HOT HOT HOT and MUGGY MUGGY MUGGY

HEY!!! MY first chance to actually SIT DOWN at the computer since last Friday...sorry everyone, but life definitely took back over these past few days....

So....bare with me...

First, on Friday, I got my first complete July finish.
Dizzy's binding was sewn on. It still awaits a label, but I'm considering it DONE :0)

On Saturday, I was out in the woods with the boys helping...getting in the way....photographing their bonding time with each other and some manly tools. Together, we cut, split, stacked five loads of wood.

And of course the girls were super happy to see Mom and Dad after two weeks of being with Aunt Jenny and G'ma. We loaded them up on the 'pug' (a glorified 2-seater 'car' that pivots in the middle and has a dump bucket on the back) and headed back to the woods to pick some wild raspberries. We had enough to make a batch of jam {{jam that showed up on the table for Sunday morning breakfast---YUM!!!}}

On a crafty note---no quilting for me since Friday, BUT I found some new inspiration when loading things back into my new sewing room. I NEVER dreamed I would have learned to crochet, and I don't know why I was inspired like I was by this book {{it's not like it's the first time I've looked at it}}. Anyway, on the way up to the farm, we swung into Walmart so I could pick up a size J hook. Then, MIL and I attempted some crochet stitches according to the pictures in the book........needless to say the pics were hard to follow. I couldn't tell where the stitches were, blah, blah, blah. SO, after ripping out 3-strips worth of stitches more than 5 times, I finally said, ENOUGH!!!! Then I waited until getting back home and watched some Youtube 'how-to' videos----SUCCESS! So far, I have used 1 yard of fabric and have a "rug" about 12" in diameter. I don't know how big I'll make this, but it's a good way to use up that BLAH, QUESTIONABLE-QUALITY fabric.

I've been running my volleyball camp for the past two mornings with a decent turn-out. The gym has been HOT HOT HOT with the mugginess bearing down on us. Yesterday after camp, DH asked me to join him in staining a deck---HOT HOT HOT....

and, TODAY, the HOT HOT HOT and MUGGY MUGGY MUGGY didn't deter DH, myself, Nikki (pictured), her brother and dad from gathering together on the softball field to have an afternoon of hitting and chasing down balls! ;0) With sweat pooling in places hidden from view, we spent two hours practicing our batting. Nikki, who is also a recently former student of mine, and I play softball Monday nights. Last night was the first night of tournaments, where we proceeded to advance to the second level (next week) with a 10-1 victory. But we talked about getting together to practice some batting, so.....we made a day of it.

Once we got home, it wasn't time to rest (and THANKFULLLLLY we have AC on a day like today!!!) because I had a couple bucket fulls of cucumbers that needed to be dealt with. SO....a couple of hours and 9 pint jars filled with bread-n-butter pickles later, I am FINALLLLY putting up my feet.

So....there ya have it....
Hopefully tomorrow will be a "me" day after camp.

DIZZY PLUS quilted; some family life; & Blue Ridge Beauty update

I'm still working on my Wednesday Goals. The list is slowly getting checked off.

I stepped outside to photograph Dizzy Plus. The temp isn't too bad; mid 80's. Not NEAR as bad as the East Coast today. I feel for you guys over there!!!!!
With the busy-ness of the pattern, it really is difficult to see the quilting. Mary (maryquilts) wrote about this pantograph back in October, 2009 that she uses with many of her QOVs, so I thought I'd have a go at it. Ebb and Flow, 6" pantograph. (the linked site has other AMAZING pantographs that I'm resisting at the moment, but oh....so hard to resist!). I had to adjust the pantograph just a little bit; once the quilt reaches the last couple of turns on the roller, it gets quite thick, and with only a 8.75" (max) throat space on the Juki, a 6" pantograph JUST gets clipped on the edges. This is a very "forgiving" pantograph because of the flowiness.

I DO know the limits of my Brother and my patience level, so the binding will need to wait until Bernina returns.

