Maybe I'm Crazy...

Maybe I'm crazy and I may be getting in over my head! But I went ahead and cut 240 strips for Bonnie's bargello on Sunday! I love the look of her big bargello, so I read that she cut 240 strips to make a full/queen quilt so that is what I did! Trust me I will not finish it in one day! But I think I could probably get a good dent in it. I think I may try to start on it late Saturday night if I can.

So this morning, you know I locked my keys up AGAIN!! Cost me $85 to get it unlocked! I still haven't told Richard yet. I know he won't get mad, but I just don't want to hear "I told you so" He is such a good man, never really gets mad about anything but teases me alot when I do something dumb!

I felt miserable, but you know how we mothers are, always think of the kids first. Now the boys are not anywhere near as sick as I am but I didn't want them to get this bad. Took them to the doctor where my sister works at the pediatrician's office. He checked the boys and gave them some anitbotics. Then he looked at me and said "If I write you a prescription for antibotics will you take them?" Well Duh! Of course I would take them! So he checked me, wrote me a prescription and never charged me anything! How great is that???? He said my sinuses were terrible, my chest congested, throat red and ear infection in both ears! Hopefully in a few days I will be fine.

Took the boys to Pizza Hut for lunch. They love the buffet bar there and with them going to school we don't get to stop there very often. Came home and hit the couch for a couple of hours. Richard came home and built a fire in the fireplace for me, I was chilling something terrible. He even offered to run back to town for something quick, but I just fixed some quick hot ham and cheeses. Then I finished cutting my strips and have them all ready to go.

I am feeling restless! I feel too bad to sew very much but then again I am bored too death! Mom is leaving in the morning. I haven't been out there for a couple of days. I don't want her to get sick. If she gets sick they will send her home and she can't get back on the boat until she is better. So if she caught this from me she would loose alot of money on her paycheck. So I am staying home and she is staying at her house and we are talking on the phone. I think she said she has to be at the dock around 8am and of course will be gone for 28 days. So you all have a month to hear me whine about my mom!!!
Kristie

I Could SCREAM!!!!

As I sit here and type this, my car is running and locked, AGAIN!!! I run out and started the car to let it warm up so I could take the boys to the doctor and somehow I locked the doors again!! I know Richard will die because he told me to go get an extra key made and I haven't! The key has a sensor on it and you have to have it made at a dealer and it costs like $60. I WILL get an extra one made this time, because I can't get ahold of the guy that unlocked it last week, so I had to call the locksmith and he is charging me $85!!! Yes, Jen you are right, when you live out in the woods like I do, you can't just call AAA!!!!!

I'm ready to sew!

Well, they are all cut 128 of them!!! Now I'm just waiting to see if I actually get to quilt on Sunday or not. If not I will work on it next week!

I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon for a couple of hours and I still feel like crap! But hopefully in a few days I will be back to normal. I didn't even fix a big dinner this evening like I always do. We had "chicken tenders" I think the family finally realized that I was sick. You know how they are, everyone can get sick except for mom!

Speaking of moms...Mom leaves out Friday morning so you all will have to listen to me whine for the next month. I hate to go out there and visit with her and take the chance on making her sick too. That would be terrible for her to get sick while on the boat and not be able to get off.

Here is another photo of Donkey. He is sleeping on a couple of quilts that I have stacked on the back of the couch.

I guess I will probably iron a few more scraps tonight. I would love to get these scraps under control. I use alot of scraps in my quilts but I have never gone through them and cut them to size. So the scraps are about to take over!!! Someday I will be organized....maybe...

Kristie

Anything Goes!

I started pulling fabrics for the Bargello with Bonnie on Sunday! Richard wants to butcher one of the hogs this weekend but I am going to get my fabric strips ready just in case I can change his mind! :) I didn't really have any 2 1/2in pre-cut strips so I have to cut them. The requirements call for 128 strips for the lap size top. Now I may add to this later but I will start with the lap size.

