Wednesday, January 20, 2010

January 20, 2010

OK, I didn't fall off my resolution yet, I just had my head down working hard at my sewing machine.


I have been heads down sewing like a Crazy Madwoman Quilter trying to finish my Challenge. Well.... drum roll please.... I do NOT owe a Charity block this month. I have updated the January Sewing folder.


I sewed late Friday evening, some late on Saturday, some time on Sunday, and most of Monday afternoon and evening. In fact I went to bed at 10:42 PM Monday evening and was back up at 10:57 when Elizabeth came in after she SMOKED a deer. Yes deer season ended officially at dusk on SUNDAY, but does Elizabeth care. Still trying to determine what it will take to get it back on the road. Elizabeth was not hurt, except for the immediate mental trauma. She is feeling that bad things are happening to her right now and could sure use some good vibes sent her way.


I have mega hours into this current quilt and am trying to decide if I will hold off on the hand work portion of the binding of the quilt until my road trip to North Carolina in February, or work on it now... Decisions..Decisions..Decisions..

My machine is shut down for the night, and I am packing up the items I will need to take to the Challenge meeting tomorrow night. If I don't come prepared, they will roast me. I will post tomorrow if at all possible

Take care everyone!
Connie

Friday, January 15, 2010

January 15, 2010

Did you sew for at least 15 minutes today? I did. I was able to fire up my Singer after I got home this evening and managed to get all but the very center of my Peeled Back quilt quilted. I have about 1/2 hour left of quilting to have the center of the quilt quilted. I will finish that up in the morning. Then I will need to mark the border and work my way around this. I can see DAYLIGHT here. I may be able to make my Challenge this month... That would be sooooo SWEET!

I did take a picture of what is left, so check out the photos.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

January 14, 2010

Can you believe it...January is almost 1/2 over. It has been a busy one so far for us. What about you?

I didn't do my 15 minutes of sewing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those days are really long for me because I do the drive to Creve Coeur and so I am on the road by 5:40 in the morning for the hour plus commute. So I put my head down tonight at the machine after I got supper prepared. I made vension stew and homemade dinner rolls. I need to write up the recipe, so I can make it again. I will share it then with you.

I have attached photos of my quilt top and how the quilting is coming along. After I stopped tonight, I figured up that I may have crossed the 1/2 done mark. I have a lot to still do before next Wednesday evening before I go to bed.
Fortunately I have Monday off, so that should help me a little. I am going with Nick to the doc on Saturday, I will let you know what they say about the foot. I really think he will order more tests, but once again I will let you guys know.

Talk to you tomorrow!
Connie

Monday, January 11, 2010

January 11, 2010

My 15 minutes of sewing today was working on my peeled backed quilt. I have placed the photos in the January folder. This has to be completely quilted by the 3rd Thursday of January. I will be working little sections to be able to complete this in time for my challenge. If I fail to complete the challenge, I must make a 12 1/2 in unfinished block that will be pieced into a quilt that will be finished for a child to select from when they cross the path of either a law officer or social worker as a victim. But my penalty multiplies until I complete the challenge so I will be working hard at my challenge. I would say I am over 1/2 way done, but the easy parts are the completed parts. Now I have lots of areas that have to be completed like I did tonight. I will post as I am working them. The background is really not green, but more of a tan. I think between the close up shot with the flash and the blue marker, it turned out looking green. I already have the hanger for this quilt, I will be pushing to get it bound. Talk to you tomorrow.
Connie