Bobbins used: 12 1/2
Quilting time (start to finish): 6 hours

Some family life at the household today...

Most of you know that I have three girls, but really only one "girly girl." I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of her outfit yesterday!!! Full length, pink dress; tights-n-all, and heel shoes. She is SUCH SUCH SUCH a girl! Here's the outfit of choice today....

...and "monkey see, monkey do." Candace wasn't far behind her with her own "pretty dress."

...but she's not as much of a girly girl :0)



Oh, and....Does this happen to you? I have NO idea any more how exactly this happened today, but Surgeon Candace thought she'd attempt to help Mom out....


....yeah...she gave up after not too long ;0)

No pics of Cassie today; she's still in her skimpies, PJ's. Pay NO attention to the time!!! ;0)

On a final note...I forgot that I spent some time pressing my leaders-enders project Blue Ridge Beauty yesterday evening before starting Dizzy.
Here was my status in January....

and with a few other leaders-enders inbetween, I added another 60 4-patches to the stack. Current numbers: 120 4-patches and 150 HST's. If I recall correctly, the pattern for a big ol' queen requires 448 of each. Okay....a bit to go! ;0)

A full Wednesday planned! (with updates as things get checked off)

Okay...I want to have a partial "selfish-me" day today, but there are a few other things I simply MUST do before heading out of town to my sister's tomorrow...

{{in no particular order}}

1. Take Caitlyn to the dentist to pick up her "June No-Cavity drawing" prize! She and I both had NO CAVITIES at our last appointment! Yeahhhhhhhhh....... 1:04 pm - postponed until tomorrow as we head out of town.

2. Call insurance guy for DH 8:35 am - DONE

3. Pack girls 8:20 am - begun; 1:04 - almost done

4. Pay bills - 7:33 pm UGH! Okay--maybe tomorrow, cuz I just don't wanna do this anymore tonight!

5. Check over garden (okay---that probably won't happen until tonight! It was 57 when I got up this AM, but already warmed to 70...and I think it'll keep climbing today) - 5:00 pm - DONE!

6. Do dishes (maybe! -- I don't really care if these get done or not) - 6:30 pm - DONE!

7. Do up a few loads of laundry (okay---this will get done before packing the girls!) 8:20 - Started; 11:14 - last load in dryer;
1;04 - 4 complete loads; washed, dried, folded, and put in to piles for packing the girls (see # 3.) DONE DONE

8. Quilt Dizzy Plus - 11:14 - one more pass, I think...; DONE -- see post

9. Piece Judy's mystery top ??? Don't think so today

10. Piece backing for Seven Shirts ???Could be a possibility!

11. Piece A Scrappy Picnic blocks ??? Don't think so today, either

{{Okay, obviously I don't really know what I want to do when I get downstairs, but I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy}}

Dizzy getting quilted...

I lied to Judy (Grammasquiltingroom). I commented on her recent post that I was off to start piecing the top of Judy's June Mystery....

but I didn't....

I really think I want to wait until my Bernina is back; and who KNOWS when that will be?!?!? I will drop her off on Thursday on the way to my sister's house across the state. I'm predicting a week :0( Oh well....it is what it is.

Instead, I pulled some fabrics to use for the backing of Dizzy Plus and loaded it up on the frame. I don't have much to show for my afternoon of backing-piecing and quilting; the quilting is half completed, but I was ready to shut everything down by 8:00. I was getting a bit pooped.....so......it'll get finished up tomorrow.

Since DH was on the computer, I couldn't jump online to update.....

snicker-snicker. After grabbing the camera, he said..."and you're NOT allowed to put any pictures of me on your blog without MY permission. And I DON'T like that picture, so you DON'T have my permission!" ... {{guess he should have deleted it then, huh?}}

...and what's one to do but to have a lil' evening snack!


