Oh, the holidays, I love them so.

 Last week I made this Elenore Burns table runner.  My intentions were to make one for me and one for my Mother-In-Law.  The second one didn't get made and it turns out that she wants the leaf version anyhow.  Perhaps she'll get one for Christmas.

 I made this bag a few weeks ago and forgot to take a picture.  I don't like it and the button is all wrong.

 I only got to 3 Civil War blocks this week.  That's better than none.

 This is the beginning of an Eeyore quilt that my Niece-In-Law needs, stat.  There will be a thick border on top with the little girl's name appliqued & 2 thinner borders down the sides with thick rick-rack.  I'm liking it so far.  I hope to get it done by next weekend.

Last but not least, I started this super cute pin cushion last Saturday at my TAS meeting.  I probably should have taken a closer picture so that you can see better detail.  And for those who were wondering, the top was finished last weekend but I sewed it together this weekend:)


Now to get caught up on my Girl Scout junk!  Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!  Mine was pretty great!

I Guess It's Been Awhile

So, life has been pretty crazy lately. But, honestly, when isn't it? I was offered a position at Jim's Formal Wear just as I was getting used to my other new job at the middle school. Rich is still in training at his new job that he started back in August. Hunter became a Marine Recruit, against his mother's wishes. The kids had Homecoming. We had Halloween. Which, by the way, I have no photos of. I took pictures. When I went to add them to my computer the next day, they were no longer on my camera:( Bummer, the kids looked great, too! And, believe it or not, I did manage to sew a few stitches in the month or so since my last blog.

Well, it doesn't show very well in the photo but, this (above) is a kid upside down in a pile of leaves. You can see his jeans popping out & he has white tennis shoes on. I made him to put up in my cubicle at work. It's only about 12x13".



Today I started back on my Civil War Block of the Week. I was getting a little nervous because the year is almost over & I was only on week 33. Now I'm only 10 weeks behind. I think if I do 4 a week, I'll be caught up in no time. I would have done more but week 37 looked really complicated & I thought it would be better to start fresh on it. My Indiana Puzzle is about 1 inch too small, so, I'll be revisiting that particular one again later.

I finished Bunny Hill's last, free block of the month, "Henrietta Squirrel". It's invisible, machine applique with hand embroidery. By finished, I mean, the top is done. I do have the back & binding saved & ready to use when I get around to it. I put the two pictures up because the one with Fred, the dog, cracks me up. He heard the camera turn on, came over and stood in front of the quilt. When he heard me take the picture, he left. What a ham:)

This stocking is going to be Rich's new Christmas stocking. I made one for him the year we got married but it's falling apart at this point in our lives. It holds a lot of memories, though. I mixed up some of the colors from the pattern & my room mate touched his name to see if it was dry... it wasn't. I guess you could say it's always been a little ghetto but it was done with love:) So anyway, I'm going to take the kit to work with me & work on it while on my breaks.

I also quilted my Pride & Prejudice quilt. It turned out awful! It's stitched in the ditch and at every intersection the bottom stitches loop like crazy! Now I have to rip out the whole queen sized quilt and try it again. This time I'll just do a random all over pattern that will avoid all the intersections.

I did a little on my State Flowers quilt but didn't take any pictures. It's kinda funny. Yesterday, at Frieden's Quilt Show, I saw a finished one on display. I so badly wanted to unfold it and see what they did for South Carolina. I almost quit doing my quilt because I hate how South Carolina turned out! Sadly, it was in the fold and I didn't get to see it. My theory is that they hated theirs too, and were hiding it:)

Any hoo... I really want to make a second batch of granola. Yesterday's was terrible because I used cheap oats. I'm going to try again before it gets too late. Happy Stitching!

They Say I'll Miss Them When They're Gone

So it started with new tile flooring. Then the oven broke, then the dishwasher. The refrigerator was soon to follow.


Before we knew what was happening, all of our appliances were new. Then Rich decided before he started his new job, he was going to finish remodeling the kitchen. We've hated it since we moved in 7 years ago. Now I also have a new counter top, back splash, range hood, kitchen sink, faucet, microwave and paint! The pictures don't show the color well but it's a really pale celery. Sherwin Williams calls it Heart of Palm. It's brighter than I expected but I LOVE it. It's still one of the smallest kitchens I've ever seen, but it's a WHOLE lot prettier:)
The new curtains will get made next weekend...

It never ceases to amaze me how surprised my children get at the notion of doing their chores every Sunday. For as long as I can remember, we do our chores on Sunday. Everybody is responsible for their own room and each has a variety of other small jobs to do. Sunday comes along, it's the same, week after week. For some reason, it still takes them by surprise that they have to work. Whining, fit throwing, complaining. I won't name, names, but I've got one kid that acts like a 2 year old every time! Boy are they quick to ask for money, though! Well, a certain someone will be quite amazed how quickly I say no the next time I'm asked for cash. I've about come to the end of my rope with this routine.

