Hmmmm..... No One Seems To Notice I Haven't Posted in 10 days......

Week 16 Stash Report

Fabric in: 3.75 yards. All planned purchases
Fabric Out: 0 yards. But I will have a finish this week!

Fabric in YTD: 27.5 yards
Fabric out YTD: -11.5 yards

I picked up a quilt from my LAer. I do plan to finish it this week. I will have my Spring Breeze top done this week and plan to get that off to the LAer soon.

The Mystery Unravels

I am making progress on my mystery quilt Spring Breeze by Dorothy Young. I like how the black sets the red off. The next border is a plain one and I was planning to use the white. I may just go with more black and very wide to make it big enough for my queen bed. Thoughts? One or two more borders? Colors?

Here is the other unravelling mystery. Meet Cracken. He is owned by someone in one of the other apartments here. He was evicted for eating bread. He is loved and fed by many. I am still going to call him Buterball. Here he is enjoying his weekly visit. The black and white kitty's real name is Socks and he was owned by a former tenant in my apartment. People.... Enough said.

Week 15 Stash Report

Help! I'm in the hole! How the heck did that happen??

Fabric in: 16 yards
Fabric Out: 0 yards

Fabric in YTD: 23.65
Fabric out YTD: 16

Net Used er um bought: -7.65

4 yards were planned but the other 12...total impulse. No excuse. The "aww that is so adorable got me!". I did drop off 2 quilts at the quilter so that will help!

I Get to Work from Home This Week

Had a dental appointment today and get Good Friday off. So what was the point of me driving back and forth for 3 days? They decided it would be ok. I logged in today and no work for us. So I have been waiting and surfing the net. Now work until tomorrow. I did take frequent breaks and got some things done here. Not a total loss.

I have the center of my quilt top together. Now to work on the borders. While I was talking to my LAer I realized this top would be a small queen. I plan to add a larger border so that it fits my bed better. I don't want a topper. I hope to show it here by this weekend.

Week 14 Stash Report

No changes. I dropped a few quilts off to be quilted and expect to drop a third off next weekend. Once I get those back and bound I should show a big decrease!

Fabric Purchased this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 7.625 yards

Fabric Busted this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Busted YTD: 16 yards

Net Used YTD: 8.375 yards

Northern LA Quilt Guild and Spring Breeze

I attended my first quilt guild meeting tonight, ever. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was very welcoming. They took care of business first and asked me to introduce myself. Then they had show and tell of a round robin they started. Everyone showed their center medallion and I was assured I would have plenty of time to catch up. They asked me to draw the next row and it was ninepatch. Guess I better get busy!

They wrapped the meeting up with general show and tell. I had two sections of my Spring Breeze to show. There were some very pretty things but one I HAD to take a picture of. It is a completed Garden Twist. I took this picture my buddy Michele. Hope it will inspire her.

Once I got home I went to work on my quilt. Here is a pic of my completed sections. I am short two pinwheels. I will try to cut out the rest of my quilt tomorrow and see what I can get assembled.

March Accomplishments and April Goals

March

I got all of dd's fabric washed and need to press it and my Spring Breeze is not topped. Those were my goals for March. I am glad that I made progress on both this month.

April

• Top Spring Breeze
• Top DD's Bamboo/Pinwheel quilt

Going to continue to keep things simple here until I see what I can accomplish on an ongoing basis. I do have fabric washed for a few other projects so you may see a "zinger" in my list of accomplishments.

I Got the Nicest Phone Call

I got a call from a local gal here that is a member of the guild in Monroe on Monday. She was one of, if not the first, to respond to a message I posted on the guild website asking for information on Monroe. She was asking me about myself and how I was doing. She let me know that she had told other ladies about me since she might be late and that they were expecting me. Wow...expecting me. What a nice welcoming feeling that is.

I had also happened across the blog of another Monroe guild member. I left her a comment and let her know I was in the area. This wonderful lady offered to give me a ride to the meeting. I sure would have taken her up on her offer but I like to explore in my car and am always finding new and interesting places.

Tomorrow is the guild meeting. My first ever guild meeting. They told me to bring show and tell. I have been busily working on my Springe Breeze and hope to have more of my little 3 x 3 units I am making. I need 8 but I am a pinner and it will take me awhile. More is better than not.

Hope you are having a happy springy day.

Getting in the Groove

This is the start of my third week in Monroe. Work has been somewhat slow due to issues with other groups getting the work done with quality so that we can begin our work. Every day we have promises of work to do but so far very little has been delivered. Right now I take advantage of that by leaving early on Friday in order to get home in daylight.

On the apartment front I have a real bed, my kitchen is totally setup and I have t.v., phone and internet service. My living room looks like a college kids apartment since I am using 6 foot banquet tables for the t.v. and my sewing. I have a reclining lawn chair for my living room furniture. I am trying to avoid charging things as long as I can. I feel that I have a livable situation and will add furniture as I go. My next exciting purchases will be a nightstand and lamp and some sort of t.v. stand. All in good time.

The apartment is nice and the neighbors are too. I have heard very little noise from them so it seems like a well insulated place. I have put in a few service requests. Nothing too major though. When dd was here she noticed a dusty substance coming up from the floor. I ran the vacuum and there was a white chalky substance in the carpet. I found it in several areas of the apartment. I think it is carpet deodarizer that you sprinkle then vacuum up. I mentioned this to the management office and they are sending the carpet cleaner to clean the carpets. I spent last night cleaning the apartment so that I had everything off the floor. I think this will mark the last of someone coming into my apartment to do something to it for awhile.

