Busy, busy!

I have been busily sewing. I am making 12 backpacks and 12 purses for an order. If all goes well this could be my new part time job and $$'s for my new car! I take customer service calls for a living! I work in my living room and have my sewing machine set up right next to the desk! The calls have been odd this week! Please do not hang up on me, if you do not like my answer. Do not think if you hang up and call right that you will get me again and that I will remember you. Not a chance! And please do not swear at me, I am NOT your insuance company and I did not for e you to take this policy.And do not threaten me with the death of your patient if I do not approve the mess you are prescribing. I am following the criteria that is outlined by your health plan. I am so happy that I have my fabric nearby to fondle before, during, and after a call!!! In Stitches, Judy

My hump day

My hump day falls on Thursday and it has been an odd one so far. I went to the vein specialist today for the swelling in my legs. I am now sporting unna boots that are not rigid but are being used to bring down the swelling before I get fitted for compression stockings! Right now I am hot and itchy and I will need to encase my legs in plastic bags and duct tape in order to pop in the shower. I have to do this until Tuesday! Oh what joy! But I can still operate my foot petal on my sewing machine! In stitches, Judy

Time has flown

Summer is here according to  the calendar, but our weather here in southern Ohio states that summer arrived much earlier. I have been busy with my flower beds. I put in 50 Impatien plants and I can say that they are growing great guns!! I have almost finished weeding all of the beds and on Monday my girlfriend is coming here to make a flower and bush swap. I have several small bushes that she wants and she has some naked ladies that she will bring me for my flower beds. I am still waiting on my sister to pull the flowers from her yard that she does not want and I will put them in my flower beds. Then I will fill in with whatever is on clearance.

I have been sewing. My hand quilting project is coming along nicely and I have found a spot in my kitchen that is screaming for a quilt. I have made a cute summer bag and almost finished the patriotic wall hanging for my basement landing. I have the pillow forms ready for the new couch pillows and on one of the pillow covers are cut out and waiting for there time at the sewing machine.

I have also suffered a set back with my health. I am off today to see a vascular doctor to see why I have been retaining water and why my feet look like chubby boats. I have been taking a water pill and those it helps, the constant trips to the bathroom are annoying. And being on the phone all day does not lend itself to multiple potty trips. Hopefully we will find something out today.

In stitches,
Judy

Overtime

Why does overtime sound so good when you volunteer for but it sucks to do it when the comes! I work second shift and volunteered to do two hours of overtime at the end of shift. My butt was dragging near the end. I did get a little hand quilting done earlier in the day. In stitches, Judy

life

Life seems to have a way of putting up road blocks whenever I want to sew. I have lupus and a touch of arthritis and the arthritis is rearing its ugly head and bothering my fingers. I am having other health issues with swelling and am working on getting that checked out. I still like my new shift but I am tired before the shift is over.

I have been hand quilting on my wall hanging, have gotten fabric for a patriotic wall hanging for the spot in the basement landing, and I am still working on my Saturday blocks. I think I need 90 blocks and I have 35 blocks in various stages of being done.

I have given up on the mowing of my yard for the time being. I have weeded the front flower bed in anticipation of receiving some plants from my sister. The other front flower bed and part of the side yard still need some attention as well as the back bed. I have been trying to start Moon Flowers from seed and this year it is not working. I will try one more packet of seeds and hope for the best. If not, there is always next year. I am going to put some marigold seeds in the pots going down the front steps and see what happens. I have planted 50 Impatien plants and they are looking good!!

Time to get things ready for work. I have a few more things to do before I turn on the work computer and start my shortened work week. I am taking off Saturday for a concert in the park that my sister is playing in. Picnic in the park and good music and a three day weekend!!

In stitches,
Judy

Wednesday

 

Not much sewing going on here. I did a bit of hand quilting on my wall hanging earlier in the week, but today it is weeding and planting. I have 50 impatien plants that need to go into the ground ASAP. So I an going to find my tools and my gloves and get busy. Maybe there will be sewing when this project is done. I have been eyeing that tub of scraps and I think I have a plan for them. More details later.

This is one of my very first quilts. It was made for my son while he was on his 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. That was about 16 years ago. This one was tied. I have not tied a quilt since then. 

In stitches,
Judy

Chores

It is Saturday and the last day of my work week. And there are a few chores that I need to do before I go to work. Weeding. I hate weeding, but if I want to plant my flowers, I need to weed. And I will.

Get the box of fabric out from under my bed. There are several projects in there that are almost finished. We probably won't be busy at work tonight and I figure I can finish these projects and get the box out from under my bed. Yeah!!