Now I have been sick all night and morning and actually after getting to boys off to school, I went back to bed and slept until 10am. Now that is something that I never do. I know you don't want to hear me whine, but I feel terrible. Actually, it is 1:30 and I am still in my nightgown. I need to get my butt in gear and shower and start dinner soon. Anyway, back to quilting....I don't really feel much like sitting at the machine today so I thought I would try to get my strips ready. Since my fabric is stored in the bedroom and hubby goes to bed around 6pm I went in sat on the bed with my scissors and started cutting off fabric. I pulled out a tote and cut 2 strips off of EVERYTHING in it! I will try to cut them to size tongiht if I feel better. I cut enough for 78 strips, so I still need 50 more. I didn't really feel like sorting through my fabric so I just decided that "ANYTHING WOULD GO"

Now you can see in the left of the photo I did start cutting some of the strips to size, I think only 28 of them. The rest will have to wait until tonight. I was in bed last night thinking about this quilt and thought about doing it all in the same color family but quickly changed my mind this morning when I felt so bad. Who knows how this will turn out, it may be sooooo ugly. Oh well, if it is I will stop at the lap quilt size and donate it to someone!!!!

Scraps, Scraps, and more Scraps!!!

Not alot of sewing going on today. I have been doing some much needed house cleaning. I did manage to cut some more of my scraps. I know you can't tell much progress by the photo, but I swear I did add to the stacks. The ironing is what is taking up so much time. I have this bag of scraps all ironed now and ready to finish the cutting. Out of this bag I have only cut different size squares. Out of the next bag or so I am going to cut mostly bricks and strips, but trust me that won't be anytime soon. I swear I will never let my scraps get this out of hand again!!! It is a mess! I feel like I am drowning in scraps! Now that I have spent this much time ironing and cutting them I hate to sew them together, I will probably sit and stare at them for a while.

We are all coming down with a cold. Richard came home from work, ate and went straight to bed. The kids and I have started coughing and feeling miserable. I had some antibotics that I started them all on, hopefully no one will get real sick.

I know this is a short post but I think I will go on to bed in a few minutes.
Kristie

Guild Meeting Monday

I had a guild meeting this morning at 10am. Not alot went on just mostly show-and-tell and planning projects. I took my Bargello top in for show-and-tell, it is the first quilt that I have taken in there so I was a little bit nervous. I am my own worst critic, I get so paranoid when another quilter looks at my work in person. Anyway all went well, I got lots of nice comments.

My Aunt Deb went with me today. She is thinking of joining the guild so she went today, I think she enjoyed it. We will be doing a Mystery Quilt in April so I'm excited about that. I have actually never done a mystery quilt, so this should be exciting.

After the meeting, I stopped by Pamida. It is like a generic Walmart with NO fabric. They do have a few threads, needles and scissors but that is about it. They were having a going out of business sale. Right now things are only 10%-30% off. The only thing that I bought was this set of needles and measuring tape. I'm sure the needles probably are not that good but what I wanted was the 120" measuring tape. It only cost me 99 cents.

Here are some of the scraps that I cut up last night. It will be a slow process but I will eventually get them done.....maybe! I didn't have big enough pieces for any strips so I just cut squares of different sizes. The smallest that I went was 2 inches and the largest was 5 inch charm sqaures. I still have tons more to do but if I do a little bit at a time maybe it won't be so overwhelming.

Oh and as you can see Donkey is all comfy in his new home. I can't believe how attached that I have gotten to this cat in the few days that he has been here.
He has found a favorite place to sleep....on my end table. When he jumps up there he scoots my table topper, I'm just waiting for the lamp to hit the floor.

Oh and you all were right, they do love fabric and quilts. He kept trying to play while I was cutting my scraps. Mom and Chantal finally came out this evening to see him. I think they were trying to wait until he calmed down a little first.

Kristie

Featured Quilt Of The Week ~ 4

Here is another quilt that I made a couple of years ago. This quilt was made for a man that my mom worked with. His wife had been very sick and he wanted to have her a special quilt made.

The name of the quilt is "A Quilter's Snowflake" I got the pattern from a quilting magazine. My mom had the magazine at work and he asked if the quilt could be made. He said he didn't care about the price but he needed it KING size. So this quilt measures 110x110 and I had the top completely cut out and sewn together in a week. Needlesss to say he paid very well, and I was in a hurry for the money. :) The fabrics don't show very well in the photo but it is a eggplant, both fabrics have a small design in them.

My friend Sandy longarm quilted it and did the binding for $50!!! I supplied the batting and backing. I thought that a great price for a king. So from start to finish this quilt took 2 weeks. He and his wife were very pleased with the quilt. He even came back later and bought a quilt for his daughter.
Kristie

Monkeys, Quilt Blocks and Scraps

Here is Hunter's Sock Monkey. I still have to sew on his eyes, ears and sew on a nose. He is very happy with him. I just need to take the time to dig out two matching black buttons for his eys. So this is a project off of my January's To Do List!!!!! Only one more project on January's list, but we all know it will NOT get done this month.

