Tuesday and Happy Thought

 

I have been having a few rough days. My brother's birthday is Sunday. 

He would have been 56. Too young to be gone.

I am angry - that he is gone, gone because someone was in a hurry and careless. 

Because of that carelessness he is gone. I struggle with this daily. It was an accident. She did not set out to take a life that day. And, yet, my brother is gone. I pray for her. She has to live with that the rest of her life. I pray for the driver of the semi she intended to pass. He had to witness that event and was powerless to stop it. 

On my way home from work yesterday I looked over a little to my left and saw a beautiful sight.

A sundog. Little rainbows on either side of the sun.

This is not my picture, but very similar to what I saw.

Then later as the sun was setting, a beautiful sunset.

 

My picture does not do it justice.

So, even with my sadness I am able to see beauty around me.

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

A Cold, Snowy, Windy Day and Happy Thought

Brrr! Today started out snowy and cold. The snow has stopped, but it has gotten windy and colder.

 Today's Happy Thought - I am thankful for a husband who can push that snow out of the way.

 

 

I have one more baby quilt to do for my quilt friend.

It is a cross-stitch embroidered one. She had 3 of those, plus the flannel one I just finished.

This one is cute ducklings. 

 

Something I noticed with all three of them is she carried thread over from one 

area to another and it shows through to the front.

 

There is not much I can do about that. And, I keep thinking 

surely she would know that it would show, right?

 

 

I am excited to gain some space in the form of my son's room. He has moved into an apartment, signed a lease for a year. I have been boxing up some of his things, gotten rid of the super single waterbed that was falling apart, and thinking about how I can make the best use of his room all the while keeping in mind that it still needs to be available to him when he comes home to visit or if things don't work out for him with his current living situation.

I really want to paint, and change the curtains, and get rid of his 'guy' things.

Like this....

I surprised him one year when he spent a week at camp by painting his room 'camo' like. I even painted the bookcase and added a border to it. The border was installed at a lower height so he could see it well. He is visually impaired and a wheelchair user.

 

 

The bull horns were given to my husband years ago. Son thought they were cool 

and had to have them put above his door. 

 

I made window coverings out of pillow panels that he really liked. 

 

There is deer art on display.

 Not really my style, but I will leave it for a while, just in case.
I was chatting with my mom this morning, telling her of my plan to move SOME of my sewing/quilting things into his room. She responded with - "You aren't going to get rid of all of his stuff, right? He hasn't been moved out for that long".
No Mom, I am not kicking him out!

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Sunday and Happy Thought

Sunday is almost over. 

It is snowing again. We are expecting 1 - 3" according to Accuweather.com.

Another source on Facebook predicts 3-6". 

I don't like either one.

I am happy to have tomorrow off from work.

My Happy Thought is that I am thankful to be finished quilting this quilt.
It is on my list of 18 in 2018.

The next two pictures show the front and the back.

 One taken with the flash, one without.

Now, go back and look at the first picture.

Notice anything? Towards the bottom in the middle?

I could NOT get it straight!

This quilt came to me kind of wonky, with seams coming apart. 

I tried my best, but I am not happy with it.

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

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Saturday Quilting and Happy Thought

 I spent some quality time with my machine today working on one of the baby quilts.

I kept finding lots of this ...

... seams coming apart. 

This picture shows 2 spots - one by the scissors guard and the other on the lower left.

 There were more. And, then this kept happening.

When I had to sew off the quilt and then back on the pieces flipped over.
I have had that happen once in a while but it happened a lot with this quilt.
I don't know if it was because it is flannel or because of the piano key border but it was frustrating.

I hand sewed all the little seam openings. 

And, I took it out and re-did the stitching in the flipped areas.

Next time I quilt a quilt with this type of border I guess I should stitch around the outside edge. 

I some quilters do that, but I never do, do you? 

My Happy Thought for today: Even though it was very cold again, the sun shone most of the day. Also, it was still daylight at 5:00 pm! The days are getting longer!

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Happy Thoughts

I see I haven't posted anything since Monday - because I don't really have anything to share.

 

Here is a picture to show what I have been doing.

 

 

Not much. 

I do enjoy this Stained Glass Wash Clothes pattern. I hope the people I give them to like them, too!

 

I haven't posted anything since Monday because I don't really have anything to share.

I'm not even sure I can come up with a Happy Thought for each day, but I will try.

 

Tuesday is so far away I can't even remember it! 

I guess my Happy Thought should be that the ice left and the roads were safe for travel again. 

 

Oh, I did just think of something. I can't believe I forgot this! I finally was given a laptop to 

use at school. I had been asking for one for several years. I was told last November 

(that would be 2016) that I would be getting one. I was very happy to hear that, 

but then my principal said not to hold my breath, the tech person was very busy. Hhhmmm. 

