I AM IN LOVE !!!!

    

I am in love with fabric again!!  It was like taking my chocoholic granddaughter to  a See Candy Store. I went last week to the local shops but now I have begun to build my stash again.  Yes, I spent money on fabric ..... oooo !!! 

 Fabric shopping on line was even better.  I ordered these fabrics from soggybottomflats.etsy.com.

I know my pictures are lousy, but I will get better at this.  I wasn't real confident about Etsy procedures and Paypal and all that.  But Elaine was very patient and walked me thru each step.  All while her DH was in the hospital (I told her I could wait).  The fabric arrived today !!!!  Wish she was here to see how excited I am and so I could give her a huge hug of thanks!!

I earned extra spending credit with my DH this week (see previous post) so off I went to buy fabric  today!!  For me, it felt like Christmas morning!!  This is a sampling of what I came home with.  I decided I could get more variety buying fat quarters ....  blues, aquas, greens, browns, purples with splashes of red here and there (altho red doesn't show up very well)

I know I must seem very silly and maybe a bit childish about these pieces of fabric.  But I know I am sharing my feelings & thoughts with fellow quilters, sewers and stitchers who embrace the joy that this brings.  I do feel a bit silly and giddy to be heading on this journey again.  It has been so long.  I got rid of most of my fabrics because I thought I would probably never quilt again.  I am still looking in nooks and closets around our house and in our storage shed, but am not coming up with much.  This is good .... a brand new start !!!

And maybe in the next week I will be able to post a block or two or three that I have actually done.  A long drink of fresh water after being in the dry dry desert for these past few years.

Also, a big applause for Elaine at Soggy Bottom Flats & store for her assistance.  If you don't know her, then stop by and say hello.  And a big warm thank you to my cousin, Cathy at Cathy Scrap Creations on Blogspot for encouraging me all along the way.  

Best laid plans ....

Nothing went as planned today,altho I did get a half day in at work on my day job (as an RN) today ... gotta keep the money coming.  My dh is a man and according to him there some things about being a man that just cannot be helped.... because God put testosterone in their bodies and consequently all men are "testosterone-stupid".  Truly this is his explanation to me.

Along the same line of thought is that it seems most men have an intense aversion to going to the doctor or even admitting there is something wrong beyond their control.  In medicine, we call it "denial". For my husband it is "just the way things are".

He has been having fairly bad sciatic type pain for over a week, but nothing he felt needed a doctor's attention ... even tho he just had surgery on his spine 7 months ago.  This morning as I was leaving for work I saw him trying to sneak (yes, sneak) into the bathroom only...  he could not stand up straight and was barely walking.  So after a very controlled knock- down-drag-out, a doctor's appointment was made. Ah, but he was going to drive himself!  Whatever !!!

My daughter is well versed in this testosterone male affliction and after she heard what was going on, she called him to have another controlled knock-down-drag-out with her Dad.  She then drove him to the doctor where I met them.

When the doctor walked in and saw me sitting there, he knew there was trouble and said so !

So now dh is on 2 Vicodin every 8 hours, muscle relaxants and a double dose of a nerve pain medication.  For those of you who do not know medications .... that is enough to bring a small horse down.  He is still awake and finally reasonably comfortable altho he still cannot stand up straight.  He has a new friend that is the only thing that allows him to walk .... a wheeled walker !!  Imagine that !!!

We have been home for 9 hours and I have not said one word to even hint at "I told you so".  I am so proud of myself !!!  But then I have had over 30 years experience with this particular testosterone-filled man.  About 5 minutes ago, he mentioned that it was good I took him to the doctor today .... that is as close as he will come to apology or acknowledgement ... I know and accept that ... because I know he is embarrassed  by his own foolish denial of the obvious facts.

Now, none of this has anything to do with stitching directly.  But I have noticed that bloggers talk about a lot of different things.  In an indirect way, it does have something to do with quilting.  I know he feels bad that he was such a jerk this past week and he knows he has very pathetically acknowledged that..... SO that means that if I spend some extra money on fabric this weekend, he will not question or give me a hard time.  (Altho his concern, might be valid as I have not quilted in 4-5 years.)  Oh well !!!

But I am on my way !!! I have fallen in love with fabrics again !!!  I can't wait to shop on Saturday !!!  Thank you all for listening, I feel much better now.  Nite, nite.

Exploring ...

I said I started this blog to jump-start myself back into my long lost creative mode.  While I was home from work sick, I did start going thru a couple of closets and found a pile of UFOs.  THAT was very discouraging!  But then I read someone's blog last night .... she was talking about how it is OK to not finish every UFO, that sometimes you just have to say I am done with that and move on.  So I washed all the cat hair off the fabrics, put them in a box, sealed the box and closed the closet door.

Today I went to the doctor around noon. My plan was to stop in a quilt store on my way home.  That is a very big deal for me because I have not been inside a quilt store of any kind in at least 4-5 years. I was so wonderful walking around all the gorgeous fabrics and luscious colors !  Heavenly !! I wanted 1 or 2 yards of at least 100 bolts!  Maybe I will take a class ... that will get me out of my cave (my house) and socializing with new people.

 I noticed a stitchery shop on my way home from the quilt shop.  Aha!!!  Yes, I stopped and went in there too.  I love cross stitch !!  My favorite designers are still around and I got a peek at their new stuff .... haven't been in a stitchery store in 4-5 years either !!  I seem to like the more complex and detailed stuff .... which takes me forever to finish.

Soon I will start and get back to my old self of having 4 or 5 projects going at once.  My husband goes absolutely nutso that I do that.  It is his opinion that I should start something and finish it before moving on to something else ..... that is so boring!   He will get over it, because having lots of stuff going on is my "normal" and he knows it.

A real Singer sewing machine ....

This is my very first sewing machine !  And, yes, I did use it.  I do not remember how old I was when I got it but I know I started sewing in the first grade.

I made lots of doll clothes with it and was very happy with my accomplishment. It took a lot of coordination to crank that wheel and move my fabric along with only 2 little hands.

It was even a SINGER ... that was THE brand to have for many years !

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In the second grade I made my first big person project.  It was an apron for my mother on her birthday and Mother's Day.  A neighbor helped me put it all together.  I have been sewing ever since.

Over the years (more than 50) I have moved a kazillion times thru times of turmoil as well as times of peaceful transition .....  my little sewing machine went every where with me.  It  is amazing to me that I still have it !  I still lose my car keys every other day .....

I am still out here !

Two days after starting this site I got sick. Thought it was a sinus infection so doc fixed me up with super duper antibiotics. But 5 days later I was worse and it had moved into my chest and I lost my voice. Now 10 days later & still sick, we (my doc and I) have decided it is probably viral and all I can do is wait it out. So here I am .... waiting !!!!