Here is the progress so far on my Churn Dash. I had the blocks pieced I just sewed them together today. I still have alot more of them to piece for this top. But like everything else it is a work in process.
Later in the afternoon, I got a little restless and started looking at some of my scraps. This is one bag that I dumped out on the table. I have decided to go through these little by little. I have a small piled ironed and ready to cut into usable sizes. Maybe tomorrow I will try to start cutting on them. This is nothing that I expect to accomplish overnight, but something that I can work on now and then. I really need to control these scraps.

I found a yahoo group today that is for my Brother Embroidery Machine. That is the only machine discussed is the same model that I have! I was very excited to find it. I have been reading over alot of the past posts and have found alot of interesting tips.

Also if anyone is interested....I read on Bonnie Hunter's (Quiltville) Blog that she wants to do a quilt with everyone on Super Bowl Sunday! It is a lap size Bargello! I'm not sure yet just depends on what I have going on that day, I may do it.

Tomorrow morning I have a guild meeting at 10am. Sandy called earlier to discuss some of the things that we would be going over. It really shouldn't be a very long meeting.

Kristie

I Love My Donkey!

Here is Donkey, all comfy in his new home. It may be a shock to hear me say it, but I am so glad that I got this cat! He has come out of hiding and now acts like he has always been here with us. I got to thinking that he was probably just as scared of me as I was of him. I read on the papers that we got with him from the animal shelter and it said he was abused/animal cruelty. Now how sad is that? I didn't realize that when we got him, they may have told me but I was probably too nervous to listen. He is still a little bit poor, but his weight should pick up soon, he is eating great! Oh, and one thing I was worried about...he hasn't even missed the litter box!!!!

Anyway, he now has a little blue cat collar on with a bell. This way I can hear him coming just in case I am in one of my moods and I will know where he is at all times. So far I have done great with him. I noticed Richard watching me pet him and smiling at me. He said he never thought he would see me pet a cat. That makes me feel great!

Haven't really sewn much today. I have been working on my sock monkey tonight while we have been watching a few movies. I almost have him done. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have a photo to post of it. That will be one more thing off of my January's To Do List. That will only leave one more project on the list that I wanted to finish for January and that is my Village Sampler and I can tell you right now THAT project will NOT get done this month!!!

Kristie

My Christmas List Is Getting Shorter

Today I had to go in to town to do my weekly shopping! It was so cold and the boys didn't have school again today. Mom rode with us and I dropped her off to have lunch with a couple of her friends.

After arriving back home and putting away all of my things I embroidered a couple more fleece throws for Christmas. If I get all of these done before the Christmas Season, then maybe I won't be so stressed out at Christmas.

This first one is for my SIL. She loves anything Disney, so I thought this one would be perfect for her.

This one is for my MIL. Now I messed this one up a little bit. I forgot to position my frame up a little bit more to do the name. So now the "S" is right on the edge of the flower. I may end up redoing this one, I don't know yet.

I still have several more to go, but they are quick and easy to do. I found these fleece throws at Walmart on clearance for $3, so I really don't have that much invested in these gifts. That is my favorite part of it.

Probably won't get anymore sewing done tonight. I rented the movie "Scarlet" and I have been watching it. Last weekend I rented "Gone With The Wind" and this is the sequel to it. Richard is already in the bed, since he has to get up at midnight and go in to work for a few hours.

Kristie

Donkey is home!

Donkey is home!!! As you can see Hunter is very happy! That is worth it all to me. Andrew would never admit it but I think he likes him too. He just walked around for a few hours trying to check everything out and now he is hiding. Who knows where he is, I'm sure he will come out when he gets hungry. And he probably needs to rest, since he was also neutered today!! I DID pet him before he ran off to hide, to be honest it did make me very nervous, but I just tried to breathe and I made it through it just fine.



I had a few of you to ask about Ida Belle, the puppy. Well, she has been outside for several weeks! She was driving me crazy in the house. She is soooooo hyper and this little house is not big enough for her. So now she is very happy outside with Fred, the Bassetthound.