When this November I still had not seen or heard anything about a laptop I emailed the tech person. He responded quickly asking what programs I needed to use and where in the building I would be using it. We have bad connections in parts of our cinder block building. I gave him the information needed and a 7 days later I had a laptop. Yay! I found out my request was not on his list which leads be to believe that my request was never sent to him. I figured out how to make Google Sheets and share with my teacher friends! They will need to see how their students are progressing in math. Less time hand writing reports, less paper used for copies to teachers and for myself. My copies get sent on to the first grade teachers the next year so they can see them when those students are placed in their rooms. And, the teachers can access them any time they need to and print out the parts they need - for parent conferences, evaluations, etc. I am thankful for the other tech person, who is also the elementary music teacher, who offered to help me if/when needed. I am so happy I was able to figure it out myself. I have NO experience with Google Docs since I had not had access to a computer except for the few minutes when I cover breaks for the secretary.

 

Wednesday I was having a very emotional day. One of my co-workers arrives at work about the same time I do and we park close to each other which gives us the opportunity to chat for a few minutes as we walk to the building. She shared with me that she lost one of her aunts the night before and would need to travel this weekend to be with family and attend the services. She lost another aunt last week. I am sad for her and am praying that the weather is good enough for her and her children to travel safely. That conversation brought my emotions all out and we cried and hugged, but I was a mess the rest of the day. I also thought I might be coming down with a stomach bug. I now think that it may have just been the emotions since I began to feel better in the afternoon. And felt fine the next day. My Happy Thought for Wednesday is that even though it was a hard day I am thankful I did NOT have the flu and that I am blessed with caring people to work with.

 

Thursday I knew was going to be warmer, warm enough to play outside. Part of our playground area is covered with small rock and is large enough for all the kindergarteners to have room to run and play and I was sure the snow would be gone from that area. 

It was warm enough and the snow was gone, but it rained or misted all day. 

However, insert Happy Thought, the kids didn't seem to mind having to play in the gym once again. 

Today, Friday, was a half day for students and non-certified staff (that's me!). 

I am thankful for those days and hoping to get some things done at home. As I am writing this (it took several hours) I can see a beautiful sunset out my front door. I tried to get a picture, but my camera did not like shooting through a storm door. I turned the flash off so it wouldn't reflect in the window, but that was no help. Anyway, it was beautiful. So, is that two happy thoughts for today?

 

After packing my bags for retreat I have been thinking I need to make some project changes. 

I know what I have is not enough to last the four days though, so I guess I should 

leave it as is and see what I get done in the first day or two. 

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

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All My Bags Are Packed...

... I'm ready to go.  

Who remembers that song?

Quilt Retreat is coming up. I am finished packing except for the last minute items, like snacks and beverages, my little iron and pad, and any thing else I think of that I forgot about.

It is a four day retreat and I always worry that I won't have enough projects to work on. So far, I haven't run out of something to do!

Here are the projects I am bringing this time.

This is Fading Charms.

I love the big zip bags to organize projects.

At a previous retreat I got the center and to next two pieced borders pieced. 

I will be using an almost white in between the pieced parts. I have all the squares cut. 

Next up is Snow Much Fun BOM from Quilt Doodle Doodles.

This is the January block. It requires some applique so I have packed thread in every color necessary.

Next is Heavens to Betsy.

This paper pieced project makes a 12 inch block. Could be a fair entry.
I looked for a link, but can't find it now. It was printed from Quiltmakers Magazine.

Then there is Rejoicing!, another paper pieced block.

I got this kit this summer in Missouri.
It was available to purchase during the Highway 36 Shop Hop at
Shearwood Quilts and Fabrics in Jamesport, Missouri.
Praying Hands are embroidered in the example.
The designer of this block is Patti R. Anderson. You can check out her wesite, patchpieces.com, but the block is not available there, at least that I could find.
I am thinking a floral design might be nice. A 12 inch block that could be a fair entry.

Then there is Breezy Batiks. It is a free Moda pattern.

I am calling this one Breezy Flannels. My quilt group had a flannel exchange last winter and this is what I decided to make with mine.

Blooming Stars is a bed runner for my mom.

I am a little confused after pulling it out to see how much more needs to be done. The directions say to sew a 2 inch strip of tan print to the border print, then sew a 2 inch strip of the pink on the other side of the border print. Seems that I have cut twice the number of border strips needed and sewn tan to half and pink to half. I did not take notes so I have no idea why I did that. Looks like part of my time at retreat will be spent ripping.

At least three of these projects are close to very close to being finished tops. I don't know why I do that. I do know I get tired of working on the same project if it is a long one. I also get frustrated if I run into a problem. Often I work on a project only at retreat.

So, even though retreat isn't for another two and a half weeks, my bags are packed, I'm ready to go! 