And then there are a few projects that require using my drill!! Yeah for power tools!! I need to hang a quilt rack on the wall behind my bed and a wooden holder for my calendar. It goes in the kitchen and requires installing wall anchors. Maybe that will be a Sunday project.

In stitches,
Judy

Friday

I have plans to sew today. I am going to be working on two different projects. One is the purple back pack for my mom and the other is to make another tote/grocery bag out of the little scraps leftover from "Beach Houses". The bigger pieces will go towards a nice bright summer quilt. I am trying to use the scraps that are upstairs with the sewing machine. I also found fabric in the living room for a red, white, and blue wall hanging and another bright, summery quilt partially cut out. I guess I have found several projects to finish. It is never dull when there is fabric involved!!

In stitches,
Judy

Beach Houses

 

I have been busy!! I took this pile of fabric and added a few pieces to it and after the third attempt I have made what I call Beach Houses!

 
 I am so pleased with the way it has turned out. I has also ripped out all the pieces from option one and thrown after the pieces that were not worth saving and I will use the scraps to make a new grocery bag for me. It will bring sunshine into a chore that is not always fun.

In stitches,
Judy

Saturday plans

The road trip yesterday was quite successful!! I got the fabric I needed for my wall hanging. I have decided on a pattern and the setting. Now I just have to get busy. That will happen today. I have a few hours before I have to get on the phones for work. I am figuring if we are not busy, I will be at the sewing machine. The joys of working from home. My work station is a "U". The desk, the sewing machine and the ironing board.

In stitches,
Judy

Road Trip

I love taking road trips. I am running to Waynesville to the Fabric Shack  to pick up some more fabric to go with the bright fabrics in the previous post. I think I have enough for the design I want to do, but I would feel better if I had extras. Then tomorrow I am hoping to get started on the wall hanging.

In stitches,
Judy

Good news, bad news

I am working on a project for a contest. I am now addicted to entering my quilts in contests. After designing the perfect block on my EQ7 and having a devil of time making the block. I scrapped that design for another one that I had done several months ago. I got it together and it looks great. And I have started hand quilting it. Then the company sponsoring the contest asked for pictures of the works in progress and I happily sent them my pictures.

 I got an email back stating I had won a prize, but that I had used a fabric in my design that was not an "approved" fabric and that my quilt would be disqualified if I sent them pictures of the finished quilt. Oh my!! So I am back to the drawing board trying to come up with a new design that I can finish in a couple of weeks! I am working feverishly on a new design. This seems to be the story of my life, but I would not change it for anything.

Going to fire up my EQ7 now and get busy designing the next great quilt. Glad it only has to be no bigger than 40 inches square. I have a fighting chance!

In stitches,
Judy

New shift

 I have completed one day of my new shift and I have mixed feelings. At the beginning of my shift we were busy and calls were coming back to back. It slowed down around 6pm and it slowed down as the evening progressed. I had  a call at 9pm another at 10:15pm and then nothing else until it was time to log out at 11pm. I did get some quilting done. I quilted then tore that out. I quilted some more and tore that out. The third time I was happy with the results and did not tear it out. I just need to have something to sew in between the calls. If we are not busy I guess I will get a lot of stuff done. And stitching helps me stay awake. I was dragging towards the end.

Time to go cut the back yard. I did the front on Monday but it rained yesterday and there was no cutting done.

In stitches,
Judy

Tuesday

It is Tuesday and the first day of my new shift at work. I do not start work until 2:30pm and off at 11pm. Of course, my body said get up at 6am you don't want to be late. I am getting a few things done around here. I have a quilt that needs spray basting so if we are not busy, I can start hand quilting it. I did finish a quilt for Ami Simms
and her Alzheimer's Project. I forgot to take a picture of it. I used the scraps from my hand quilting project. Oranges, yellows, pinks, and lime green. Bright and cheery it was.

I have gotten some yard work done this week. I edged the driveway and walkway to the front door. Used a shovel and have the blisters to prove it. Next I need to start my seeds for my flower beds. I am starting Moonflowers, Marigolds and Impatiens. The flower beds should look awesome this summer. Lots of color!! More inspiration for the next quilts.

In stitches,
Judy

Such is Life

Good and bad things are happening in my life. I have finally decided on pattern for the bright colored fabric from a few posts back. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on that wall hanging. It is going to be awesome! I have finally gotten back to the sewing machine and I am quite happy.

My shift changes a week from today. I am still working Tuesday thru Saturday which I really like but now my hours will be 2:30pm to 11:00pm. Not my favorite but I am looking for the silver lining. I have decided that if we are not busy, I will be getting more sewing done, I will be able to pick up overtime in the morning without being pulled of of letters for phones, I will be able to make all my doctor's appointments without taking time off of work, gardening in the early morning before the sun is high and bugs are bad. We are going to try breakfast picnics.