I told you yesterday that this dessert doesn't last long in this family. {{DH wasn't happy that I didn't share the last piece, either!}}

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Someone take MURPHY AWAY!!!! - UPDATE

The day started lovely....caught up on blogs and emails. Was downstairs by 9:00!

Judy's June Mystery step #5 called to me first since it was still on the table, partially sewn. All 18 blocks done (2 identical blocks of 9 different colors). I haven't peeked yet to see if step #6 is posted. {{NOT that I'll sew it today!!!!---this'll make sense more by the end of the post}}

Then I moved to Dizzy - QOV Mystery #22, and it's living up to its name!!! Here's one of the blocks...

...and the other. This mystery kept me CLUELESS right up to the end.


Being on a roll, I pieced the top together, lickity-split!
Yes, yes.....Dizzy is DEFINITELY a perfect name for this quilt!!!!!

And...GRRRRRRRR.......as I was sewing on the final border.....

click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-....

ummmm.......yeah.....that'd be an attempt to demonstrate what my machine was saying to me...
;0(

And NO...that's not my Bernina packed up for a sewing retreat :0( She's packed up, off to the doctor.....**sigh**. Maybe she wanted that needle-threader fixed sooner than later, so she put up a fuss! **sigh**..... Again, I'm no "doctor," but the needle and bobbin are "missing each other." I called Lee down at my fix-it-up shop (OVER an hour away!!!), and he said what I expected. "Can you bring her in?" So....I'll wait until DH gets home; he needs to head down that way for something, too, so maybe we can make the trip a family outing. **yet another sigh** I'm really not trying to comercialize Bernina as a bad machine/company. I REALLLLY love my machine; I think I was just unlucky and got a lemon of a machine :0(

pout-pout

Good thing Cassie has lost some interest in sewing over the past few days because.....
Trusty ol' Brother made an appearance again. Grrrrrr.....I STILL don't know how I survived with this machine for so long! I guess, what one doesn't know won't hurt her, huh? After my Bernina, other machines just don't "have it."

I contemplated putting the Juki on the table for piecing....

but maybe this minor setback is a way for Murphy to say...."get some quilting done!!!!" I pulled out Seven Shirts last Friday, debating if I wanted to load it up in the frame. Is this a lil' push, ya think???

Or maybe I will attempt to do some piecing with the Brother, because Dizzy is just a wee bit too small for my liking. I pulled out the pinwheels I made from the bonus triangles cut from earlier steps.....time to tinker.....

Happy Tuesday. Your day HAS to be going smoother than mine!

3:19 update
I gave my Brother a lil' hug, and said..."Alright girl! You and I know you're not my #1 anymore, but you'll still treat me right, right?"

Dizzy Plus (61" x 71")

Thanks Brother 'ol gal! What should we attack next???

Stash Report (6/28 - 7/4) & Design Wall Monday

Killing two reports with one post :0)
Although---if I were following suit to Jill, I would keep these two items separate as to get nearer to my 500th post!

Okay, chronological order.....

Stash report: June 28 - July 4
Used/week: 6.542 yards
Purchased/week: 5 yards {{I DIDN'T want to, but needed some "matchy fabric" for the backing on Moondance}}

Used/year 165.692 yards
Purchased/year: 173 yards

Net used: -7.308 yards
I'm slowing working my way back into the black. If I would just stay OUT of quilt shops, I may just make it this week!!!!!


I need to leave for an eye-appointment soon. But upon returning, I DO plan on getting into my sewing area!!!
First up for tackling: Step #5 of Judy's June Mystery. I can't really do much else since they are under the needle and taking up all my table space.

After that, I want to finish up the top for Dizzy, QOV Mystery #22. Step #6 was posted while I was gone over the wekeend. The layout looks SO COOL in pictures, so I can't wait to see it together!!!

THEN, we'll see what time is left for me to actually tackle what is up on my design wall....
....yeah...there hasn't been much change since last week since I finished up Moda Paintbox and Lilac Grove tops that had been calling to me for some time.

So, Happy Monday going out to all of you.