Oh, and don't worry, I have many more projects started (and not started)
in case this doesn't keep me busy the whole four days!

My happy thought for today is that even though we had wind and icy roads school was cancelled. I am sad I will have to go an extra day in June, but I am glad the kiddos were safe at home (I hope) AND I am happy I got my bags packed for retreat!

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

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Dreary Day, House Blocks and Happy Thought

Today is such a dreary day. Cloudy, windy, still cold but warming up some. We have had freezing rain/sleet off and on all day with more expected this evening and into the night.

Doesn't looking at this scene just make you shiver?

My husband and I have early Sunday morning 'dates' each week. We alternate between the farm store and WM for feed and groceries one week. We also go out for breakfast on this week. This trip is 45 minutes south. The next week we go 30 minutes north to Aldi and Arby's for early lunch. We started doing this when our son was still living at home and it was a way for us to get some time together, just the two of us. The first time our son decided to get up early enough to go with us we traveled south and went to breakfast. Hubby and I both ordered coffee and son said, "You guys are getting old". Then we both ordered off the senior menu! He said, "You guys really are old!" Just to clarify and am not really 'old' enough by their rules to order the senior meals, but my very gray hair seems to qualify me as a senior.

So, what else to do on this cold, windy, dreary day? I finished the house blocks for the quilt exchange. I like to get mine done as soon as I bring them home. That way they are ready for the next exchange and I don't have to worry about them any more.

Here are the blocks with  mine added - the two on the right top row.

My happy thought for today is while we did go out on our 'date' this morning and it did sleet a little I am thankful we made it safely home to a nice warm house. Now I don't have to go out again until tomorrow morning, unless the weather gets really bad during the night and school is cancelled.
I am thankful to have everything I need to do the sewing, quilting and knitting I enjoy so much.

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Exchange Blocks and Happy Thought

 

My quilt exchange group met today. We were suppose to meet last Saturday, but the weather was not wonderful and several members were still busy with holiday happenings so it was postponed until today.

 

I was given Ruth's bag of fabric - 3os prints, so cute!

Here are the blocks that have been made so far.

 

 

It takes a while to figure what fabrics to use! 

I don't want to use fabrics that have already been used several times.  

Here is my progress so far. 

 

One block is almost cut out and fabric is chosen for the second block.

Only eleven members decided to do the exchange this time so we are all making two blocks.

 

I am enjoying the Stained Glass Dishcloth pattern. 

 

I am using up leftover yard for these so far.

You can find the pattern here. 

I am going to get my grumbling out of my system now. 

I really am trying hard to be more positive, but some days it is just hard!

 

I am not enjoying this sub-zero cold weather we are having. It is hard on my husband as he tries to keep the cows watered. It is hard on his vehicles - they do not want to start. It is hard for kindergarten students to be cooped up indoors all day long. We do activities at recess that help them burn off some energy, but it is not the same as being able to run, run, run outside.

I am not enjoying the control issues my father-in-law seems to have, especially when it 

comes to my husband. In his eyes my husband cannot do ANY thing right. :( 

He is just so difficult about everything - the mail is late, he's worried about being able to step over the snow drifts to get to the mailbox. (My husband told him he would bring in his mail for him so he wouldn't have to go out in the cold and snow. He wasn't having that.)

 My husband isn't paying the farm bills right. (After FIL got bank statements out he discovered that HE had made the mistake, not my husband.)

 My husband checks on his dad every time he is there checking the cows/doing chores. 

Sometimes he is yelling at him before he even gets in the door.

We took him groceries the other day so he wouldn't be out and wouldn't have to go out. We didn't bring everything he wanted. He has what he needs and will not go hungry.

I am not enjoying the grieving process. Some days are just so hard to get through. 

I never know what will cause the bad moments and they really suck.

All that brings me to my happy thoughts. I know I missed a few day (those bad grieving moments). 

So for Thursday I will say, again, that the students are settling in really well after our 2 week break, even if we have to be stuck inside because of the cold weather.

For Friday, I am so thankful that I have a garage with a door opener. I do not have to scrape my windshield or worry that my car won't start.

For today, I am thankful for my quilt group. Even though it was so cold that I didn't want to venture out I was glad to see everyone and see how our quilts are progressing. They are a wonderful group.

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Oopsy and Happy Thought

I loaded one of the baby quilts yesterday, made one pass, 

 

 

 and advanced it to find this...

 

Oops!

The seam is coming unsewn for some reason. I will fix it and continue on. 

The picture above shows the correct colors of this quilt. The second picture is much too orange. 

It was taken early this morning before day light.

 

My happy thought:

Today was the first day back to school after the Christmas break. 

Most of the students showed wonderful behavior! 

Considering their behavior before break, knowing that routines would be very different over 

the two week break, the super moon that happened right before we came back to school 

and the weather we have been experiencing I really didn't have high expectations. What a great surprise to see them fall right back into the routine and participate fully in the lessons and activities.

