Good morning, it's Friday!!!

 

Good morning, it's Friday!!! The weekend is almost here. I have plans to spend some time with my sewing machine and getting out to enjoy the warm, fresh air of Ohio. 

Some good news on the job front. My job has been posted with the company and there will 6 slots for hire. I have been assured one has my name on it, but I have to go through proper channels to get the job. Last night I spent a good portion of my free time applying for my current job. That is the first step in the direction of getting back to full time, benefits, and my seniority. I will keep you posted as soon as I know something.

I have gotten two rows completely put together on my hand piecing project and I am starting to attach the next row. It is quite calming to do while the system is taking is good sweet time at work. It has not crashed again since last week. Slow is better than crashing!!

I hope everyone has a great day and enjoy your weekend!!

In stitches,
Judy

Happy Thursday

Today is my early day! In at 7am and out by 4:30 and it is supposed to be in the upper 60's!!! I have been up and exercised and drank nearly a quart of water. I did get almost two rows sewn together yesterday. I have completed 9 rows so far. Hey, I am 1/3 of the way done with the piecing of this quilt. I am hoping that after my meeting, I can put some time in at the frame. Still unsure of the challenge this this month. Perhaps when the overtime slows down at work, it would be easier to play along.

Keep the eye on the prize, the weekend is coming and for us in this part of Ohio, it will be warm!

Keep at it

I keep working towards the goal of finding a few minutes each day to quilt. And it is starting to pay off!! I am hand piecing at work while my authorizations load. We are quite busy and that makes the system run very slow. I stitch a 3.5" square to each rectangle. That is quick work. And at the end of the day I accomplish something.

And last night I was able to spend about 45 minutes at the quilt frame. I still need to tweak the frame set up but I did start doing a bit of hand quilting. Yeah!! I always feel better after I have fondled fabric.

Hey, it's Wednesday. For some of you it is hump day, but when you work 6 days a week, you do not get a hump. Enjoy your day and keep your eyes open as the weekend is just on the horizon!!

In stitches,
Judy

I found some sewing time

 

I found some of my missing sewing time today!! I work in a call center and while my computer is slowly loads authorizations I am hand piecing squares and rectangles together. It is very calming in an otherwise crazy world. I have at least seven rows made and tonight I will press the rows I have completed and start sewing them together. I am on the phones for 9 hours a day and I figure I can get at least one row pieced a day. I need a total of 27 rows. I just need to keep plugging along. I think I can, I think I can.

In stitches,
Judy

It's Tuesday

It's Tuesday and the downward swing of February. I have yet to start any of my February challenges. I just need to make at least one table runner, something violet, and something red. I have a few ideas rolling around in my mind but nothing concrete as of yet.

 
Red is not my favorite color to work with, I have used it as a back on a quilt.

Violet is my mom's favorite color family and I do have a jelly roll earmarked for a split decision quilt. That is an option.

    
I have the directions and enough different striped pieces of fabric to make at least 10 table runners. I think if I got one done that would be wonderful.

I have such grandiose plans in the morning. I can get a lot done in the morning before I go to work. But after putting 9 hours on the phones in a call center, I am wore out when I get home. And we are still working 6 days a week and that makes my weekends rather short. Maybe tomorrow I will sew in the morning but it is doubtful!!!

In stitches,
Judy

Spring is coming

 

 
Yesterday, Mother Nature gave us a glimpse of Spring!! My mom and sister, Becky, went for a walk at Sharon Woods. The sun was out and it was about 54 degrees. There  was a hint of spring in the air even though there was still snow on the ground in places. 

And the lake was still frozen.

And a few icicles hanging out in places.


And of course, it was crowded. Lots of people out walking and running. Families, people with dogs and people without coats, in short sleeves and people in shorts!! Not us, we had our light weight winter coats on and they were zipped up. And my mom had her gloves on!!

In stitches,
Judy

One finish

 

At the rate I am going, I am never going to get my UFO's finished. I did finish one project this week. The bag is for my co-worker's daughter. It will be the gift bag for her new notebook computer. Isn't that cool!! 

Today is my only day off this week and I have bunches of things to do. I am working on the laundry. I have some cleaning to do and a walk with my mom and sister. I am really hoping to get in the sewing room but that is not looking like an option today. Maybe I will get a few minutes with my hand piecing project. I have 7 rows done so far. Or perhaps I will start clearing out the closet in the basement. It is supposed to be my home office. Or start pricing stuff for my garage sale this spring. So many things to do and so little time. 


I hope everyone is having a good weekend!!