Home from travels...

Okay...so my travels were only 2 hours away, unlike Angela.....**sigh**. Oh how lovely it would be to take a cruise!

I enjoyed a quiet, slow-paced weekend at the farm with my in-laws, minus a husband. He actually spent the weekend working and staying at MY parent's house, 2.5 hours south, while I was up in Ashland (Lake Superior) with his parents. Kinda comical, maybe...but we hadn't been to the farm in awhile and the girls wanted to go. Besides, I transported a couple of buckets of potatoes for FIL to plant since he lost almost half his potatoes :0( He and I spend some of Saturday morning in the garden; but WHEWWW-EEEE! It didn't take long for the day to heat up!!! I spent most of the afternoon in the AC'd remodeled farm house with quilt books & magazines, graph paper, scissors, Bonnie K. Hunter designs and some men's shirts that have been collecting on my shelves over the past year. I thought a "down" weekend with little technology available would be a perfect way to finally take care of cutting up some of the shirts.

Anyway--I haven't taken any recent pics. I can't believe I didn't snap a single pic this weekend!!!!! This is step #5 of Judy's June Mystery that I was able to partially sew up before leaving on Friday. I'm about half done. After an eye-appointment tomorrow, I hope to finish it up; in addition to step #6 (and final step) of the Dizzy: QOV#22 mystery.

Plans for the rest of the evening? Well, in addition to having some down-time for some cutting and designing, I also packed a smut book Harlequin Romance novel and READ! I haven't allowed myself that luxury of getting roped in a book in a long time. I finished it off lickity-split, and bought two more at the local Goodwill! So...some good smut romance on the horizons tonight. ;0)

To my fellow Americans, I hope your day remembering our Independence has treated you well! Happy Indenpendence Day!

To everyone else: Happy Sunday!

Kool Kat done; Judy's June mystery progress; Homemade French fries???

I snuck in some time this afternoon .... {{okay, so I didn't "sneak"....I just sewed allllllll day!!!}}
Kool Kat is in the washer, quilted and bound. I will need to make up a label tonight since this is a donated Quilts 4 Kids from my stash. The quilting was a fast, simple, edge-to-edge loopty-loop.

And then, once that was finished up (around 3:30), I figured it would be a perfect time to work on Judy's June Mystery Step #4 before I needed to start thinking about dinner....

I didn't realize it was such a quick, fun step! :0) I'm liking my fabric choices so far :0)


Have you ever attempted making homemade french fries? Through trial-n-error, DH has finally mastered the method! {{yes, I will give him credit! He's quite the chef when he wants to be!!!!}}.
First, slice your potatoes to your liking. We usually just punch 'em through this fry maker.
Then (and this IS an important step!), lay them out between two towels and rub gently to dry as much moisture as possible.
Once the fryer is ready, fry 'em up for a bit. Time really depends on how thick the fries are. You don't want to COMPLETELY cook them yet, so remove and let them drain for a few minutes (2-3). Then....(and this is the SECOND important step)....fry them AGAIN until they are crispy brown.

Okay....they're in the fryer right now, so I gotta run!

Tonight's agenda? Probably Dizzy, QOV Mystery 22, step #4. I might also consider working on the BOM. July is RIGHT around the corner already.

Stress Free Living!

Seriously---this post IS NOT to rub in how NICE and relaxing the summer time schedule is for me---but there IS something to not having ANY stress! I'm awake before the alarm sounds; I'm raring to start my day; Even today---6 hours at school for a Data Retreat, but it wasn't that bad!


I was home right around 3:00 from school; weather was raining yet again, so I didn't have much on my "must-do-outside" list, so......downstairs I went! Actually, I needed to head back upstairs to print out Step #3 of the QOV - Mystery #22: DIZZY project, and THEN I headed back downstairs.

...bada-bing! Step #3 double-sewn and loaded up on the cutting board to cut away the bonus triangles!

