make it? I understand the one paycheck from homelessness concept. We are not that close but I can envision it. This is why financial carefulness is one of my goals this year. I can't afford to be careless.

"May I Help You Sir?" I laugh. The man behind the counter looks up and says "I am sorry ma'am. Can I help you?" I remember the first time this happened. I felt offended and got a little huffy. Each time this has happened since then I have become more and more amused. I spend a few minutes trying to analyze why they think I am a man. I have short hair but I am not flat chested. I am 6' tall. Who knows. I think today the man saw that my "middle" was about the right height for a man and didn't see a purse dangling on my side. Another time the pizza kid behind the counter didn't have his contacts on and squinted real hard and apologized. I think I like to laugh now since it tortures them a bit.

On this topic I have another funny story. I moved from NY to TX and had my license transferred. I might have had it renewed one time before this incident but can't recall. I go down to the DMV to renew my license. I just happened to notice that somewhere along the way that my license says M for male. I am 8 months pregnant and the following conversation ensues.
Me: Hi. I need to have my license renewed and by the way I noticed that it is incorrectly marked as male. Can you fix that for me.

DMV Lady: I will have to verify with Austin. (State Capitol)

Me: I laugh and say OK.

DMV Lady leaves and goes into a back room. A few minutes later she comes back and eyes me nervously. She says that she could not reach anyone.

Me: What do you need to verify? I am 8 months pregnant. You can call my doctor. She can confirm that I am female.

DMV Lady: Nervous pause....

Me: We can step into the ladies room and I can show you that I am a woman.

DMV Lady: Nervous pause....she asks me to wait just a minute, she has to call Austin. Off she goes into the back room.

Me: I am feeling evily proud of myself about now but also a little frustrated.

DMV Lady comes back out flustered and nervous. She explains that she couldn't reach anyone and says she doesn't like to change these types of things without verifying but agrees to do so.

Me: I offer to show her that I am in fact a female. I also ask why it is such a big deal.

DMV Lady goes on to explain, in a whisper at this point, that there are quite a few men that come in dressed as women and want to have female on their license.

I look at her and say hmmmm...that is interesting.

DMV Lady: Please step to the line and look at this mark on the camera. She snaps the photo. She processes the renewal.

I happily walk out with my new license and sex change. What a riot!

A goal without a plan is a dream. I drive past an automotive repair shop from time to time and the shop owner places a motivational sign in front of his business each day that he is open. I thought this sign was fitting for the first day of the new year. I have been thinking about my goals for the year all day today. The same themes come up each year for me. Health, finances and organization. In my organization goals I lump my plans to finish things.

Health. 2006 was not kind to us in the health arena. My hubby is on the liver transplant list as a result of contracting Hep C and developing cirrhosis. All we can do is keep his diabetes and general health under control and in the best condition we can and wait for that call. My son is a Type 1 diabetic. He does ok with his control but we will be working with the doctors to see if we can start an insulin pump. Less insulin, less needle sticks! Just trying to keep him in good control and with puberty raging it has been tough! I am a type 2 diabetic. I take my meds but am not careful about testing or watching what I eat as much as I should. My daughter is healthy but very overweight. My plan this year is to continue cooking meals and getting more healthy choices in front of the kids expecially for snacking. This is hard for an always hungry boy. Weight loss is in order for the kids and I. For me, I want to lose 15 pounds by the end of the year. For the kids I want them to lose at least 20. This will involve more exercise for all as we are sorely lacking in this area.



Finances. Again another hard year for us in 2006 as hubby lost his job due to his health. Very small company, they don't have the same rules as the big companies. We are working on SSI for him now. We are hoping to have this until he gets and recovers from his liver transplant. I need to be better about paying bills on time and knowing what we have in our accounts. My plan is to balance everything at each payday.



Organization. I have a UFO list on my blog. My plan there is to sew at least 15 minutes a day on one of those items and to complete all of them this year. This is a very doable list. I have my "Fab 4" selected and as I finish 1 will add another to that list. This will help me stay focus and not feel so overwhelmed. Here is a picture of those UFOs.

My "Fab 4" are the King size log cabin, Peacock, Lavendar and Green Irish Chain and the Peach top I purchased. This is subject to change! LOL!

The other area of organization is to get all my sewing and crafting items contained into my sewing room. I spent time today pulling all the UFOs out and straightened up the room a little bit. There is too much stuff and I need to get a plan on how I will store it all. I will cull all that I can. For the rest of the house I will create a plan and post more about that later.

Here is wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy 2007. I wish you all the best!

As of now there is no one on the list to get a Valentines card. I did not think of another person I wanted/needed to send a card to for Christmas once I made my last mailing! Yeah!

Now a little vent. I am always late mailing my gifts to my parents for Christmas and every other event for that matter! This year, much to my dismay, turned out to be no different. I listened carefully to the news reporters talking to the Postal workers and the report saying "If you mail Priority by Wednesday it will make it in time". When I mailed my package off on Tuesday at noon I knew I had it made! I bought tracking as well to be safe. You probably already guessed it, the package made it to the correct city on Saturday but after mail delivery had been made. So my folks present was late. Insert expletives of your choice here. I was not happy. My mother slipped in a snotty comment about it after previously saying not to worry about sending anything. Fortunately their Christmas card did make it on time and contained a portion of their gift. The way I look at it I was only half late! Everything was good on Tuesday the 26th when the package was delivered and my parents were both tickled with what I had made and sent to them.

