Houston Bound!

We are off and headed to Houston for Quilt Festival! A funny..... many of my friends will be there. We are toing out of our way to meet for dinner. Here we are, driving all that way, only to eat dinner with the same women we eat lunch with every Monday!

I seem to blog in spurts

I've been absent for many reasons. All good. My place of employment has been in the midst of a huge upheaval. In conjuntion with this, I have accepted a job this summer as Camp Director. I'm a bit overwhelmed, excited and buzzing with ideas. I have also been a busy bee with quilts. No pictures but soon.

I gave Mrs. S and Mr. FancyPants their anniversary present and they loved it. I cannot believe that it was finished in plenty of time!

Thought I'd leave you with a picture of me playing Rock Star at my daughters house. TOOO FUN! If you get a chance to try it go for it. I couldn't play sitting down and had the foot tapping and head bopping going on. Ms. A said that this was the most pleasant photo of me as I was concentrating so hard that I was scowling the whole time!

Rules to Potty

This is the sign inside of each stall at Frye's. I don't know if it's a sad state of affairs that they did post these "rules for pottying," or that they needed to post them. You must read them as some are downright funny (at the same time sad that it was necessary). All I know is, like a loon, I was in the stall with my flash going off so I could get this picture!

Rules for making Jello...

1. Read the directions - You may have made jello any number of bazzilions of times in the
past but at least scan the directions. This will prevent
the inevitable miscalulation...

2. Read the directions - This will prevent the "Will this EVER set syndrome"
that kicks in about 4 hours after you have quick set the
gelatin.

3. Read the directions - This will stop you from making two boxes of
jello and adding 4 cups of hot and 4 cups of cold water.

4. Read the directions - This will prevent the bruise you gave yourself after slapping your
forehead when you figure out that you didn't......

READ THE DIRECTIONS!

Now here is the really funny part. Because I don't want to waste what I already have, I'll be adding not one but TWO more boxes tomorrow to get the stuff to set! It's a really, really good thing that DH likes jello!

Why I.........

I don't remember when it happened but I began doing things for the when "I'm no longer around." I don't plan on going anywhere soon but know how important memories, ect. are to loved ones. It is why I blog. I've wanted to start a journal for years. This is as close as I'll ever get. Oh, I must admit that I enjoy talking about, reading about and thinking about quilting but, life seeps in a post every now and then. I keep a file with a copy of all of my blog entries. Eventually, most of them need to be tossed but perhaps one or two will strike a chord with my girls and they will want to keep "my words." It's why I blog about my family or the holidays. It's nice that there are other people interested in "my words" now. As a matter of fact, I find it fastinating that "strangers" want to read what I write....maybe they just look at the pictures! However, mostly I do it for tomorrow. Well.....I do do it for today too but ultimately for tomorrow. (I think it's funny that my "in person friends" will read my posts and comment to me about them!!! It's very flattering. When my one friend leaves for the entire summer, she keeps up with me through my blog!)

It's the same reason why I seem obsessed with making things for the girls. Yes, my personality is one that becomes obsessed with something and then once that obsession is over, never revisits it again! My latest obsession is making things for my girls homes. Maybe it's because "How many Halloween, Valentine or Thanksgiving table runners can I own?" Maybe it's because there are so many items out there that I want to make and I only have so much space. Mostly I think it is because I want them to be surrounded by the love that went into creating those things. I hope that they will have so many hand made things from me over many, many years that they beg me to stop! But in the meantime, I'll keep blogging and sewing and hopefully piling memories on top of memories.

Finished in ADVANCE!

Well, almost! I just need to tack down two sides of the label. This is for Mrs. S and Mr. FancyPants 2nd anniversary. I never ever finish things in advance so this is uncharted territory.


This is the back showing the quilting. I paid no never mind to using the thread cutter. It also doesn't bother me that there are a few areas of built up thread. You should be able to click on it for a better view. A closeup of the back.
A closeup of the quilting from the front.

presents

I decided that I am going to give my girls a present a month next year. I am having an absolute blast working on this project. I don't know why but I am totally obsessed with it. Some months are obvious to fill, others need more creativity!
This is what I have so far.....(if only one item is shown, I've finished one for each girl...)


February

Unknown Month

unknown months here and here

These pillows for June or July ( I may keep one of each)

These are for either January or December. You can see the closeups on the quilting here

I do believe that is all that I have finished so far. I'm obsessed!!!!

Pictures of the gang

Here is the gang last week at break-fast (Jews fast the entire day of Yom Kippur. The meal you eat when breaking the fast is called break-fast...breakfast, break-fast.....hmmmmm)

Left to right....

Mrs. S and Mr. FancyPants (green shirt)

C₂ & Ms. A(coffee cup in hand)(Ya see, Mr. FancyPants and

C₂ have the same name)

and in the front our "rent-a-kid!"(Mr. r-a-k) He is a friend of Ms. A's and spends alot of holidays with us. Mmmmm... Mr.r-a-k is eating my world famous, okay at least in my house, kugel!