I was about to press them, but then decided to take a quick lil' break to uncloth the ironing board and throw it in the washer/dryer. It's FILTHY!!!!!

And then.....a big snag! Remember about a month ago when my previous iron had a meltdown? It LITERALLY melted the padding right to the cover, so when I tried to remove it; it kinda tore and fell apart.... So......I detoured my afternoon into making a quick lil' cover to replace it.
...nothing I would sell off to anyone :0), but it works....and isn't so dull to look at. I simply grabbed some heavy denim fabric; cut out a piece about the shape-n-size of the cover; zig-zag "appliqued" it right on the top; cut away the "bad-spot" underneath; I TRIED to add an extra layer of padding with some old batting scraps I have, but it ended up WAY too bulky!....

v'iola! Already put to work!

So...I am COMPLETELY caught up on both of my mysteries!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!

I EVEN went so far to press the bonus triangles and sped out SIXTY pinwheel blocks (30 of each), trimmed to 3.5"!!! Again, it is absolutley FLABERGASTING that all of this fabric was thrown away by some quilters who aren't aware of the double-sewing-bonus-triangle process. (I used to be one of them!!!) I am contemplating designing up another QOV quilt to use these pinwheels in, or maybe I'll just wait to see how this mystery pans out and I'll use them in the border.


Okay---time to do some quick catching up before I'm off to my 9:00 softball game!
Happy Monday!

Jared/Wife cuts, Dizzy step 2; Stash Report June 7-13

Well, the afternoon shopping excursion yesterday lasted a bit longer that intended. We left the house at 1:00 and returned at 5:30! We hit Menards and Farm-n-Fleet (both what I would consider similar to Home Depot's for those of you not in the Northern Central states). I have all the supplies to finish up the floor, and actually spent another hour putting in the last of the tiles upon returning yesterday afternoon with the newly purchased mortar. Grouting will need to wait until Wednesday, though, because today and tomorrow, I need to be at school all day for a Data Retreat.

The main reason our trip as long as it did was because we headed up to borrow a tile cutter from a bud of DH. No, no, no.....we didn't get sidetracked THERE....but as we were driving back home, we passed "Uncle Mike's Bar-n-Grill"!!! Uncle Mike was cooking (DH called when we were on the road), so we stopped in for dinner; one of the best Patty Melts around!!!!

In addition to the two "manly" shopping stops, we also stopped by Walmart for a few odds-n-ends. I haven't snuck into the fabric section in quite a while; GOOD THING! I found these lovelies calling out to me! I openly admit that I don't mind buying fabric at Walmart; however I WILL admit that there IS a difference between some of the fabric that is available at Walmart. All three of these feel great; not thin, and were the right price. I finished off the bolt of the gray (~5 yards), and bought two yards of the other gray and gold. They gold is going to be used in Jared Takes a Wife...

...see; I already cut it up! After finishing up the floor and getting the girls bathed, I spent a couple of hours downstairs to end my evening. Almost all of the pieces are cut for Jared. I REALLY didn't have any intentions of seriously diving into this project, but......I was feeling guilty from the fabric purchases, so I knew I need to cut into some more fabric before posting my Stash Report for the week! LOL

QOV Mystery #22: Dizzy, step 2 is almost finished. By the time I got to this point last night (~11:00), I didn't have anything left in me to actually finish up the pressing. It STILL kills me to think that quilters just trim off excess fabrics as "throw-aways" when doing this corner-to-corner "flip" method! LOOK at all of those bonus triangles that will be trimmed to 2", finished as 1.5". I already foresee pinwheels (THIRTY of them that would finish at 3" since there are 120 bonus tris here. What a PERFECT size!!!). I'm sure I'll put together another QOV quilt using them!


So, how'd the week end???? A NEW RECORD of USEAGE!!!!! (but now I have a LOT of projects that need finishing!!!!) Judy's June mystery, QOV #22 Dizzy mystery, Jared Takes a Wife; other projects that used fabric this week: Too Good to Cut Challenge (Moonlight) & Buckeye Beauty block swap.

