I did it! Charm Stars done :)

Hurray!  Charm Stars got done :)  It is hanging at the local fair right now, and I even got brave and entered it into the State Fair in August.  Locally, it won a Reserved Champion ribbon in its category.  I was cutting it close, and didn't get any pictures before I rushed it off to the fair, so today I'll post some pictures of it in process.  It was an exercise in concentration - trying to keep the lattice work of the feathers going in the proper direction.  I used strips of painter's tape with arrows to keep me on track ;)  Here is a picture of them on the thread cabinet -- I would put them on there between rows to keep them ready for the next row, lol!

This is the last row of the quilt in progress, with all those tape strips showing the way.

I was stumped in the small squares that were formed in the basketweave of feathers, but finally found a stencil that I thought looked good.  It had hearts too which was nice because I want this quilt to commemorate DH & my 25th Wedding Anniversary.

I decided to match thread colors to the quilt top - in the end, I used 43 different thread colors.  I even had to call a longarm friend and borrow a burgandy just to match 3 small sections.  Crazy, I know!

Also done is a sweet 9 patch for a customer.  She is in her 80's and still piecing right along.  I needed an idea for the borders that would work in all 4, even though they weren't the same size - horizontal are about an inch narrower than vertical.  So I went with dream feathers - it's what I do best and I'm most flexible with them.  I like to start the center with a heart, it's different and in this case, it went with the traditional, almost folk-art feel of the quilt.  Since there was a heart there, I selected a stencil with hearts and feathers.  The great thing about this is, I was able to use it in the squares and the setting triangles - as well as, the smaller triangles on the outer 4 corners.  It gives the quilt some cohesion and that's always good.

In the small green border I chose Egg & Dart.  Again, it's such a classic design and I thought it looked really nice in this small border.  The 9 patches got Continuous Curves - simple, classic.

The back turned out really nicely too - that was an extra surprise :)

Next up is an embroidered quilt top with tulips on it.  I really like this one, and plan to follow the pre-printed quilt design.  That will be a first for me, and I hope it goes well!

Charm Stars - FINALLY

I pieced a charm star quilt for my sister several years ago - before I got my longarm even!   I was able to go to my aunt's and use her longarm to quilt it.   It was just my favorite quilt ever.  So of course, I wanted to create it again, and make it king size so it can go on our bed ;)  The blocks are 16 inches, and the whole quilt is HUGE -- 117 x 101!

It's been pieced for a couple years, and one row of a meandering feather is stitched.  But, I really didn't like the stitching, so decided to rip it out.  That has taken forever!!  It's been hard to find time to just sit and rip, but I finally made it a priority and the last stitches came out Tuesday, yippee!!  I worked so hard on the piecing, so I really wanted to do some custom quilting on it.  But with it being scrappy, it's hard to find a design that will even show, let alone sparkle.   I finally have a quilting plan for some parts.

I'm going to do a basket weave of dream feathers over the main body.  I'm pretty excited about this plan, a little nervous about all the thread color changes, but excited non-the-less.  In the small green border, Egg & Dart.  I just love the classic look of E&D ;)  But the squares in between the basket weave, I'm lost and same for the outer border.  I originally thought about feathers in that outer border, but with all the feathers in the main body, I'm afraid that might be too much.  Right now, I'm leaning towards double piano keys for that outer border - but would like to do something fancier.  I've posted for help on one of my quilting forums, so hopefully someone can point me in a direction that turns on a light bulb for me ;)

So, for now, it's on the frame and I've started.  Hope to have it finished by next weekend so I can get it bound in time to enter the local fair ;)  Wish me luck.

Quilt show ribbon!

I can't believe it!  Polly Pocket got a ribbon at the Carson Valley Quilt Show :)  It was for best Wholecloth, and  . . . . . . drum roll please . . . . . . it came with a check for $250!!  WOW!  Here it is hanging on the design wall.   I knew about the ribbon, I saw the winners list online, but the check was a terrific surprise!

Now Polly is back home and hanging up with some extra bling :)

The T-shirt quilt ended up great and the customer was very happy.  Managed to finish the two samplers and will be delivering them in the next day or two.  One got some light custom quilting - feathers and cross-hatching in the blocks, egg & dart in the sashing and double piano keys in the outer border.

