last week and everything

Well I've finally recovered enough from last weekend's quilt show to feel like I've caught back up on my life. Whew! The Show was awesome. It was alot of work, but I had a great team of peeps backing me up. And Hubbie kept the fort held down at home. So thanks to all those people!

Next up, our upstairs AC went out last Wednesday night. It really wouldn't have been much of an issue if the temperatures in Atlanta weren't topping 95 degrees everyday. So after sleeping two nights trying to make due with fans, we moved to the sofas in the family room. The part needed to fix the AC came in and it was fixed yesterday. Last night was the first night back in my own bed. It was fabulous!

My plan this weekend is to totally slug. I might even get some sewing in. And I really need to work on my tennis serve too. Winter Mixed Doubles season is coming up and I gotta get ready.

lilypatch 9 in the sun and previews of next big project

2 days and counting....

Quick post to say, I have a fabulous outdoor picture of LilyPatch 9 that I WILL post soon. However, this post is to say....2 days and counting until THE Quilt Show. You might recall I'm the Committee Chairperson this year. It's been alot of hard work and stress, but I've got a really great team working with me. If you're in the area, pop by and come see our quilts. They are totally awesome!

here it is....

So here's LilyPatch 9. The bleeding faded some after all my various treatments, it's not as obvious as before. I just told Hubbie I might do one more application of OxyClean. Sorry about the quality of picture. The sun is setting and I had to rely on lamplight. Better pictures tomorrow.

it's not looking good....

A quick quilt update...I'm on stain remover 4. If this one doesn't do it, I'm calling it. I'm sure it's new owners will embrace it "warts" and all. Sniffle, sniffle. Once I'm done with all my various treatments I'll take it's portrait. Other than its beauty spots, it really is a lovely quilt.

Keep your fingers crossed.

why, oh why, quilting gods?

Today I was going to be officially DONE with LilyPatch 9. I finished the custom quilting, the binding, label, and everything had gone swimmingly. I tossed the quilt in the wash to achieve the crinklely goodness we all love and when I pulled it out of the dryer, color bleed! I'm on round 3 of washing with stain removal stuff #3...pray for my quilt. I've never ever prewashed fabrics before. I've always used the color sheet and never had a problem. Truthfully, I think it maybe the thread I used. Oh well.

On to funner stuff....my oldest has started feeding the outside neighborhood cat, Kiki. She has a collar and everything but even before the oldest started leaving food, Kiki had started taking up residence on our sidewalk and front porch. She even threw up a field mouse she had caught in front of our garage door as proof of her admiration.

With the Atlanta weather being so cooperative, we sat outside today on the front porch. And look what my oldest brought me to hold.
Yes I held it. And got a handful of frog pee as my reward.

Here's the animal lover herself. I can only hope she buys a farm to keep all her animals on when she grows up.
And finally, an Evey picture. She had just finished barking in answer to the neighborhood dogs. She was so full of herself.
My home and people are safe!

Keep my quilt in your thoughts.....

the goings on around here

Last weekend I busily started the quilting process on Lily-patch-nine. There are parts of the process of making a quilt that I like more than others, basting is not one of my favorites. However, I realize that it's a step towards a part that I do enjoy. Naturally, when I entered the sewing room, my furry assistant followed.
Here's our little Pepper holding the quilt down so it doesn't fly away while I baste it. She was quite entertained with the safety pins. Even was able to get a few open. Naturally, her amusement with me ended as soon as I moved her.
This is the oval upstairs window where Pepper keeps eye on her kingdom. She often watches Evey's outside adventures from this perch.
Finally, Evey...my sweet fat Chihuahua. Lately she's been wondering about all the quilting going on. Her favorite place in the sewing room is directly under my feet while I sit at the sewing machine.

I should finish Lily-patch-nine sometime this week. I'll post pics when I get all done. I've started to branch out from my tried and true stippling to do something more "custom". Stay tuned....

well, well, well...

Well, in that now that I've re-entered the quilting world, I've made significant progress on the frog quilt. It may even be completed in time for the show.
This quilt is the brother of Bazooka, in that it started with scraps from a child's quilt that I made for a silent auction several years ago. I may have mentioned that one of my bestest buds actually ended up winning that quilt and taking it home. She's got two little boys and one big boy, and the original quilt is always a point of discord while watching tv. So in my nine patch induced craze I decided that I would take my scraps and make a the big brother. Here's the teaser picture....81 nine patches with pale green Kona sashing.

Second "well" in that I'm suffering from a nasty summer cold that one of the Munchkins brought home. So if froggy quilt is going to get quilted before the show, I gotta get over this mess.

Another post...shocking!

Before the symptoms of the First-Week-Back-to-School cold hit, I was able to make MAJOR progress on Lilypatch Nine. I'll post pictures later today of the completed top. A few things to note when you do finally see this top....
- I started this back in my nine patch obsession phase. I still like how the nine patches have come together and this is such a fun way to work with all those little pieces of leftover fabric. But honestly, I'm taking a break from nine patches.
- That being said, I made almost 100 nine patches in preparation for this quilt. I only used 81, so I see a baby quilt in my future.
- Apparently a quilt show deadline drives my production. Not a bad thing, just good to know.

tap, tap, tap....ahem

Hello out there in blogland!

Sorry I've been missing in action so long, but as I've lamented many a time this full time working gig sure gets in the way of lots of fun stuff. Frankly, since January, I have been on a sewing and blogging hiatus.

I wanted to revisit my blog because there should be lots of activity soon. My Quilt Guild, Chattahoochee Evening Stars will be having our quilt show September 18th and 19th, so if you're not working the show and in the area drop by. Speaking of the show, it's gotten me motivated to dig out the Junk Room (formerly known as my sewing studio) and work on a project that I hope to have finished for the show. I'll post some pictures soon.

Y'all take care, and I blog ya later!

Welcome 2010!

Yes I realize I'm about 18 days too late. I also realize that I missed Christmas with my blogverse friends. As I've said many times in the last 2 and half months, this working full time thing really makes a dent in my sewing time. Reading the blogs of several women who work and craft, I'm amazed at all the things they are able to get done.

Now honestly in my defense, I did start a brand new job, have Thanksgiving, and then Christmas on top of everything. But now I'm starting to feel like I have my feet underneath me. And even though my 14ft Christmas tree is still standing, I've committed to myself that I'm going to start quilting at least one day a week. In fact, today I have the house to myself, so my plan is to treadmill, sew, and take a few ornaments off the tree.