So now it is time for me to get upstairs and prepare for my day on the phones. I have the sewing machine next to the desk in case we are not busy and I can sew these nine blocks together and get ready to add the border.

In stitches,
Judy

Home

We had to cut our road trip short. We had planned to stay in New York until Monday but Mother Nature had other plans for us. She suggested there might be snow in the higher elevations of Pennsylvania. And my sister and myself being the chickens we have always been about driving in the snow, left on Sunday around dinnertime. I had made homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade filling for stuffed shells. Everything was put together except for adding the sauce to the shells. We packed our car did a quick tour around Manhattan, left the kids on the curb and started our drive back to Ohio. We got a hotel room in Harrisburg and slept the night away and we were back on the road by 7am. My sister, Karen, was the driver and I was the navigator. And we were on the road for about an hour when it started snowing. (in April). The roads were pretty clear and well treated. We did hit a few patches of snow on the roads, but slow and steady wins the snow race. Once we hit Ohio the sun was out but it was chilly. We made it home without incident.

I ended up with a head cold and on Saturday I was pretty much out of it. I was running a fever, coughing, sneezing and blowing. My sister, Karen, and my kids Nick and Tania left the apartment to explore the Brooklyn Flea Market. They got some cool things. Food. Jewelry. Art work. Karen got her ride on the subway but no taxi ride. Karen made dinner for us on Friday night and it was yummy. My son had three helpings!!

The quilt was a big hit with the kids. It is on the bed and even Frankie, my grand dog liked it. I had a wonderful time and wished that we could have stayed longer! Guess I should start planning my next trip to Brooklyn,.

In stitches,
Judy

Road trip

We are on the road! Who knew stopping along the highway for a hotel would be so tough? The third stop yielded a hotel! Also found out that us Ohio gals are spoiled! Stopped several places in Pennsylvania after 9pm looking for a grocery store or drug store. Closed!! It is expensive to get cold medicine at a truck stop convenience store. Oh well!! Getting ready for bed! We are due in Brooklyn at 6pm! In stitches, Judy

When did Quilting become so hard

Don't get me wrong, I love all aspects of quilting, but when did it become so hard to do. I am struggling with a design. I bought the fabric before the design was in place and now after much trial and error I have the design worked out. I have been to the local JoAnn Fabrics to get another yard of the yellow fabric I am using in the design because I cut the nine patch units too small. Last night, I went to cut the last pieces for wall hanging and low and behold there is not enough. I got this fabric at the Fabric Shack. So I went online and ordered another yard of this fabric. I am hoping that I will be able to run up there tomorrow and pick it up. Plan B is to have it sent to my mom's house as I am leaving for my road trip on Wednesday and having all my mail held at the Post Office until I get back.

In stitches,
Judy

Stuff

Life has gotten the better of me lately. I have been working on a wall hanging design that has kicked my butt. I have EQ7 and it is a wonderful program, but it does not give directions for constructing the block. I am a smart gal and with some trial and error, I have finally overcome the design and this weekend I should be able to assemble the blocks. I had to dig thru books and templates to finally get to this point. I used books that I had brought and barely looked at. I am so glad that I have such a nice library and I will start using it more often to get other quilts started and finished.

I will be posting the fruits of my sewing these past weeks, later this weekend. I am so excited about everything that I have finished.

I am getting ready to go on a trip to Brooklyn, New York to see my kids and grand dog. My sister and I are leaving Ohio this week and driving to Brooklyn. I will be cooking for them once I get there and I think we may be helping my daughter in law finish emptying the boxes from their recent move. And who doesn't love a good road trip.

Got to get upstairs and fire up the work computer. I have an Alzheimer's quilt for the Ami Sims initiative to work on until the calls get hopping. Hope everyone has a great day. And remember the weekend is almost upon us!!

In stitches,
Judy

Done

The yard is finished. It only sprinkled on me as I finished. And I am fine, though it is a shame that I don't melt in the rain like sugar does. My Alzheimer quilt is pin basted. Cannot decide if I am going to hand quilt it or machine quilt it. I have started hand stitching the binding on the quilt I have been hand quilting. Still have two more sides to do. Should be finished before Easter.

I am having issues with a quilt I designed. It looks great in EQ7 and it looks great in the mock up I did with fabric and a glue stick, but I am having trouble getting the angles just right. Guess it is back to the drawing board for the quilt. I am going to enter it in Timeless Treasures quilt contest. I am sure that it is going to work itself out. I just hope that it is soon. Trial and error is not my strong suit.

In stitches,
Judy