I started the car this morning to let it warm up. I was going to make a trip to town for Dt Pepsi and a few other little things and pick up Donkey on the way home. Well as long as I have had this car this is the first time that I have ever locked the keys in it. So my car was sitting in the driveway with the motor running and all the doors locked. I called the locksmith he wanted $85 just to drive out here, not counting the cost for unlocking it. I called Richard and he said "Bust the window out!" Now how dumb is that??? That was the only set of keys that I have. My keys have a sensor on it and you have to have it copied at a dealership and it cost around $75, so I just never got around to having it copied. Andrew mentioned that my EX-SIL husband had a master set of keys to unlock cars. We called and he was out here within 30 minutes. It took him about 15 minutes to unlock it. He didn't want any money, but I did finally manage to get him to take $25. It's funny how I still get along real well with my ex-inlaws, just not my ex-husband. So by the time all of this was over I was just too nervous to go to town. I called Richard and he picked Donkey up from the Vet for me when he got off from work.

I didn't do alot of sewing today, the boys didn't have school today because we got 1/2 inch of snow! Yes, you read it right 1/2 inch and they canceled school. So we just sit around most of the day. I did manage to finish two more Christmas gifts. These are 2 more fleece throws for my niece and nephew. I think the Mickey and Donald are my favorite of the two.

Don't know if I will get any sewing done tonight, I am thinking of sitting down and reading for a while. I have a big fire going in the fireplace and it is very cozy here, so I think a good book would be perfect.

Kristie

Christmas Gifts and Monkeys

This morning Mom and I drove to Paintsville. We had breakfast at Hardee's, then on to Walmart. Didn't buy anything there except for a spool of grey thread. I needed the grey to embroider Richard's name on another one of his company jackets.

Peeble's was having a big clearance sale so we stopped by there. It was 50-70% off and then mom had a coupon for an extra 20% off. I bought a few clothes for the boys and mom bought her a couple of new dresses for church.

After Peebles we drove on to the bookstore. There is a bookstore there that sells new and used books. I trade my old books that I have read for used ones that I haven't. You trade 2 for 1, which is fine for me. I had a store credit of $86. I ended up with 22 books and mom got 6. After getting those I still have a store credit of $35. I have a ton of books that I haven't read yet, I just wanted to get the ones that I had read out of my way.

When we got back home, I put another fleece throw in the embroidery machine. I like the fact that you can put it in there, push a button and walk off. I ran the vacuum while it was embroidering. This is another Christmas gift off of my list for 2008. I did this one for my SIL, Bridget. I know that I use this design alot, but it is one of my favorites.

Then this evening, after supper, I started on this Sock Monkey! I love them and I wanted to make one for Hunter. I think Andrew being 14 is a little too old for one, so I will have to find something else for make for him. I can remember when Mom made some for us when we were little. I love it and I still have mine. As you can see he is still in parts, I decided to stop for the night, and hopefully I can get him finished tomorrow. So far he hasn't been hard, I just hate the stuffing part.
Tomorrow is the day that Donkey comes home. Our local animal shelter has a manditory spay/neuter law. So he has an appointment in the morning at the Vet to have it done. The animal shelter will take him there and they said he would be ready to be picked up around 3:30pm. Poor cat, going from an animal shelter, to the Vet to be......well you know, and then to a strange house. I'm sure he will not be in a good mood. I tried to explain to Hunter that he will probably hide for a few days until he gets use to us.

I guess that is all for tonight, I need to finish this load of laundry and then I think I will try to sleep for a little while. I have to get Richard up at midnight so I might get to sleep for a little over an hour...
Kristie

An Evening Of Sewing

I just really couldn't get in the mood to sew until this evening. I was just really bored and restless. We got a little snow this morning and then it rained and melted it off. I worked on my "Churn Dash" I cut out my blocks, borders, and binding.


I sewed 8 more blocks tonight. That makes a total of 16 blocks. I don't have them all sewn into rows yet, actually I have a section of 8 sewn together, but the ones that I did tonight are not.

Hopefully, I will get more of it done tomorrow. I'm not in any big rush to finish it. I still need to pull out some fabric for my "Steps To The Alter" quilt. I'm being a little bit lazy on it. As soon as I finish my Churn Dash I will get back to working on it. I have a few other small projects that I would like to do within the next few days too. One of them is a "Sock Monkey" for Hunter. I have everything for it, I just need to sit down and do it.

Last but not least, here is a photo of my little one, Hunter. He fell asleep on the couch this evening, sucking his thumb. He has never sucked his thumb...
Kristie

Cat Update!