In stitches,
Judy

Weekend Plans

I am starting to countdown the hours to my weekend. Of course, mine does not start until 2PM on Saturday. Oh well!!! It is going to be a sewing weekend. I have plans to spent quite a bit of time with my sewing machine and the quilt I have in the frame in my basement. I really need the calming affect that fondling fabrics brings to my life.  

I had found a cool way to use my stash by making shopping bags for the gals at work as they left the department. Now that the department is not closing, I still need to work on the bags. There is talk that the department will be sending the "seasoned" reps home to work. I need to start working on bags so the "seasoned" reps can use the bags to haul their stuff home to work. A good stash busting project. 

Hope everyone has a good day and the weekend is on the horizon!!

In stitches,
Judy

Finishing Projects

 

Finishing projects is my goal for February. I need to finish the bag for Erin. I need to work on baby quilt from last month. I have two sweatshirt jackets to make for friend and then try my hand at making bibs. Finally putting my sewing skills to work to make a little spending money. 

Work is going well. I am on my way to work now. I go in early on Thursdays so I can leave early on Thursdays to go to my support group. Thanks to Anna for trading days with me on Thursdays. We have found out that on Saturdays we only have to work 6 hours mandatory and we can work more if we want to. I am going to work 8 hours and I am starting at 6am. Then I will have a good chunk of sewing time to finish projects. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far and counting down to the weekend. I know I am!!

In stitches,

Judy

Making time to sew

 

I think I have figured out how to find time to sew in this busy period of my life. I got up this morning and did my exercising while I ran the dryer with my blanket from work in it. I will work either 9 or 9.5 hours then come home have dinner and then into the sewing room. I am almost finished with tote bag for a cool kid who is having a birthday next week. Her mom is a special friend of mine. The bag is mostly pink with touches of purple. I can finish it tonight and then back to UFO#6 from last month. Lists, I need to make a list.

Got a good report from my lupus doctor yesterday. She is impressed with my weight loss and says the stress level at work plays havoc with my lupus. There will always be stress but this is the kind that I can strive in. I have a job!!

Check it out! The countdown to spring. I just want the snow to go away!! And for it to warm up a bit. Single digits are not warm!! 


In stitches,


Judy

I'm a Block Magnet

 

I have figured out that I am a block magnet along with a fabric collector. On Sunday I was out with my sister, Karen and I came home with some blocks someone had given to her. I have to put them up on my design wall and send her pictures of the design and she will decide what she will do with them.

 
Last night was our guild meeting and I am now the proud owner of a rather large shoebox full of very tiny 9 patch blocks. At our January guild meeting we had a UFO exchange. We sat round tables and drew numbers and you could pick from the pile in the middle of the table or steal from someone else. The box of nine patch blocks were a big hit and got stolen many times. The end of the evening was when the first gal got a second turn and she stole the box from me. Last night she showed what she made from the box and gave the box to me. Now I need to decide what to make with the contents of the box and perhaps pass the box on to someone else, if there is anything left in the box.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report

No sewing done this week. Also no shopping, just working, exercising, and sleeping, So my numbers are good this week!!

Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 3.75 yards
Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 5.75 yards
Net Used for 2011: 2.0 yards

Check out Patchwork Times and see how everyone is doing!

In stitches,
Judy

Blessings!!

Last October we got news at work that our department was closing the end of January 2011. We did get extended through the end of February. I quit to take another job in December. That job fell through and I went back to my old job as a temp. No benefits just me paying Cobra. Yeah!! Friday we got news that our department is staying open indefinitely!!!! And my boss is getting me reinstated with benefits and my seniority. When I left I had been there for 4.5 years. I am so blessed. Of course, the overtime is killing us. Mandatory overtime of at least 13 hours a week. More if you want it.

I did a bit of unsewing yesterday. I am still working on UFO #6 and I had sewn some of that wrong. But it is all ripped out and the next time I get to sew I will be back on track. Just a few weeks behind. Oh well. 

Had a wonderful time yesterday with my sister, Karen. {Hi Karen}. We went to reopening of a JoAnn's fabric in her neighborhood. I am now the proud owner of a spool of thread for the above quilt and some new ear wires for a pair of earrings. She got fabric for her flannel quilt, a new rotary cutter, some yarn, a crotchet hook, and some hand sewing needles to do her red work embroidery. We had such a good time. It was cold, sunny and NOT snowing!!

In stitches,
Judy

February Challenges

February is looking to be yet another challenging month in more ways than one. The monochromatic color is Violet and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is Red. The UFO is #10. I did not finish the UFO challenge from last month. But life has gotten in the way. I am back working as a temp at my old job. We have just been trained to take phone calls and since Monday we have been taking calls back to back. The weather in St. Louis and Bloomington, MN has played havoc with my work schedule. I was already doing 9 hour days and today it has been upped to 10 hours. One hour of overtime and one hour after my shift. Yippee!! I have heard it all, the money is so nice. But what people fail to realize, is that you are too tired to enjoy anything. I get up, work out, go to work, come home, eat, and go to bed and then repeat the whole process.