 

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Pinterest and Positive Thought

Pinterest

I have quite a few boards that I have tried to organize by interest/category. Such as, Quilts - Scrappy, Quilts - Applique, Quilts - Baby/Kids, Knitting - different categories, Health and Beauty, you get the idea. For the last couple of years I start a board labeled for the current year with pins I want to try. My 2017 Board has just under 300 pins. I quickly pin anything I run across that inspires me or is something I want to make. Once I make an item or use the idea I move it to the appropriate board. Sadly, I didn't move very many items this year. I hope to do better in 2018!

Although it doesn't look like it I did make progress in my son's room.

 

The bed is drained ...

 

 

... and disassembled except for the drawers. I am running out of boxes to put it all in!

I have loaded one of the baby quilts which leads to today happy thought. I love to hand quilt. When I began quilting I hand quilted my quilts. I takes a long time! My quilting machine setup is a MegaQuilter with a 9 inch throat. Not very big, but I am so thankful to have it. It sure shortens the amount of time it takes me to finish a quilt.

And, look at that moon!

 

 

These pictures are not good at all, taken through my storm door 

so it appears that it was foggy when it wasn't. 

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year to every one. I hope it is all that you want it to be.

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

I really think I have adult ADD! I have so many projects started, with more in the planning stages. I have many sticky notes poking out of magazines and books marking projects that I want to make or inspire me in some way that and I will never get close to doing them all.

So, when I saw the 18 in 2018 challenge I thought, what can it hurt to try.

Here is my list - in no particular order (except the first 4) and subject to change!

1) Quilt Ruth's two baby quilts -  I have had these for far too long. 

She gave me five a while back and said no hurry. I find that I need deadlines. 

Three are finished and returned to her. These are the last two.

 

2) T-shirt quilt #1 - top is finished except borders. Needs borders, quilted and bound.

3) T-shirt quilt #2 - still in the bag it came to me in.

4) Media Cart Cover for school - measurements have been taken, fabric has been purchased.

5) Fire Island Hosta Queen - the kit was purchased and started in 2014. All units have been cut
and/or pieced. Sets have been organized. Needs assembled, quilted, bound.

6) Strip Around the Block - pieced, needs borders, quilted, bound.

Border, backing and binding fabric has been purchased.

7) Owl Place Mats and Napkins - my husband purchased this as a kit for place mats, apron and pot holder. There has been no sewing on this. I would like to enter them in the local county fair as place mats, but napkins are required. Fabric for napkins needs to be purchased. I have no picture yet.

8) Zip Bag - it is started.

9) Clutch and Wallet - the clutch is a kit that I found this summer 

and the fabrics coordinate well with the Zip Bag. The wallet pattern has been

purchased and will use the same fabrics as the Zip Bag and Clutch.

10) Exchange Quilt 2017 - blocks are all made, thanks to my exchange group.

I need to decide on a layout, quilt and bind it.

11) Exchange Quilt 2016 - blocks are made, thanks to my exchange group.

I need to decide on a layout., quilt and bind it.

12) Butterfly Quilt - I started this on several years ago. It was a kit for a wall hanging, but I wanted it bigger so I made up my own design. Needs borders, quilted, bound.

13) Blooming Stars Bed Runner - for my mom. She bought the kit, and said no hurry. I need deadlines! It is partially assembled - 4 of the 5 stars, I think. Needs finished, quilted, bound.

14) Charming Beauty Quilt - a kit, partially cut. I goofed when cutting the pieces and don't have enough of one of the fabrics. I wasn't able to find more and gave up searching for a replacement. I need to find something suitable and get this one finished. See it on the left in the picture above.

15) Prism Quilt - kit. Nothing done yet.

16) Snowman - free pattern from Pat Sloan. Just an idea at this point, but wouldn't just the snowman part make a great mug rug, or a look cute displayed on a stand?

 17) 4 tops - alter. I have 4 tops that are either too snug or too short. I need to remedy that. No pic.

18) Pick One (if I make it this far) - Thankful and Bloom Hoop Embroideries from Cutesy Crafts.

Would make nice fair projects.

Feathered Star Christmas Wall Hanging - started years ago.

Corrugated Quilt - kit, still in package.

On Ringo Lake - free from Bonnie Hunter.

Gnome for the Holidays BOM - free from Fat Cat Patterns.

Since this is a BOM I am hoping to keep up with it.

These are in no particular order, and truthfully, I will be surprised if I get even half of these finished. But, that is what makes it a challenge!

I am going to try, really hard, to be more positive this year. It is something I struggle with. 

So, positive thought for today - we are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures and I am so thankful that I haven't had to go out (winter break from school) and my home is nice and toasty warm.