Anyways, I was just told this week how awful it is when they move out. I'm having a hard time believing it today. Rich & I decided we should take a vacation without them. I thought, we should take that Honeymoon we never had. Ah, to dream. But then, we couldn't agree on where to go...heavy sigh.

Well, I've been pretty busy these past couple of weeks. With sick kids, broken kids, and various dr. appointments and dance classes. But, I did manage to make it into my sewing room once or twice.

The Jack O' Tablerunner, that I wasn't supposed to start until I had other projects completed. I'm so bad at following rules. Especially the ones I set up for myself... but at least I'm ready for Halloween now.
I took a class from Cindy Hagen yesterday and we made these snazzy, swirly table runners. I didn't realize how quick they went together so I didn't buy a backer or binding for it. The edges will eventually be smooth and I think I'll bind it in the white dot print. Or maybe, the red? I don't know what I'll do with it, it doesn't exactly match my Christmas decor but I love it any way!

Hot Cakes for my friend Silvia. Her last day at work is tomorrow & we're all going to miss her:(


The quilt is called Happy Hauntings, I think. It was a block of the month from 2 years ago! The skeleton has 114 bones. And, it's all hand appliqued! It's been done for a couple of weeks but I didn't have a picture to post. I love it! and apparently, so does Fred, he's asleep on it every chance he gets!




These are my latest pincushions, doughnuts. YUM.

I'm getting really bored with these state flowers but I guess there's no deadline to do them. I'm disappointed with how sedate the coloring of the embroidery is.

And, I believe the fat lady is singing, because I need to sleep:) Happy Stitching.

I'm a mom, I can multi-task!

I woke up this morning wanting desperately not to think about Sept. 11. It's been 10 years and it is still so painful! I thought of Rich's grandfather this morning. The morning after we were married, Dec 6. Grandpa Mantz was going on and on about Pearl Harbor. Me, being the idiot 21 year old, couldn't understand why he was still stuck on that day. I understood this morning. 9-11 is my generation's Pearl Harbor. And, I feel so sad that it will be stuck with us well into our twighlight years.

My first instinct was to throw the terrorists the 1 fingered salute & go about my business like they don't matter to me. But, everywhere I turned, there were people showing their respect for those who died, and those who serve. And again, I found myself being the idiot. So I let myself cry, again, and I started another Quilt of Valor. Just because I want to ignore the hate, doesn't mean I should ignore the men & women out there keeping freedom safe.

This is as far as I got. I've been saving the pattern forever because I HATE flying geese & could always find something else to start. My friend Pat suggested I paper-piece them so they don't totally suck. As usual, she had a good idea, even though, it still kicked my butt. I worked on this for most of 9 1/2 hours and this is as far as I got. The next round will be 8 pointed variable stars, another blue border and then top and bottom rows of more stars. The original pattern is meant to be square, so I added the rows to make it longer & more like a throw quilt. I'm loving the blues that I'm stealing from my Civil War block of the week stash! Wouldn't it be a tragedy if I had to go shopping for more?

I made this bag yesterday. Another kit I've been hoarding. This is supposed to be my new fall bag. It's Peggy Sue by Fig Tree. Super easy pattern and little small by my usual standards. The fabrics are by Edyta Sitar, yummy. Now it just needs a really great button on the flap.

The cupcake is Sierra's latest creation. She had an Irish Cream truffle a few weeks ago & wanted to see if you could put it in a cupcake. All I had was Mint Chocolate Baileys, so we used that and put a chocolate frosting on it. Pretty darned good if you ask me. And worth all the WW points I had to use to eat it:)

Well, the terrorists can still kiss my giant behind! I love my country, I love my family, and I love my freedom. I'm a mom, I can multi-task. I can salute a terrorist with my middle finger, make a quilt for an honored service member & have dinner on the table before bed!

My Life in Stitches

I suppose this is another pincushion project. There were several little projects like this that I wanted to get done before school started. I've always wanted to buy one of these thread catchers when I see them at quilt shows but I never like anyone's choice of fabrics. And, you know I love cupcakes.

Let me just say, moving pictures around in this blog sucks. These are the State Flower embroidery blocks that I've been working on. I started them while we were in Minnesota. I'm doing this instead of hand applique for a while. While we were in Minnesota, someone was looking at my work and asked "What are these, cupcakes?" So...I guess my embroidery skills are a tad lacking. By the end, I sould have it squared away. Don't ask me why Utah is upside down, I can't figure out how to fix it. These will all be set on-point in the quilt.

So, don't be too impressed with how much I've done on my Civil War blocks. I had several blocks that I just hadn't taken a picture of yet. They are really bad pictures. I couldn't bring myself to re-take them once they were done. I almost started to cry on Saturday when I sat down to put all the blocks in order. At first, I was going by just the blocks that I'd photographed but luckily I found the others and I wasn't as far behind as I had thought:/ Then of course, I got frustrated & gave up before I was caught up with Barbara Brackman's blog. The Y-seams in the lily block did me in!