Took Hunter to the doctor this morning and they are scheduling him an appointment with another doctor to have to precedure done. So hopefully within the next week or so it will all be done. I explained to Hunter what they were going to do, and lets just say he's not exactly excited about it.

After the doctor visit we ran by the animal shelter. Richard was with us, since his coal truck broke down and he was home before I left. So I made him go with me. I told him he might have to call 911 if I got in the animal shelter and had a panic attack! :) There were several cats there and Hunter picked a different cat than he did last night. I don't know, I was a little confused, but it was what he wanted. The one he decided on is not a kitten and it is still a boy, and it is gray striped. We didn't get to bring it home today, because he has to go to the vet on Thursday to be neutered. They have manditory neutering. I have to pick him up at the Vet sometime Thursday afternoon. And Hunter is still set on naming him DONKEY! So I guess that is what it will be.

Like I said, there were a ton a cats there and I guess I was a little overwhelmed. This is a big step for me even getting a cat. We went in that room and she started letting them all out. So there was about 20 cats running around!!!! I was afraid I was going to flip out and embarrass myself, but Richard kinda kept them off of me. I didn't pet the cat at all at the shelter, because I was getting very nervous, but I think when he gets here and it's just us, I can handle it just fine.

After that, we ran and picked up a litter box, litter, a scoop, cat food, and a couple of little toys. So now we are all set and waiting for Thursday. My baby is sooooo happy!!!
Kristie

Featured Quilt Of The Week ~ 3

Here is another quilt that I made a few years ago. I decided to redo my bedroom so I started out with the quilt. The pattern is actually a Quilt Of The Month pattern from Wal-mart. I also bought the fabric there too. It is called "Sunny Days" I also made the pillows and curtains to go with it. I made the quilt and fell in love with it, so I decided to use it in my bedroom. That is how it all started.

I like to have killed myself. I got this big idea that I was going to completely change my bedroom in ONE weekend. So here is how it went. I got the quilt back from the longarmer and loved it. Yellow was not one of my favorite colors at the time so I was shocked that I was thinking of painting the walls. I had the bed in storage, the bed and antique dresser on the left was my great grandmothers. So I had Richard help me bring them in. Made the pillows and curtains, but I bought the dust ruffle, painted the walls, hung up the plates that I had been collecting and I finished. I had to actually paint the walls twice. The first shade of yellow that I had made it look like a big LEMON, so I painted over it. Now I love it! Oh and I actually have the original old metal springs on the bed. It is soooooo comfy!!!

Have I Lost My Mind?????

Alot of you all know that I have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) One of my quirks is CATS! Now I will be honest with you, I haven't touched a cat in probably 20 years. When I was a very little girl I had several cats of my own and they did not bother me at that time. Things happen and people change. I live on a farm and sometimes have to do some really gross things with some of the animals when they get sick or whatever.

I have noticed over that past several months that alot of people on these blogs have cats. While I always think they are so pretty and loving, I always wonder how I would react to touch one. The thought of touching one made it hard to breathe and my heart would race.

Last week Hunter asked if he could have a kitten. I instantly said NO, and he cried. That broke my heart. I remembered all of the fun times that I had as a child playing with mine. So I sat him down to talk to him. My question was...we have horses, a mule, pigs, chickens, and dogs, why do you need a cat? Well, his only answer was that he just wanted one. So this has been on my mind ever since. So this evening, I started looking on the internet at our local animal shelter. They have several cats, but he wanted a kitten. The cost is $25 for a male and $40 for a female. They have had their shots and have been spayed or neutered. I discussed it with Richard and he said "You know that I will never tell you no about anything like that, but don't get one if you can't touch it." So, I sat here thinking about it. Now don't laugh, but I called a friend that lives about 3 miles away that has a cat. They know how I am and they laughed when I said "I was just wondering if I could come over and pet your cat" I guess I should have explained it better first. Anyway, a quick trip to their house and I sat there for a while before I could touch it. Then after about 20 minutes...I DID IT!!! (but very quickly ) :)

I came staight home and called the warden at the shelter (he is a friend of Richards) he said they still had the kitten that Hunter had picked out so I guess we will pick it up after his doctor's appointment in the morning.

Here is the photo that I got from the website of the kitten that Hunter will be getting.

Oh and here is the funniest part, he has already named him.....DONKEY!!!!
Kristie

Sunday's Sewing Progress

It has been very cold here today, which I'm sure it has been cold most places today. I've stayed in most of the day. I did go out and help Richard feed this morning. He wanted me to stay inside where it was warm, but I just didn't have the heart to send him outside by himself. We had a nice warm fire going in the fireplace all day, so inside it has been very cozy.