Stash Report: June 7 - 13
Used this week: 20.097 yards
Purchased this week: 9 yards
Used-to-date 2010: 146.109 yards
Purchased-to-date 2010: 140.75 yards
Net used: 5.359 yards

EVEN with the purchase, I still made it back to the black! No more RED for me!!!

Okay----a few minutes to go check out everyone else's updates and then it's off to the shower to start my day!
Happy Monday!

My "Etsy" store newly recreated...

A full morning already....

Someone needs to tell the birds that it should be SILENT until at least 6:00!

4:58 AM -- wide awake! I didn't fight it; I got up, but that may not have been the best move to make. Afterall, I went to sleep around 1:30... I'm bracing myself for a CRASH sometime soon! I don't know how long I will be able to keep up with this fanatic quilting frenzy!

After catching up on emails and some of the overseas blog posts, I was ready to get downstairs.
Poor Angela! I bombarded her blog and emails with messages regarding Judy's June Mystery. She was posting that she completed step #2 last night-----huh? There wasn't a step 2 posted!!!!

But---all cleared up now! Judy hasn't linked it on her right sidebar yet, but both Andee and Angela shared the post for Clue #2 with me. I was ready.....
After a couple of hours, not only did I get clue #2 pieced---I also decided to go ahead and cut out all the fabric needed for this entire mystery. It actually is nice knowing that as soon as a clue is posted, I'll be ready to dive right in!!!

I needed to walk some letters to the mailbox. It's a cool, overcast morning and I'm not quite sure what the day has in store for me. DH needs to meet with another potential client; I'm sure the garden could use a walk-through due to the rainy days we've had recently. Gotta stay ahead of those weeds!!!!!

I haven't started on Dizzy yet, but that may just be the next project of the day :0)

Happy Saturday!

Our own lil' Friday Night Sew In...

Yeah, for those of us who don't READ the closest...we realized that the Friday Night Sew In held over at Crafty Vegas Mom isn't until NEXT FRIDAY! But, some of us still perserved :0)

After dinner, before heading downstairs, DH, myself and Cassie played a game called "Easy Money." Cassie kicked our butts; that little turkey has beginner's luck!!!

But, when I eventually made my way downstairs, I spent much of the night working on the borders of the Too Good to Cut Challenge. TRUST ME--I wanted to stop more than once and move on to something more "fun." ANYTHING beats measuring, cutting and sewing on borders (FOUR sets of them).... but....as I said....I persevered and finished up the entire top!!!!
Too Good to Cut (54.5" x 79").

The fabric line mostly used was Robyn Pandolph's Moondance.

And I did find myself chuckling when it came to the final border. As I was hunting through my stash for the perfect outside border, I saw this pink toile and LOVED it! But, ..... LOL..... I didn't want to cut into it because it was "too good and pretty!" After another 15 minutes of looking through the stash, I finally said....."DUH! That's the name of this challenge! Cut into it already otherwise it'll just sit on the shelf for another year+!"

So....anyone have a great name other than Too Good to Cut??? I've considered Moondance because of the fabric line. What'cha think? Have a different name suggestion?


OH! And as I was taking the pics of the top, I noticed this lil' drawing on the wall under the light. Cailtyn must have hung it this afternoon when I was chain-piecing away! How funny!


With the TooGood top done, I wasn't ready to hang up the rotary cutter yet, so I dug out the fabrics I set aside for the Dizzy - QOV Mystery and started cutting all the fabric out. I wasn't going to cut everything out originally, but it's nice to have all the pieces ready to go. Two clues have come out since the cutting directions have been posted, so I think this is what I'll work on when I have some quilting time downstairs this weekend.

OH! And I can't wait until my Stash Report on Sunday! I'll be back in the black for sure! I'm sitting at 10.826 yards used this week due to all the cutting I've done over the past two days!

Happy Weekend!