  The other was busier so I went with a Baptist Fan using my EZ boards.  I tried a new path with the boards, and am very pleased with how it stitched out.

Also finished was a table runner for a cousin's wedding.  I use the same pattern for weddings and just utilize the wedding colors to make it personal.  The wedding date and bride & groom's names are stitched in the outer border.

It's been a productive few weeks!

Quilting news too!

I took a big step with quilting this spring - I entered one of my whole cloth quilts into a couple of national shows! 

This is a view of the quilt as it was drying from being blocked.  The stitching shows nicely from this angle.  The judges are going to ding me on the fact that the quilting gets "eaten up" by the binding and the quilt is not exactly symmetrical.  I think they will also say that the design is too similar, the motifs need more distinction in size between the motifs and the background fillers - it doesn't "pop".  I do think they'll like the feathers :)  If they read my description they might appreciate that it is an original design.  I won't get it back until mid-June probably.

Even more exciting: I went to Cedar Rapids to attend one of the shows I entered - MQS (Machine Quilting Show)!!  It was great because I could stay with my aunt and uncle (for free).  Mom drove and we went out on Thursday, back on Saturday .  I was even able to take 4 classes.  Friday was the best one: a rhinestone class with Claudia Pfiel.  Can't wait to start using that on my whole cloths!!  The Saturday morning class with Dusty Ferral was a disappointment and I probably won't take another class from him.  It's a shame, because I was interested in another class at the same time, but chose this one instead.  And of course, Dusty's class was the more expensive one :(

After the Cedar Rapids show, the quilt was shipped directly to another show - Carson Valley.  I expect it will do better in Carson Valley than in Cedar Rapids.  The Cedar Rapids show is for machine quilting specifically - and lots of national (and international) quilters enter.  My only real hope there was that I might get a teacher's ribbon.  But at Carson Valley, maybe an honorable mention is a possibility, or maybe, just maybe a real ribbon :)  crossing fingers!

It was pretty cool to see my quilt hanging in a big time show!  My aunt and uncle even had a great time seeing the show on Friday.  I really enjoyed the time with them at their house too.  I bought some books, a couple stencils, and a new marking pencil.  I am excited to create something amazing for our guild show coming up in the fall now!

This is the paperwork I had to work on to send the quilt out and make sure it got sent on to the next show.  I had to spread it all out on my desk at work and very carefully walk through it step by step, LOL

In customer work, I'm finishing a T-shirt quilt for a graduation next weekend.  I'll be delivering it Monday or Tuesday.  She has a nice collection of shirts, but not much unifying elements.  The customer bought the sashing fabric and the backing.  The quilt shop suggested Minkee for the backing . . . . .I"m pretty nervous about that.  I got the quilt loaded Monday, and will begin quilting tonight.  Hopefully it will go smoothly.  I've heard that Minkee can be stretchy and hard to work with, so I'm proceeding with cautious optimism :)  The piecing went smoothly but I did make a mistake.  I cut one of the shirts a quarter inch too small.  Luckily, I put it in the top corner so the coping strip blends into the sashing somewhat.  I'll point it out, but I think the customer will be ok with it.

I also made a pair of blankets for two boys from church who graduated this year.  I made the "furry on one side/minkee on the back" blanket that my kids love.  Since the boys are twins, I put an initial on each one so they can tell them apart.  They are in Cincinnati Bengals colors as both boys are fans, and the initial is in Bengals logo fabric :)

Next up is a pair of sampler quilts for a customer :)

Lost and Found

I lost my blog!!   But I found it finally ;)

This blog is attached to an old email that I no longer have.  And the password wasn't working, and for ages I've tried to get back in, today was my lucky day!  I can't imagine losing all my posts.  They aren't anything special to anyone else, but they show snapshots of my life - kids, family, home, quilting.  I would hate to permanently lose them.

Gee, maybe the key is more frequent posting LOL.

Lots has happened since forever ago when I last posted!  DS moved into his first apartment - super big change!  He is still here in town, at a complex closer to his work.  He moved in mid-March.  Just after his birthday in May, he got a kitten.  He's so cute with it.  It kind of makes me think of my dad. 