I really haven't accomplished alot today. I started to dig out more fabric for my "Steps To The Alter" quilt, but I was just too lazy to go in there and do it. I have my fabric stored in totes, due to lack of space and I just wasn't in the mood to have to move everything around. I did cut out a little more on my "Churn Dash" The fabrics don't really show up very well in the photo, but it is a taupe color. It is very muted, but I just fell in love with the fabrics. So right now I have a total of 8 blocks finished on it and still only 4 blocks for my STTA quilt.

I don't know how much sewing I will get done tomorrow. Hunter has a doctor's appointment in the morning. This is a follow-up visit for the problem that he was having last week, just to make sure the infection has cleared up. Then he will refer him to another doctor to fix the problem. That is the appointment that I dread! We still haven't got up the nerve yet to explain to him what has to be done, but we will do that before he has it done.
Kristie

My New Sample Block

Not alot of sewing going on today, but I did sew a little bit last night. I made 3 more blocks for my "Steps To The Alter" I need 42 blocks total and I am cutting 2 blocks from each print. Now I have 4 of 42 blocks with 38 more to go.

I sewed a sample block from the new fabric that I bought last night. I wanted a very simple block since the fabric has so much going on in it. So this is what I came up with, just a simple "Churn Dash" pattern. I have always loved this pattern. This block is 9 inches, and I will need several of them. I bought a total of 8 yards of these fabrics, so this will probably be my next quilt after the "Steps To The Alter"

Right now it is so cold outside so we are just trying to stay warm, we have a nice big fire going in the fireplace and it feels very cozy in here. Maybe I will sew a bit in a little while.

Kristie

More Fabric....

After I picked Andrew up from his friends house the farrier came by to put new shoes on Autumn. Andrew will be showing her in the Spring so we need to work with her and get her back in the routine. I think the first horse show should be sometime in April. We will be showing Autumn and Storm.

After Tracy left we headed to Ashland. Sears had a wood planner on sale. I called and they only had one left and the sale went off today. Richard wanted it for Christmas but they were out of stock so we ran down to pick it up. He is like a little kid playing with it.

While we were out, I picked up a little more fabric. I couldn't help it! These first two in this photo I only bought 1/2 yard of them. I will just add them to my stash to mix in with all of my others.

I fell in love with these. They are so much prettier in person. I'm not sure what I will use them on, but I bought 4 yards of each. So I will have to find a pattern for them!

Now we are watching "Good Luck Chuck" it is soooooo funny! I think I will cut out more of my "Steps To The Alter"....

Kristie

First Christmas Gift For 2008 Made!!!!

Well, I had planned on cutting my blocks out for my "Steps To The Alter" quilt today, but that just didn't happen. This morning after getting the kids off to school, I headed into town to do my weekly shopping. Picked up feed for the horses and pig, did the grocery shopping and then ran by Walmart to pick up household supplies. I also picked up a few of these fleece throws so that I could start of Christmas gifts for 2008! My plan is to make the ladies and children embroidered fleece throws. So here is the first one, it is for my SIL. I really like the rose design and I used it alot on the scarves that I made.


After my shopping I came home and unloaded the car. I started watching "Gone With The Wind" and the next thing I know I woke up 3 hours later when Richard was pulling in the driveway and the boys got home about 20 minutes later. So I rushed around trying to fix a quick supper. Andrew ended up going to one of his friends house for a birthday party. There was like twelve 14-15yr old boys there, can you imagine??? And I have to tell you what a good boy that I have. Andrew will be 15 next month and I know when you are around that many boys his same age you don't want your mom around. But a few minutes ago Andrew called. He said he just wanted to tell me "Good Night and that he loved me" I thought that was so sweet!!!!

Anyway after supper Richard, Hunter and I settled in to watch a few movies and I just never did get around to cutting out my blocks. There is always tomorrow night!!! Hopefully tomorrow after I pick up Andrew I can come home and clean the house and start cutting tomorrow evening! I still need to pull the fabrics for this quilt but that shouldn't take too long since I am just using scraps.
Kristie

It's Started!

Well, I could stand it no longer, I had to start another quilt! In my earlier post, I mentioned that I was thinking about it and I said the name of it was "Stairway To Heaven" well it's not, it is called "Steps To The Alter" I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway, I only have the first block done.