I have a neighbor on the downstairs level to the side that has his patio covered with bird feeders. It is really nice to wake up and see all different birds outside my window. I have tried taking a few pictures but they are not the greatest. I will continue to take them and see if I can improve. Here are a few varieties I have seen so far.

Week 13 Stash Report

OK I havent done a stash report in a few weeks. Been a little busy so here goes and there was an increase for the Dallas show.

Fabric Purchased this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 7.625 yards

Fabric Busted this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Busted YTD: 16 yards

Net Used YTD: 8.375 yards

Dallas Quilt Show 2009 Booty





6.5 yards of fabric, Ficklesticks book and accessories, sewing machine screwdriver, 3 patterns, 2 Bunnyhill pincushion patterns (not shown) and bo nash bonding powder with pressing sheet (also not shown).

Dallas Quilt Show

I met up with my long time quiltchat friends.

michele, purplefiend, scooter, swooze and arachnea.

I also got to meet new friends from various yahoogroups.

Safety Concerns

I got a strongly worded email from one of my blog readers and friend. She felt I was putting myself at risk by showing my apartment complex online and also my office. While I don't necessarily agree with the reaction my family does and got a little upset so I have removed those identifying photos.

If you would like to see the pictures email me and I will share with you if I know you.

Butterball and Max

Butterball greets me when I get home. Max won't let me touch him but he is curious about me. Someone who shall remain nameless let Butterball in my apartment so guess who thinks he lives with me now???

Inside the Apartment

I was trying for a yellow and purple color theme. No pans in those colors so we did red. I now have a red crockpot too :).



Louisiana Stash.



Sewing area.



My stash consists of my kitted fabric. Should I bring more? My sewing area is in my living room for now.

Work and the Roads There

Spanish Moss



Bayou



Another Bayou

These are the sights on the way to work.

Community Kitty

There are two cats hanging out near my apartment. They are not skinny by any means but do not seem to belong to anyone as they are outside at all hours. Should I put out cat food? Should I put out water? I know some of the neighbors are putting scraps out for them.

Thoughts?

Hello My Faithful Fans

Please bear with me. I am still trying to get a computer setup at the apartment. The roadblock is deciding what to get. More than likely no pictures until then and not many other updates.

I made the 300 mile drive home over the weekend. It takes me about 4 hours and is a pretty straight shot. That reminds me...I better check the gas tank!

The time at home was too short. So much to do in so few hours. I did manage to pack up my sewing room, well a portion of it, and carry it home with me. It took me an hour to unload everything. I have to climb a flight of stairs and some of the things were very heavy. I even had to lay down for a few minutes (no chairs yet) to catch my breath.

I was good and setup and put away everything I brought. I pulled out fabric for my next quilt and washed it along with other laundry last night. I will have to setup the ironing board and iron and see how I like them. Both new. Tonight I will more than likely just sew on my Spring Breeze to get that top done.

So here is an interesting fact about me. I have never lived alone. Last night was my first night alone in the apartment. I locked my bedroom door. I fell fast asleep and slept hard. I will be fine. I took an upstairs apartment on purpose. I think it is safer for me. My mother asked me if I am lonely. So far, no. I think I will enjoy the peace and quiet. I will be talking with lots of folks and try to catch up on past friendships. In other words, I plan to make the most of my time.

Hello from Monroe, LA

I arrived safely this past Sunday. Checked into a hotel and found something to eat. What did we eat? Wow I can't even remember now. Taco Bell? DD and her friend are with me. DD wanted to be here to help choose the apartment and furnishings.

We drove around to look at the two apartment complexes I was interested in. Before I arrived I was more interested in one than the other. After seeing them my mind shifted to the opposite. I am using hubby's GPS. Their directions are....interesting. Let me just say they are close enough. At both complexes I met a resident and asked about the place. Both received good reviews.

The girls went to check out the pool at the hotel. Covered and closed. Oh well.

Monday I reported to work. Had an orientation of sorts. Had my badge made. Drove to a nearby lab for a drug screen. I returned to the office and had lunch while waiting for my supervisor to get ready for us. We had a meeting to go over some things to get setup with access etc. Once that was over they let me leave to go look at the apartments.

My original first choice only had 2 bedroom apartments. The other was full with nothing open until May. Both apartments are on train tracks and the apartment I was shown backs up to the track. I asked how frequently and when the trains passed. There was some vague response and then here comes a train. Very slow moving, quiet and only an engine and one car. I felt it would be ok and signed the lease.

Tuesday we checked out of the hotel and moved into the apartment. We went shopping and got a lot of things. Still had a long list left to buy but got the bare necessities so that we could shower and have something to eat. Wednesday the girls roughed it with no electronics. I did meet the cable guy at lunch time and he got t.v. service started. Phone and internet will be setup next Thursday. Things are slow going there.

Wednesday night another night of shopping for more stuff for the apartment. We got home and went to do laundry. 4 loads after only 3 nights here. Sigh... Did find out the machines are nice and efficient. Very quick. Went home and fell into bed.

So here it is Thursday. I have been in a 3 day meeting and am picking up some things. Refreshing my knowledge on some items so that I can hit the ground running when it is time. I leave tomorrow for home. I have a list of things to bring back from the house and hope to get back to sewing. It has been a very busy, exhausting week and look forward to getting my real schedule established so things become more routine here.

I will take pics to share with a post this weekend. More later.....