Quilts !

We made them, altho the girls did not really wanted to sew ... they decided it was more work than they remembered from before.  That was OK ... we had fun.  I got out my box of fat quarters and they each picked out the fabrics they liked.  Then I cut the squares and the girls arranged the 6 inch squares to their own delight.  Here they are:

 Above is Madison's design of purples, aquas and greens. She laid it out in a graduating pattern.

Below is Emily's quilt top.  It looks like a very haphazard scrappy quilt, but she has a very definite system & pattern to her design.

 I love them both ... the quilts and the girls !!!  I am finally back at it .... quilting.  One of my daughters has asked for a quilt in browns and blues.  I can't wait to start that one .... she has never asked for one of her own, so I feel very honored.  This is all very good !

I got lost !!!

I joyously bought my fabric and ran into a brick wall!  Truly ... I opened the door to the spare room to the realization I had allowed it to become a catch-all for everything.  In other words ... one big mess!

I knew where my machine was and the thread, but who knows what else.  I also realized that to work comfortably and peacefully I needed to bring order to this horrid room.  Stuff from all previous crafting adventures and memorabilia mixed up with stuff for the Salvation Army,  things from my parents after they passed plus boxes and boxes of photos that I had been trying to sort thru about 5 years ago ... when I gave up. 

Altho, it is embarrassing to show these photos, I thought it was important to actually see the evidence.  Missing from these 2 photos are the other 2 walls and one big closet, stuffed full.  It almost overwhelmed me.   I just wanted to shut the door and walk away.  But I didn't,  I am very proud to say.  So since my last posting, I have been trudging thru the mayhem of this room ... in between working a day job.  No, it is not all cleaned out, but it is sorted and organized so I can function in the space.   I can find what I need to sew.  The rest is in enough order for me to slowly sort thru little by little (photos and memorabilia etc.)

It was a bit of a treasure hunt. I found a few UFOs and my Granny's quilts.  Found most of my cross stitch supplies stuffed in a box.  There was very little left of my previous fabric stash  but it was interesting to see what I kept when I was  purging and getting rid of my "stuff".   To see now the fabrics I thought too pretty  to let go of despite my depression.  I found a kit for a flannel quilt that had been a gift from a patient years ago.   I found a BOM (block of the month) kit with everything complete and untouched.  I also found a pile of old hankies, scarves, gloves, fabrics etc that I had saved from my mother with the idea of making each sister a crazy quilt.

I have not included any "after" photos because my 2 grand-daughters (what is the blog abbreviation for that? ) from AZ are here for the week.  Another good reason I cleaned out the room.  My 12 year old has announced she wants to sew squares together to make a small quilt ... like we did years ago ... :-(
 Lucky for her I did save many of my FQ (fat quarters).
So this week there is no doubt ... I will be sewing.  

There will be another post this week. She has picked out the fabrics she likes.  Tomorrow night we will cut out the squares.  Then the next days she can play with the lay out while I am at work and we can begin sewing that evening.  This is exciting !

Stay tuned ......

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.