I have made this quilt before and really liked how it turned out. I guess it is a version of a "Jacob's Ladder" But I know I really enjoyed making the other one. Here is a photo of the first one that I made. It was made a few years ago and longarm quilted.

I probably won't get anymore done on it tonight. I have to get Richard up for work in about 30 minutes, so I don't have much time. I only did a sample block, I knew the pattern was right, because it was the same one that I used before, I just wanted to make sure I wanted to do it before I cut out the whole quilt. I will need a total of 42 blocks. Hopefully, I can get more of them cut out tomorrow and start sewing them together.

Richard got a new cell phone today. See, Mom, Chantal, and us are all on the same phone plan and back a few months ago Richard's phone got damaged. Well.....actually he was on one of the horses and they both went for a swim in the lake needless to say his phone hasn't worked right since. And then yesterday after Chantal got off from work she was getting in her car, dropped it and then ran over it. Yes, I know that was a little dumb, but she is my sister and I can say that. So her phone was broke, she ran down today on her lunch and picked up two more. Now I'm not real smart when it comes to electronic things and this is Bluetooth so it is about to blow my mind. I will let Richard figure it out and then maybe he can explain it to me.

Kristie

Whooooo Hoooooo!!!!

I finally finished my block for my Village Sampler!! I ended up having to cut this block 3 times! It's not a hard block, I just don't like working on this quilt and I found it hard to concentrate.

This block measures 12 1/2 x 38 1/2, so it is rather large. Now I only need to do 2 more blocks and I will be ready to sew it the top together. One of the blocks is alot smaller than this one and the other is alot bigger. I am lazy so I will probably save the big one for last.

I really wanted to get this top finished this month, so hopefully I still can. We were expecting snow here today, but we only got a little bit of sleet. The boys are home from school today so we have had lots of fun. I cleaned my sewing area today and ran on to this block, I needed to recut part of it, so I finished it up to get it out of the way.

I want to start a new quilt, but I know with so many UFO's that I really shouldn't. But sometimes I think you need to start a new one. I just can't really get in the mood to work on some of my UFO's. I've been looking through some of my patterns, and can't decide on one just yet. I'm thinking of another "Stairway To Heaven" but not completely sure yet. I made one several years ago and it is one of my favorites. It is a scrap quilt, so that will make it easy, at least I won't have to buy any fabric for it.
Kristie

Another Great Mail Day!

Another great gift came in the mail today! This is from Hazel and it is the Fall 2007 edition of Easy Quilts by Fons and Porter. Several of us had been looking for it and Hazel ended up with two of them, so she sent one to me!!!!

Thank You so much Hazel! I can't wait to get started!
Kristie

A Day With Mom And The Boys

Today has been a nice day! The boys didn't have school today. The bus driver called at 5am this morning to tell me that there was no school because of the snow. I get up and there is NO snow!!! They were predicting snow for this area and it was flurrying, but nothing on the ground. I think they thought we would get a big one. So the boys were just thrilled too death.

Andrew needed new shoes for school. I don't know what it is about boys but they are very hard on shoes. So this was the perfect day to go shopping, I would not dare try to pick his shoes out by myself. He is 14 and you know how 14yr old boys are. I called mom and she wanted to go too. She came out and picked us up and we headed to Paintsville.

First stop...the shoe store. After 45 minutes he finally decided on a pair! Mom had already given up on him and headed to the clothing store next door. After that we went to Big Sandy Furniture. Mom is looking for a new couch and chairs for her family room. She just bought a new set for her living room a few months ago. It is soooooo nice, but it is mostly for looks, they don't even sit on it. So after walking around the store forever she narrowed it down to 3 different ones. She told them she would call them back in the morning and let them know. But I know mom, there is no way she will decide that quick.

We did a little more shopping and I bought me a quilt magazine. I have a million, but they are just like fabric, you can't have too many of them. I also picked up some more fabric and stablizers.

Then finally Hunter wanted to stop at McDonald's for a happy meal. We were sitting there eating and it was pretty crowded, I just happened to look up and saw this old man smiling at me. Now I'm sitting there with my mom and the boys and I'm confused as to why he keeps looking at me. Then he walks over there to our table......it was my GRANDFATHER! Now that should tell you how many times that I have ever saw him. It is my mom's dad. I think at first she was confused too. So he talked for just a few minutes and went back to his table. We finished our meal and was still sitting there and he came back. He was talking to the boys and pulled out his wallet. He gave them $50. They were excited, because they are only kids, but I was thinking....they have needed a grandfather for years not money.