So, that's what I've been up to. My to-do pile is: quilt my Haunted Halloween, and Pride & Prejudice quilts, get caught up on my Twisted Mystery quilt and I'm also doing Bunny Hill's BOM Henrietta Squirrel. Ideas running around in my head are: a family tree quilt for the Purdy's, Hearts n' Hands BOM in 30's, a new fall bag, & a new Quilt of Valor. I've got fabric for them all, I just need to start them. But then, I feel like I should finish something else first. Maybe next week.

Can a Girl Catch a Break, Please?!

So, I thought I'd check in with the general public that gets a good laugh at my life from time to time. The last 7 days have been 1 for the record books. Grab a drink & a snack and enjoy, not being me:)

Last Saturday, I was in MN attending my sister-in-law's big hog roast. I came away with 22 mosquito bites on one leg. I won't go into all the dirty details of the family drama. Let's just say, my husband and most of my kids don't like crowds, and this was a crowd.

Sunday, 9 hours in an '89 Lincoln with my youngest son, Ethan, basically sitting on me the whole time. Did I mention, at this point, I have a hang over. Oh yeah, had my first tequila shots the night before. Along with Hunter & Bethany begging me to get completely wasted & make a fool of myself so they can post videos. Everyone is crabby because nobody wants to be next to anybody, anymore!

Monday, I spent the whole day back to school shopping. My boss at the school tells me there might be an opening at another school that would earn more money. She didn't want to tell me, but she knew I could use it. I say, what the heck, I probably won't get it but I'll give it a whirl.

Tuesday, more shopping & my quilt guild meeting. I'd been pretty nervous about this meeting because I had to present the proposed budget. Last year's meeting did not go smoothly. The guest speaker said he wouldn't return because of it. I was expecting to have to defend myself with violence & street words... all for naught. Everyone was super reasonable! I also made some really gross peach salsa. Really. Gross.

Wednesday is usually my favorite day of the week. What's not to love about a day in a quilt shop? At 4pm, I'm offered a full time position at the middle school. What does this mean? I had to quit my favorite job of all time! I was so upset, I almost vomited. The catch is, school starts in a week & I can't give notice. Oh and can I start 9am the next morning for training.

Thursday came way too early. I trained at the middle school all morning & returned in the evening for the school walk through that students were having. My allergies were so bad that morning, that I spent most of the time sneezing my head off with eyes twitching like I was some crazed maniac! By the end of the night, my migraine was so bad that I had taken 3 rounds of medicine and it still wasn't gone! So, naturally I couldn't sleep that night. I also had to miss Hunter's senior picture session.

Friday was spent running errands, finishing school shopping, the list was enormous!!! I made an appointment for our dog Angel, to go to the vet. She has a cyst that was small but has become enormous while we were away on vacation. They can't see her till Monday. Rich was back to work, only to find out they've scheduled him for the next 14 days. By the end of the day, I couldn't wait to go to bed and be done with it. Could I sleep? No. I was up ALL night. Completely freaked out and depressed that I no longer work in a quilt shop. On the bright side, I realize we never had time to go camping while Rich was on vacation. Bonus.

Here's where it gets good. I had to get up at 6:30am to take the girls in for shots this morning. I'm not a morning person. It took forever & I was completely grumped out when we were done. While I took a nap, the girls decided to tie dye shirts outside. Dying the concrete around the house. Then, we dye their hair for school. Do they like it? No. Neither girl likes their hair. Sierra goes to the Fairview Heights Homecoming, gets naucious from her shot and vomits all over the place. Including on her friend. Meanwhile, I realize that You've Got Mail is a remake of The Shop Around the Corner, and it blows my mind! I put homemade meatballs in the oven while I take a shower. Bethany needs a ride to her friends house. Yes, it's 5pm & I haven't even showered. Don't judge me. As I come out of the shower, I realize there is blood all over my bedroom carpet. Angel's cyst is coming out of her leg all on it's own! Holy Shit! I'm going to be sick! At that moment, my meatballs are done and they are the exact size and look, exactly, like the thing that is coming out of my dog's leg!!!!! Nobody will be eatting tonight! I wrap it in guaze until Rich gets home to deal with it. I almost vomit on Bethany. Hunter claims he's got places to be. So, off we go to her friends house. On the way home, my cadilac breaks down on the I70. There I am, stranded, praying a semi doesn't kill me. So, Rich eventually comes to my rescue & sends me home in his car. Off I go, with hazards still blazing because I can't find the freaking button to turn them off....While Rich waits for the toe truck, it rains & he can't roll up the windows because the battery died. On the ride home with the toe truck driver, that Rich knows from the mechanic's shop, the guy realizes he knows our house from his childhood! And apparently, there is a slave tunnel in my basement behind wood and brick! He's seen it. Now, I'm going to have to dig up my basement to find that damn tunnel!

The good news, there can be only one me:D Sit back and relax and enjoy being you :D