Dad was on his own for years and he made friends with critters all his life.  When he was in Colorado, I remember the squirrels outside his apartment.  By the time we came for the summer, he had gotten them to come all the way up to his patio door and take some peanuts.  He could get them to come in just a little to the living room.  I suspect he spent many patient hours on his little patio holding out a peanut and chattering to them, trying to get them to come up so he could pet them.  So I kind of see DS doing the same . . . .coming home to an empty apartment and spending time with his pet.  I don't know, it sounds goofy when I type/read it, but I can picture it in my mind ;)  And I'm glad it gives him some companionship.  For as much as my family can be loners - companionship is a good thing, it gives you something special that you need.



I think he's enjoying it for sure.  We managed to put together some second hand furniture for him - a couch from Aunt Colleen, patio furniture from someone here at work, dining table and chairs from us.  He took his bed, dresser & night stand, and my big wooden desk that had been in his bedroom at home (and that he COMPLAINED about forever!!)   I've been over to visit a few times.  If I'm honest, I have to say that he is not keeping it clean, and that is frustrating.  I've tried to encourage and instruct, but he is just being lazy about it.  It's unfortunate because the apartment is quite nice and it's already starting to smell a little like teenage boy with clothes, pizza boxes, and video games strewn around :(

Middle DD changed jobs.  She had been at Chuck E Cheese's for 3 years and one of our friends from church said that the health food store where she worked was looking for someone.  Turns out to be a super-fit for DD!  It's funny, anything that our friend puts out as a negative about the job, DD is able to look at and say "It's not as bad as Chuckie!"  She even got chosen to go on a work trip with her boss to learn more at a trade show!  She overheard her boss say that DD is a great employee and she has initiative and works hard.  The boss is looking forward to teaching DD and having her to take on more responsibility.  That's exciting for DD after being in a job for 3 years where she was NOT appreciated.  The boss at the health store compliments her.  I like that she has sent home some delightful gifts in just the few months DD has worked there - flower baskets for spring and a flat of flowers for Easter.  Very nice gestures to let her employees know they are valued!  Reminds me of my boss years ago at the Chamber of Commerce - and that is a big compliment!

Youngest DD finished her Pharmacy Tech certification through school and will be working at Walgreens now.  She is too young to work in the pharmacy, so she will start with shifts as a cashier, and after her birthday, add some shifts in the pharmacy.  She got her license about 5 months ago and it has been terrific to not have to taxi her around!!  It's funny though, when she talks about going somewhere or doing an activity - my knee-jerk reaction is still "oh man!  Where do I have to go, what do I have to do??"  then I realize - yippee! She can drive, this means nothing to me!!  She and the boy friend went to formal this year, but his parents have told them they can't see each other anymore so it was like a last hurrah for them.  And I'm sad for both of them.  They both like each other, and having the relationship taken from them doesn't help them learn about how to navigate a relationship and end it on their own.  It makes it very "Romeo & Juliet" and now they will want it all the more because they aren't allowed to have it. 

One of my favorite pictures is when we surprised Boyfriend with a boutonniere pin.  We knew this was their last time to be together and I figured his folks wouldn't let DD give him a tie this year, so I made this small lapel pin instead.  When DD showed him, I saw genuine joy on his face and that was really sweet.  I think he liked the surprise, but also liked having something special to remember formal long after it's gone.

I put an anchor in his pin and her corsage because that is a symbol that they've latched onto.  It relates to their favorite Bible verse, so I know they would like it.



The other big news is -- we got chicks this spring!  We were down to only three chickens and none of them were polish.  So I ordered from our favorite breeder.  I had to sell the extras but that went smoothly on Craigslist.  Heck, I even made back the money I spent on all the birds, so mine were free ;) 

They were about 4-6 weeks old here, having one of their first days outside.

This one is DD's Mottled Houdan.  This is the breed she's been wanting.  I actually ordered 6, but only two arrived and the other one got a splayed leg and in the end it we decided to put it down, but then it died that same day.  DD was pretty upset, but she is very glad she has at least one to show at the fair this year.  Our total is one Houdan, 2 white crested whites, 3 white crested blues, and 4 white crested blacks.  There are two roos - a black and a blue.  DD thinks the Houdan might be a roo as well, so we are waiting to see if it crows or lays an egg ;)

How do I have a 22 year old?