Sunday, January 10, 2010

January 10, 2010

YEAH!!! Snoopy dancing here on Green Acres for I have finished piecing my Harvest 9 Patch quilt top. This pattern was designed by Nancy Davis Murty at Bee Creative Studio. I have posted photos in my January 2010 Sewing folder. The other quilt top I did of hers is the Flying Home Quilt. I think out of the 2 quilt patterns that I used of hers, I may have found 1 mistake, and I am not even positive about that one. That is one of the nicest features of buying her patterns. After a while, I am totally disgusted with the mistakes I find in patterns, sometimes I find I have to redesign around due measurement/fabric calculations. I wish designers would take the the saying "Check twice, cut once" to heart with their patterns, after all patterns and fabric are not a cheap purchase. (ok, I will get off my soapbox) I do like her Harvest Home Fabric Collection, I just don't see how she has set it together in a quilt or project. I will have to keep this fabric line in mind when looking at new patterns. I will now be working on my January Challenge which is to finish the quilting on my Peeled Back quilt. I will post a picture of it when I have it laid out later.

I am going to be powering down my sewing room for a couple of hours and do some light picking up and putting away around here. I have the bedding stripped from our bed, washed and waiting to go back on. So I might as well dust, and vacuum the house too. I really want to rearrange the living room, but I think I will need help for that so it may have to wait.

It was Zero degrees this morning at 6:57 AM when Nick left to go Ice Fishing at Red's landing and I headed into the sewing room and now 5 hours later it is a whopping 21 degrees above zero. Hopefully Nick is catching a few for supper tomorrow night. Today will be great day to run my oven, and clean out a couple of closets I think. So I am headed that way.
Talk to you later.
Connie

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Out with 2009 and in with 2010

Where to start... 2009 is over (PERIOD)! With so much happening in 2009, I think back to a few moments of 2009, many more important than others, and I am sure that after I post this I will think of others that should have been listed. Some of our 2009 moments were bad, some very bad, some good and some very good. Between our country swearing in a young president, the ecomony tanking, our loved ones experiencing being layed off for the first time, our local state governor being impeached, gaining a daughter-in-law Stacie, celebrating our niece Sara's wedding, losing our sweetie Rowan, and mourning with my family over the loss of Grandma Anderson, and my Aunt Mary, finding out that Nick and I will be grandparents, and that my Uncle Bernard became a grandparent for the 3rd, 4th and 5th time in just a few short weeks (amazing).

2010 doesn't seem to be starting out that much different for many of us, but I have strong hopes and wishes that we will all enjoy positive events in our lives in the next months.

On my Mom's side of the family (Reinert) I have heard there will be 5 new babies in 2010, with our grandchild being the last of the 5 born in July 2010. My first cousin Tom, my first cousin Carleen and I will all become Grandparents for the first time, my first cousin Debbie will become GREAT Grandma, and Carleen's brother will be having a little one as well. So yes, that means Carleen will become a new Aunt and Grandma within months.
New little ones, always makes us look forward and upwards! I am so looking forward to the first time those little ones all meet each other. Then with the 3 new ones of my first cousin Katie's and first cousin Josh's (Uncle Bernard's new grandbabies), the Reinert clan will have added 8 new names to the family tree. And these are only the ones we know of right now. 2010 is still very young.

This past year my sisters, Cathy and Colleen have stumbled into my world of sewing. They both have fired up their sewing machines and are cranking out new and very creative projects. Here is a link to Colleen's site and I will add Cathy's once I find out where Cathy is hiding hers at.

I hope to post more of my work to this blog, so yes that would be my New Year's resolution "To do a better job and be more timely about my blogging". You may only get brief photos and quick updates on several projects because I work on several projects at the same time. AND YES I know, I know "why would a sane person do that?" But HEY! thanks for the compliment (you do think I am sane right?) but I will try to post what I have sewn on. I truly try to sew at least 15 minutes a day, even if that is hand sewing on a quilt binding. So I am headed into my sewing room shortly with my camera to snap photos of what is on my design wall, what I worked on over the new year holiday, and what is piled on my cutting table.

January is a tough month for many of our loved ones, and I think of them daily. It is the month of past memories that we reflect on in our moments of silence. We may not speak of it, but our thoughts and prayers and tears are with you during this month.

Love you all very much,
Connie