So Like I was Saying ...

It HAS been a while, hasn't it?  So let's get all caught up. 


HAPPY EASTER to you!  I love the licorice jelly beans and I've been good so far this season.  Only one bag has crossed my lips.  Look at my tongue!  Oh, mom, that is sooooo gross!  Can't you just hear them now?


First of all, I've been busy.  Could have guessed that, couldn't you?  


Check out what I 'presented' myself with:  NEW SHOES!  Woo Woo!  I do love a new pair of shoes!  And the neon green is spectacular!  I just love looking down at my pretty shoes!


OK, these are 'magic' shoes, see?  They get me up in the morning, and get me to the Y, and get me on the treadmill, and get my feet moving ... yeah, that's the ticket ... it's the shoes!  Let me tell you, I bless the day that someone came up with the idea of putting a TV in front of me while I'm on the treadmill!  I get so darn bored just walking walking walking ... and no, being outside wouldn't be any better!  So I've had them for 2 weeks and I've been to the Y ... no, that can't be right ... six times??? What the ....???  Maybe if I wear them to bed ...


So I have earplugs in to listen to the TV, my Kindle Fire in front of me in case the TV bores me, and my phone at hand in case someone finds it necessary to talk to me at 6:00 in the morning.  It could happen ... 



So ... quilting items:


Terri handed me her DIL's grandmothers vintage quilt to finish off for her.  I think this is a belated birthday present for her DIL.  Anyway, this is one gorgeous quilt. Look at that zig-zag border.  She said it took 12 yards of binding (not fabric ... just binding) to finish it off.  Anyway, as I worked on it, I started to appreciate just how precise this piecer was in getting all these odd shapes to line up correctly.  This was all HAND-PIECED, by the way.  I know, I know ... it probably should have been finished by hand, but then again ...  so I tried to find a pattern that would just let the quilt do the talking.  A sweet panto fit the bill.  The backing is a cream muslin.  Vintage in its own right ...

And then I offered to teach one of my small quilting groups the Spicy Spiral Table Runner.  These are absolutely awesome!!  Check out our motley crew and their beautiful creations.  And these table runners are just the ticket for SID'ing (if that's your cuppa tea ... not me, baby!  I'll throw mine on the long-arm and get 'er done!) on your domestic machine.  I've seen the work that some of you do using your DSMs and I'm in awe!  There's Pat, Elaine, Jerrie, Ashleigh, Anita, and Rose.  Hi girls!!  They didn't whine too much and I think they had a good time.  I think they were amazed that they actually walked away with a finished table runner ... well, Anita ALMOST got hers finished!!  Well done, ladies!

So now we have MIL visiting and I'm trying to get some different projects done plus a trip to Savannah coming up.  Life is always interesting, isn't it?


So next up will be a T-Shirt quilt, a blue/yellow quilt, a batik ... another blue/yellow, and several more batiks ... and ... and ... I just LOVE this stuff!


Happy Easter!

If I were a frog I'd say "Time's fun when you're having flies ..."

Yes indeedy, time does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it?  And I must have been having a bunch of fun because time sure has flown by.


Daughter Emily (of "I LOVE Mr. Minkee!" fame) visited from Savannah.  First on our list was to visit a new-to-us yarn store, The Whole Nine Yarns (http://www.thewholenineyarns.com) ... and all we can say is "Wow! This is what a yarn store should be!"   And the customer service is top-notch!  Emily is a seasoned knitter and I am a rusty beginner.  I crocheted a long time ago and still feel more comfortable with a single needle but Em has talked me into giving knitting a try.  And we came away with some fabulous yarn so I think I've committed (yeah, where's the straight-jacket?) myself to getting reacquainted with knitting and crocheting.  Like I need another hobby, right?   So click on The Whole Nine Yarns link if you're into the yarn thing.  What a great shop we have here!  


So Em showed me some techniques on using Photoshop on my Wacom Intuos4 ... what a life-saver!  I learned how to copy and paste!  Woo Woo!  


I'm using the Intuos4 to design quilting designs and I absolutely love it.  No more putting a quilt on Max and standing there thinking, "OK, what do I do?"  With the Intuos4 and the Photoshop Essentials program, I can take a picture of the quilt, upload it to my computer and then sit and design.  And pretty soon, voila!  A design comes forward and I can actually see what it might look like.   I really like this approach much better than the ... uh oh, what do I do now? scenario that I once experienced.  Great designing tool.


And then while Em knitted me a cowl scarf, I started a spiral table runner.  Have you seen this?  It is so much fun!  And the hardest part is picking out the fabrics and then learning how to cut them.  But once that is done, it's easy peasy!  Haven't decided how to quilt it yet.  That will come soon.


Here's some pictures to enjoy.

Spiral Table Runner

Sweet Em knitting while we solved all the troubles of the world!