Gosh, on Saturday my oldest will turn 22, how did THAT happen?  Especially since (in my mind anyway) I'm only 24, lol!  We don't have any special plans, but hopefully we will have a chance to sit on the deck and sing to him and open presents.  I may have to sit down and look at his baby book and some old photos this weekend ;0)

Well, but I also have to replace my needle bar, ugh!  I broke a needle Sunday evening with only about a half hour left on a customer quilt.  I went ahead and shut down the machine thinking I'd finish Tuesday.  When I went to sew, I couldn't get the needle bar to go down.  Uh Oh.  Been here before . . . that's a bent needle bar.  Lucky for me, I keep several on hand because my machine seems prone to bending needle bars when it breaks a needle.  I did finish the super hero quilt and deliver it (finally!) so that's good news.  The guy who received it must have been happy - by the time I got home, he had posted 7 pix of it on his facebook page!  He was a pretty happy fellow!  Since this was a freebie, I hope that I score several new clients through it *fingers crossed*

Tomorrow is the day mom and I go to Vincennes to pick up Ellen.  We need to bring boxes so she can pack - that will be interesting.  She is excited for us to see her room, and we are excited to see it.  Ellen will be coming home for about a week to pack up her bedroom and then she is moving to my gr'ma's house.  I don't see any way she is going to make it back to Vincennes next semester, short of a miracle.  She only got $1,050 in aid for the YEAR!  But they generously offered us parent loans in excess of $11,000!  YIKES!  Um, thank you but no thanks, we can't possibly do that.  She will be devastated, but she will be able to get just as good an education out at IUPU - Columbus.  And at least she had a year on campus.

Things with MIL are going fine.  She is ticked at the other side of the family right now, so we are not taking any heat at the moment, LOL.  She still is not taking her antibiotic, so I anticipate an ER visit probably in June due to the UTI getting worse.  I'm also keeping an eye on her because last year the summer is when we started having trouble with her retaining water and ending up in the ER 3 times with difficulty breathing.  So, I'm keeping my journal about her medical stuff updated and ready.

Right now I'm looking forward to putting up the pool!  It's hitting 88 degrees outside today, and it's only May 7th!  Hoping to crank out 2 quilts this weekend so I will have the funds for getting water hauled in.  Ellen offered to help set it up, and Marci probably will too.  They both want it, so they are most likely to help ;0)  I am a little nervous because we didn't put the pool up last year, it just sat folded up on the ground.  I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!!

Spring has arrived

MIL made it home from the Nursing home, but not before she had another UTI and went on a hunger strike, convinced that the workers were coughing on her food and going to make her sick.  She developed a respiratory infection, which in her mind confirmed her crazy notion.  So we had to move her from that home to another one.  She simply would not believe that the food was safe and so she refused to eat anything.  In the last couple of days before the move we were able to get her to accept some pre-packaged foods, but they weren't the healthiest.
She moved to the new place March 7 and we had our first phone call from her in less than 24 hours, LOL.  She said they were telling her she had a dr. appointment the next day but she didn't know where it was or how she was to get there.  We were able to call the nurses and determine that one of them had mentioned that the Nurse Practitioner would see her for the first time tomorrow - MIL just jumbled it all up.  That has been the bad thing with this nursing home stay, all of the medical people working with her have noticed her mental confusion and most of them are using the word Dementia pretty freely.  Though it's not been diagnosed, it's pretty obvious that it's beginning.  She had a follow-up appt. with the Ortho doctor and discovered that her shoulder has fallen out of socket - basically, she's right back to where she was before the surgery :0(  Only 15 degrees of lifting from the shoulder.  Of course, if you ask her to lift her arm, she bends it at the elbow and touches her shoulder, and believes that she just did what you asked, Bless Her Heart!  Since it was out of socket, there was no need to continue therapy, so nursing home was no longer covered under insurance.
So, she was discharged and went home March 26th.  She should have 24/7 supervision, but no one is able to do that, so we are doing the best we can.  Tim & I have taken her pills to our house and he brings them to her each morning - so she only has one day's worth of Rx at a time.  She is supposed to be taking antibiotic for a UTI diagnosed at her follow-up appt. with family doctor a week after her discharge, but is refusing it (actually, she likely had it at then end of the nursing home stay because she was refusing to take her antibiotic there, so this is just the same one probably that never went away.)  So not sure what we will do with that.  It will only get worse and not better.  Unfortunately for us, this means she will get more and more paranoid and irrational and even argumentative, ugh.  She has only taken one pill, 4/2/15 and is convinced that it was "working on her." so hasn't taken another - although she will tell the doctor she has been taking it when he asks!