I could talk on this subject for hours. Long story short....he left when my mom was 2 and she is now 54. He remarried soon after and has several kids with his wife. He never came around all of these years until recently. They lived in Ohio and about 10 yrs ago, he moved back to try to have a relationship with my mom. They talk from time to time but evidently not enough to recongize each other. My biggest problem with him is....he is a self-made millionaire and thinks his money can buy anything. But that money can't replace the time and love that my mom missed out on.

Oh well, I will stop complaining....

Kristie

A Great Snail Mail Day!

I checked the mail this morning and I had a ton, it had been a few weeks since I had checked it. But I really had some great surprises! I just couldn't get them opened fast enough. My sweet friend Gina sent me two packages from the UK. They were both loaded with lots of goodies. A delicious box of Belgian Chocolates, a romance novel, bath goodies, and a beautiful lace bookmark made by her. I was amazed at the tiny work in the bookmark. It's just amazing!

The second package was filled with these beautiful HORSE fabrics. As you all know I love my horses and I thought she was very thoughtful to send these to me. They are just so beautiful! I can't wait to make something with them. I'm thinking maybe a wallhanging or a quilt for my new house.
And last but not least....I recieved a wonderful pattern from Hazel. It is the pattern that she used to make her fabric covered notebooks. It shows two different sizes, so I will have to decide on which one to do first.

So a big THANK YOU to both of you wonderful ladies. It really means alot to have great friends like you.
Kristie

Featured Quilt Of The Week ~ 2

Here is another quilt that I made a few years ago. It is called "Sparkling Stars" it is another one of my scrap quilts, I got the pattern from a quilting magazine. It went together very quickly.

It measures to be a large queen and was longarm quilted by my friend Sandy. This is another one of my favorites. My mom really liked this quilt so when I finished it I cut one out for her. She still doesn't have it completely pieced together yet. :)
Kristie

Christmas at Mom's

We had our Christmas with Mom today. We all had a great time! We all met for dinner and then opened gifts. Dinner was great, mom made some homemade rolls and I ate so many I thought I would die. It was just a small family gathering with Mom, Chantal, my brother and his family, my grandmother and us.

Everyone loved their scarves, so that made me very happy. Here is my brother John and his wife Kellie, with their quilt. They seemed to really like it. It is actually red, but for some reason it looks pink in the photo.

Here is Mom with her "Card Trick" She seemed to love it. Most of the fabrics in this quilt were bought by mom. When she was working on the railroad and had to travel so much, she would always try to stop and pick up some fabric for me wherever she was.

This is another photo of mom with her quilt and Chatal with her scarf. I had actually gave Chantal her quilt on Christmas Day, when she was at my house.
So today I gave 2 bed size quilts and 6 scarves for Christmas gifts. It is hard sometimes to give away quilts but when they are well recieved it makes it all worth it.

Kristie

Making More Gifts.

Tonight I have been making more scarves and such. I have made 6 more scarves and added embroidery to a fleece throw. They will all be given as gifts tomorrow at my mom's. This photo is the one that I made for my 18mth old nephew. He loves Mickey Mouse, I made one yesterday for his sister with Minnie Mouse on it.

This is one that I made for my Grandmother, she loves the color red. All of the others have this same design they are just different colors.

I think the worst part of making these were cutting the fringes. They were not hard, but boring. I have one more to make tonight before I go to bed. I am going to make a pink one like Chantal's for Breanna, my stepdaughter.

As you know the weekends are our family time. We are getting ready to put in a couple of movies and play some UNO. Andrew loves that game.

Kristie

Friday Night Spent Sewing!

Well, I am still playing around with my embroidery machine. After I made Chantal's scarf, I embroidered Richard's name on two of his company work jackets. He loved how they turned out. Then I moved on to making more scarves. This is Mom's, her name is Ottie, but it is hard to read in the photo. These photos don't turn out as detailed as the real thing.

This one if for my 5 yr old niece, Madison.

And this is a throw that I bought for Andrew. It has his name and music notes. He really loves to play music so I thought this would be perfect.
So this is all for tonight. I still have to cut the fringes on these. But I will do that tomorrow. And I also have a few more scarves to make, but I will try to get those finished tomorrow.

Kristie