I am excited to start planning what to do for this month's challenges. My UFO #10 is table runners that I have promised my siblings for years. They are Christmas table runners and if I can get them done now, they will get them this summer so they will have them for the holidays. And I am hoping to work on UFO #6 from January. I either need more hours in day or less over time. Neither of which will happen I am sure. 

In stitches,
Judy 

Rainbow scrap challenge finish

Here is my January finish for Rainbow Scrap Challenge. A blue back pack that goes to work with me. I am not giving this one away!! Check out the January finishes at Rainbow Scrap Challenge

In stitches,

Judy

January Monochromatic Finish

Here is my January Monochromatic Finish. A yellow shopping bag that already has a new home. As much as I love yellow, it is always nice to give things away!! Check out Patchwork Times and see all the pretty yellow things!!

In stitches,

Judy

Rip, rip rip

The only downfall of sewing is ripping out all those lovely tiny stitches. UFO #6 is a casualty of the seam ripper. I am making 36 blocks for this quilt and so far I have had to rip out the 4 blocks. Only 32 more to rip out. Yippee!! I am going to have to continue with UFO #6 into February to get caught up. Oh well.

In stitches or ripping,

Judy

Weekends are too short

 

Weekends are too short. I am working 6 days a week, 9 hours a day!! I keep hearing how nice the money is, but one day does not make a weekend. It was a very busy, short day. I worked on the clutter and dishes in my kitchen, went to the grocery, went to Jungle Jim's to pick up a few things for the gals at work, went to a memorial service for my sister-in-law, did a load of laundry and now I am hoping to get upstairs to the sewing room and UFO #6. I am exhausted.

Tomorrow I start my new shift at work. I am supposed to go in 90 minutes later and still do an hour of overtime. I am going to go in the regular time and get my notes together. We go live on the phones tomorrow. It should be interesting!! We still have not heard if we are being extended. As far as we know, we are closing in 25 days. We should have more information tomorrow. I am busily applying for jobs. The limbo at work is so stressful and the stress makes my lupus act up. It is in my bones and joints and I hurt today.


We are anticipating yet another winter storm this week. It is supposed to include ice this time along with snow. I still have not gotten all the snow off my driveway from the last storm. If we get ice and snow I am staying home and sewing. I am not risking live and limb to get to work. I won't get paid but I will not drive in the ice. I do not mind driving in the snow. I have my car ready for the weather. Blanket, shovel, broom, overnight bag, melting compound, and a full tank of gas. I need to throw in a few bottles of water and I should be set. 


Have a great week!! When is spring coming?!!




 

Busy, busy

 

Does this quilt look familiar? It is the quilt in my header. Just before Christmas, I was able to layer and pin baste the quilt. I put it in the floor frame this evening and I am going to start quilting on it tomorrow night after work. I am planning on doing a bit of quilting on it every day. I have decided the quilt pattern I am going to use and I will be quilting it in black thread. I will be posting my progress here quite frequently. 

Snow is coming again tonight and I heard that we are expecting more snow next week. I was able to park nearer my back door tonight but I still have not shoveled the snow from the storm last week. I did a short day today, only 9 hours. I am planning on 10 hours tomorrow. 

My UFO #6 is in dire need of some time at the sewing machine. I am planning to work on it after work on Saturday and in between the memorial service on Sunday. I have Monday night at my small quilt group to hand stitch down the binding. Busy, busy!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stuff

 

It is hard to believe that it has been a week since my last post. I would like to say that I have been busily sewing, but that would be a lie. I can say that that work is kicking butt and we are working 6 days a week and mandatory overtime. We are being trained to take phone calls starting on Monday. It would not be an issue if they were not closing us down the end of February. 

 

I have been working on UFO #6. It seems to a theme in my sewing room. Yellow. The monochromatic challenge was yellow and that is done. The UFO seems to yellow also. A theme is running through my sewing room. 

The other theme around here is snow. It snowed last Thursday and my car has not made it to the garage. I have a very long driveway and I spend all my time at work. And tomorrow night we are expecting accumulating snow again. I have the ugliest snow boots ever and I have been wearing them every day since last Thursday. I did find my shoes in the back seat of my car today. I do not even take them into the office anymore. It is too depressing. I have to wear my boots home because my driveway is not shoveled. How many weeks until spring?!!

In stitches,
Judy