At the appt. with the ortho doctor last week, she was trying to get him to change the antibiotic and he couldn't get her to understand that it is her family doctor who needs to do that.  Of course she doesn't want to talk to HIM because she's mad at him for putting her on it.  So she said she would just talk to her heart doctor "He'll take care of me!"  As the doctor was leaving the room, he looked at me and said, "You do a good job with her."  WOW.  That meant a lot, considering that she doesn't see and/or appreciate the sacrifices I'm making and how hard I'm trying to work with her.  And Ellen told me that the Deans don't see it either or appreciate it.  So it's nice to know that *someone* thinks I'm doing a good job. ;0)

Ellen is just about done with this semester of college.  She had some upheaval with the roommate and moved out into a single room about a month ago.  The roommate was planning to bring her sister to stay for a week - and never asked Ellen if it was okay.  The sister had bullied Ellen some in High School and the sister has anger issues, is moody and really difficult - not the sort of person you want to be trapped in a small dorm room with ;0\   We called to see if this could even be allowed and were told that "no" they are freshman so overnight guests are not allowed during the week.  So I finally called and tried to find out what to do.  Long and short of it is, the roomie was called into the housing office and questioned, but mom had gotten "Special Permission" so there was nothing we could do.  When roomie came back and yelled about it, she told Ellen "it doesn't matter, she's coming, there's nothing you can do about it so just deal with it!"   Ellen said that was the last straw and pretty much summed up her whole experience as this girl's roommate:  Ellen never got a vote, it was always this girl's way and/or her mom's way or the highway.  Heck, even knowing that Ellen was considering moving out and she was unhappy, this girl walked into the living room and turned the TV from what Ellen was watching, in the middle of the show, to "get ready" for a show coming on in a half hour.  *sheesh!*

Then the mom and I had a blow out over the phone.  In the course of that fight I had told the mom that her daughter was having sex in their home when the boyfriend stayed all night there (her daughter had bragged about it to my daughter.)  The mom waited until the daughter came home on Friday for the weekend and asked her about it, and daughter said, "no" of course.  So mom branded me a liar and lit up Facebook with nasty posts about Ellen and me, thinly veiled of course, but obvious to everyone, LOL.  Calling us liars and saying how horrible we were to make up and spread rumors about them.  People were responding with the whole "Keep your head up, you are better than this, Karma will get them, etc." stuff  to the mom.  (and in a side note, nope -- Karma bit them this last weekend instead, a couple of times actually!! LOL)

We were probably pretty frustrating, because we didn't respond to any of it. As soon as I heard about it, I blocked all four of their family members as did Ellen and we just went on with our lives.  Their family LOVES drama, so our not engaging was better than trying to fight with them, it likely drove the mom nuts!  Funny twist, Ellen and the daughter had a sit-down and worked out their differences and still go to the dining hall now and then (when Ellen doesn't have anything better to do, LOL.)  At lunch a couple days ago the daughter told Ellen that she is in trouble with her mom and mom no longer trusts her because she lied about something (not being where she was supposed to be, I think skipping classes specifically, but she didn't elaborate to Ellen.)  I just had to laugh because the mom pretty much tried to destroy me for "lying about her daughter" who always "tells her everything, because we are best friends."  When in fact, nope, your daughter lies to you a fair amount, she just hasn't ever gotten tripped up in them because usually she is able to tip toe around and get away with it!!

Work is fine.  Nothing new or exciting.  And home is ok.  Still not getting much time in to quilt.  It just seems like the days are not long enough.  By the time I go to work, come home and make dinner then tidy up from that - it's almost bedtime.  My days off, one is spent taking MIL to the store for her groceries and that takes the whole day (seriously, we were in one grocery store for over two hours - not even a super store, just a regular grocery!!) Then the next day I have to try to get MY errands done, *sigh*  Weekends seem to always start out with no plans, but as people get out of bed Saturday morning they start "needing" to go to town for this or that, or "needing" to get this or that done, and my things just get pushed to the side, and again, it's time to make dinner and clean up and the whole day is gone.  Don't mean to sound whiny, really, I just am frustrated at all the quilting and house stuff piling up, :0(  But hopefully with pretty weather I can throw open some windows, get some fresh air and sunshine in and get motivated!!