I've been working. . . . but I can't show you. . .

I have been busily working on my Twisted Mystery Quilt. . . .but I can't show you what I'm working on because the secret would be revealed.

Let's just say that I am wishing that I had the same set of fabrics because I am really liking the way this project is coming out.

It took me a while to figure out exactly what to do --- mainly because there were so many ideas & I was afraid to cut into the fabric before I was definitely sure what I was doing.

Other than that I have been working on a Mystery Quilt for a Quilter's Retreat that I will be attending this weekend. . . .and a little demo on making tissue holders.

I probably won't be posting here again until after I get back from the Retreat, but hope to have some pictures from there to show (as long as I can remember to take my camera)!



In peace and pieces,

4 Season Quilt Swap --- Summer received

I had participated in the 4 Season Quilt Swap program that Margaret Gunn had done. I was lucky enough to have been able to participate in all 4 seasons.

My swap partner for Summer was Zita and she had made me a beautiful quilt --- here's the link to the picture: http://hortenzia.freeblog.hu/archives/2008/06/24/3224272/#e3224272.

Unfortunately, the quilt has gone missing somewhere between Zita's house & mine. I do hope that it shows up somewhere soon. . . with the amount of work that she did it would be a shame if it was lost forever.

Margaret let me know that an "angel" was making a quilt for me so that I would have a Summer quilt.

My package came from Maine today. . . .here are pictures of the quilt I received:







The quilt is beautiful! And I have the same teacup fabric in my stash somewhere in the basement. Now I will have to find it so that I can make a matching quilt or throw to use in the living room when I have the wallhanging up.

Thank you, Mystery Angel, for making this quilt for me. . . .it is beautiful! Now, would you mind telling me what machine you used so I can get one for myself??? The decorative stitches are exquisite!


In peace and pieces,

I'm still working. . . . .

I have still be giving my sewing area a "work out". . .but today there is not all that much "eye candy" for everyone to see.

But here is my latest creation:



This is for the September "episode" of the Birthday Block Swap from the Quilting Forum on About.com. It will be winging it's way to Stacy in Connecticut later today (as soon as the PO opens).

The postal worker that helps me will be getting a work out also. . . . I'm mailing out 3 sets of swap envelopes. . . a total of 10 items!

It will feel good to get the swaps in the mail. . . more things I can check off of my "to do" list.

Now another topic. . . . CARS. . . . I am beginning to really, really, really dislike cars.

Part of the problem could be that right now I don't have one that works. My beloved Malibu has been having "issues". First it was the fender bender at work a couple of weeks ago (and the guy that hit me was a total jerk & liar, but I'm not going to rile myself all over again about that. . .I have my car back & it only cost me the deductible so I'll let God take care of liars.)

Now it appears that either the computer in the car, or the theft deterrent system has decided to go haywire.

My car doesn't recognize me! And, since it thinks I am a thief it won't run. This is now the THIRD time that this has happened. The first time the computer was completely wiped clean & a family friend (who's a mechanic) had to re-set the entire computer.

The second time it happened was two weeks ago, right before I was supposed to drop the car at the repair center to get the bumper & tail light fixed. So the repair center did "double duty" for me.

Now, just 2 weeks to the day later, the car has again decided that I am trying to steal it.

This is very frustrating. . . . especially in light of the fact that my DH and I both work full-time. . .plus he is on call 24/7 for emergencies at the schools.

So, today I am picking up a rental car for a week (my "baby" goes to the shop on Monday). . . and I hope that by the end of the rental contract I will have my own "ride" back.

Life has been very expensive lately. . . . and the stress from trying to figure out how to pay the bills & the way the stupid economy is going is really getting to me. . . . but at least when I am working on my swaps and other projects I can get my mind off things for a little while.

Hey, maybe that's why I've been able to get so much done lately??!! Maybe this aggravation is a "good thing" after all!! hehehehehehe

Like Maury Povich used to say: "Until next time, America". . . .

In peace and pieces,

I've been BUSY!!!

It's been several days since I last updated this blog. . . but boy, oh boy, do I have eye candy to show (at least I think it's eye candy!! hehehe) At the very least you will all be able to see that I have actually been sitting at my machine getting things done!!

Here goes:

This quilt top will be going to my quilt guild's charity program. I started it in a class at Quilt Odyssey 2008. It was super simple to make. . .but I would not have given the pattern a second look it I had seen it on the shelf. That just goes to show that you can't always judge a book (or pattern) by it's cover art (or lack thereof)!


These next two pictures are of the Greek Cross blocks that I made for an internet swap. There are 9 of us in my group. . . and the only one that I haven't made yet is the one for me.




These next three pics are blocks for another swap I am in. These are Bouncing Betty blocks from Quilter's Cache (you may remember that I wrote about making some of these last time). There are 10 in the set. . . and I think they came out really well. This is definitely a pattern I would be willing to make again.

This last picture is the top of a table runner. I found the pattern on-line. . it's called "Seeing Squares". I had started this probably more than a year ago, but now it is a flimsy. . .I'm thinking of taking it with my to Retreat in October to get basted.


I'm hoping that I will be able to keep up this pace of getting things done. . . I now have to concentrate on my Twisted Mystery (which of course I can't show until after my partner gets it. . . .sometime in November)! So that will be eye candy delayed for all of you. The fabrics she sent are really nice & I have been having a hard time trying to figure out what to make them into. . .but I've got it narrowed down now & hope to get the piecing done by this weekend so I can concentrate on the quilting at Retreat.

In peace and pieces,

How Not to Spend a Rainy Saturday!

Yesterday was supposed to be a sewing day for me so that I could catch up on the swaps that I have coming due.

It also was the day that Hanna came to town.

But I get ahead of myself.

The hubby & I started out the day by getting haircuts. That went relatively well (I still ended up with "doggy ears" (meaning long pieces of hair on the sides of my face, in front of my ears, that drive me crazy). . . but a pair of scissors & a steady hand took care of that! BTW, I have curly hair, so it wasn't all that dangerous of a manuever for me. LOL

After hair we went to see my parents in case they needed help "battening down the hatches"; then on to the vet to drop off used syringes, then to the bank & book store, then home so I could sew.

This is all that I accomplished:



These are Bouncing Betty blocks from a pattern from Quilters Cache (http://www.quilterscache.com/B/BouncingBettyBlock.html).

It was such a frustrating day for me. . . .I had all the pieces cut, but I had miss cut several pieces, so that caused a delay because I had to cut more pieces. Then I had to do alot of frog stitching (rip it, rip it) due to sewing errors.

Hmmmmffff.

The swap calls for 10 blocks, I have 3 done, so I did get something accomplished, just not what I had expected ---- even with the power outages that we had courtesy of "Miss Hanna Hurricane".

Oh well, guess I'll just try to get more done today after I get home from church. . .perhaps my "jinx" is gone since today looks to be a beautiful one.



In peace and pieces,

Prayers Needed

If you are the praying type I would appreciate your prayers for a dear friend of mine & her husband. . . . it is a cancer situation and they both need all the support & love that God can provide.

I know prayers work, although not always in the way that we want them to, so please keep G & J held before God.

Thank you in advance.

In peace and pieces,