Mom mentioned she liked the fabric I used to make a totebag earlier that year. She said she would like placemats in fabrics like those. Her wish was my command. Here they are:

Dad mentioned fleece socks that he had gotten last year. I traced them and bought fleece intending to make more. I am not great with not having instructions so I bought a pattern and then lengthened them, per his request, to go up to his knees. He was tickled and slept in them that night. Here they are:

With these done and mailed off I moved onto some baby blankets I wanted to make for ladies at work. It took me about 4-5 days to get two done. Here is the picture of the green one. They were interesting to make.

I now have the chemo cap from my list on the loom and almost done. If you look at my To Do List you will see that I am now back to a quilting UFO. Lists are my savior! I need to update it!

Last night I finished up all the Christmas cards that I could remember! I sent about 30 two days ago and thought 40 stamps would be enough. Today I just bought 40 more stamps and am through half of those. I made a list and checked it twice! I just can't remember everyone. As I was stamping this last batch I thought of another person I wanted to mail a card to. This must end. Anyone I remember after Friday will get a Valentines card from me!

I have gotten maybe a dozen cards so far this year. I think many have given up on me since I haven't sent cards for the past few years. I always wanted to but my crazy job took all of my time. It is nice to see who is thinking of you at least once a year. After sending all these cards I hope I fall back into the good graces of several and get back on their mailing lists! Of course there are many that, due to age, I no longer expect a card but want to let them know I am thinking of them. I don't really expect a card, I rather should say I HOPE for a card!

Now, that looming thing I mentioned yesterday. I have always wanted to knit and will be the first to tell you that knitting needles are weapons in my hands! I inherited some yarn from my mother in law when she passed away many years ago. In my decluttering endeavors I culled a lot of yarn that I got from her. There was this white nubby yarn I could not let go. With the desire to use this yarn in mind I kepy my eye open for something to do with it. I happened across Knifty Knitter Looms last November or so and bought them. I made myself a hat and scarf on the looms using that yarn and have been hooked ever since! Here is my list of knitty accomplishments.

Loom Knitted Items for 2006 (2005 included as well).

• White boucle hat and scarf set for me
• Purple sock/slippers for myself
• Red shawl for my boss (she didn't seem to appreciate it....)
• Blue hat and scarf set for Mom
• Green shawl for my friend Beth
• Red shawl for Donnamarie
• Blue shawl for Judy
• 1/2 dozen bangle purses for many happy little girls in my life!
• Orange slipper socks for Gavan
• Various swatches on new looms I got for my birthday

Currently on the loom. I have a blue shawl for myself on a knitting board. I need to put it on my list of things to do so that if gets the attention it deserves!

I have just tons of things I want to do next. So here is the challenge. I am a multi crafter. So which craft or item do I work on next. I think this is how I got away from quilting. I was overwhelmed with all the stuff I wanted to do. Because of this I plan to keep a list of prioritized items to work on next. The realization that I won't be able to do it all in my lifetime is on the verge of my conciousness. This has really caused me to stop buying so much. I find myself admiring a lot more and buying a lot less.

If you are a member of Stashbusters you will see me post reminders about 15 minutes of sewing a day. This is my way of motivating myself to do a little something every day. So with my list in hand and my push to do something for at least 15 minutes a day I should accomplish a lot in the coming days, weeks, months and years! Here's hoping!

I have so many projects that I want to complete. I have made a "To Do" list to help me stay on track. I am a member of Stashbusters which has an UFO challenge and also a No Buy challenge. I have signed up for both. I already have so much fabric that I don't really need anymore. The UFO on top of my list is a Rail Fence that is meant for a baby that is now 8 years old. Luckily the quilt is 45x60 and a good size even for an adult. I stopped my UFO work to get Christmas gifts done and some swaps that I was a member of. I need to really assess everything I sign up for to ensure it doesn't detract from my goals of finishing things and reducing my stash.

In 2006:

• had 10 UFOs
• completed 2
• started 2 new quilts that were not finished

This means I start 2007 out with 10 UFOs. 2006 has been the most productive sewing/quilting year for me in a very long time. I decided I needed to get back to it and have been very successful.

2006 accomplishments:

• tote bag swap completed
• finished my Chicken applique quilt
• fixed my friends parallelogram quilt
• designed and appliqued/embroidered a block for "12 Days of Christmas" swap. I had day 2 and created 2 Texas Wildflowers
• participated in my first mystery quilt "Chain Events". Great experience.
• created my first crazy quilt piece. A Christmas stocking swapped off to my buddy ozicutsnake in Australia
• made 4 placemats for Mom for Christmas
• made fleece socks for Dad for Christmas
• various clothing mending projects. Ick

There are probably more. I picked up loom knitting and have a list of completed knitted items as well. Will post those another time.

OK I set this thing up in April and then never posted to it. I guess I will make this the first official post so that I can see what I get.