These are two dear friends, Mr. & Mrs. E. We have adopted one another.



Not shown are Mr and Mrs Newcomer and their adorable children. We invited these people into our home, sight unseen, to break the fast with us. They are new to the area and I thought they might need a friend. Let me tell you, it was not a great experience. To put it mildly, I received a nasty e-mail the next day filled with twisted lies and accusations (not to mention typos, grammatical and spelling errors! If you want to insult my hospitality at least have the courtesy of using spellcheck!). I was even told that we called them names! Derogatory, ugly names. Next, I was told that we were degrading another religion and in turn of members of their family! Heck, members of that religion were sitting right in front of them! My in -laws are that religion! Why would we degrade it!? Why would we insult our guests!? To say I fired off a passionate response would be an understatement. My family told me that I am not allowed to invite anyone else to our house ( I have a reputation of finding kooks!). They said from now on I must bring any invitations before committee!

a bitty thing I made

Love this fabric from Moda. I think it's called Jolly Jingle. I gave away all of the obviously Christmas prints and ended up with these. I just love these little coasters. I have SOOOO MANY 5" squares everyone I know and all of their relatives may end up with a set!

My Winnings!

The contents of this package were a total surprise! I knew I won the giveaway and I knew I was going to receive some homespuns. But wowee! This package was stuffed!.

All of these.................

PLUS all of these...........................

Plus this adorable needle card......................... PLUS this great pattern!

Thank you Paula!!!!

HOUSTON!!!!!

Whooo! Hoooo! My dear friend and backdooor neighbor booked a room, I'm driving, have the day off work and We are definately GOING!!!! (how lucky was I to move into a house where my backdoor neighbor is not only kooky but a quilting enabler!!! It is conveinint when I run out of just the right fabric, thread, pattern. I call her and she throws it over the fence!!!) Although I live very close to Houston, I haven't been to Quilt Festival in at least 5 years. We are going on the cheap....a room on points, sharing a room and packing our lunch. Fine by me as I want to look at quilts! I'm very excited.....for more than one reason. First,I don't need anything. I really don't mind if I see the shopping or not. Last time, I had a list of things I wanted/needed and spent alot of money. This time I want to see quilts. My hope is that they are not all artsy quilts. I so love traditional quilts and although appreciate art quilts, embellishments, ect, I much prefer the traditional ones. I'm going with dear friends and the only downfall is that there are 3 of us, two beds, and I snore!!! Oh well, that will be their problem as once I am asleep I don't notice that I snore one little bit!!!!!! Anyone else going? Let me know and we can say Hi in person.

"G'mar Chatima Tova"

read the bottom to see what my title means
My non-Jewish friends always ask me many questions concerning Judaism. Wednesday night begins the holiday of Yom Kippur. I thought that some blog readers may have questions so have posted this from the website Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life.

Yom Kippur is a holiday that raises many questions. Numerous rituals, prayers, and themes are unique to this holiest day of the Jewish year. This fact sheet will provide an introduction to the practices of Yom Kippur. (don't forget that these are the facts. People observe to different levels.)

Yom Kippur is one of the most widely observed holidays on the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur marks the highest synagogue attendance rate of any other day in the year.

To afflict ourselves for our sins, the Talmud requires that we practice "self denial." Thus, we abstain from eating, drinking, bathing, sexual relations, using bath oils and lotions, etc., and wearing leather shoes.

It is traditional to wear white on Yom Kippur as a sign of purity.

Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei, is the day that Moses came down from Sinai with the second set of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, to replace the original set that he broke upon witnessing the children of Israel worshipping the Golden Calf.

On Yom Kippur, it's traditional not to wear gold or other jewelry so as not to remind God of the sin of the Golden Calf.

Yom Kippur is the only day where a tallit, the four cornered prayer shawl with fringes that symbolize the 613 commandments, is worn in the evening.

Kol Nidrei (meaning "our vows"), the service on the eve of Yom Kippur, is a communal supplication asking God to view all vows made under duress as null and void.

In Biblical and Rabbinic times, Temple rituals and sacrifices were the focus of the holiday. Among the highlights of the day was the scapegoat ceremony during which lots would be placed on two goats. One goat would be offered as a sacrifice in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies; and the second would be thrown into the wilderness. Once the Temples were destroyed, prayer and return, i.e. repentance, are the focus while the Temple ritual is recounted as part of the Yom Kippur liturgy.

Today, in addition to the traditional three prayer services (morning, afternoon, and evening), Yom Kippur includes a special Musaf (additional) service, Yizkor (memorial service), the Avodah service (a symbolic reenactment of the ancient priestly ritual for Yom Kippur), Viddui (the communal confession of sin), and Neiliah (the concluding service).

During the afternoon service, we read the story of Jonah and the whale.

During the Viddui, the communal confession of sin, it is customary to beat one's chest.

The Neiliah service marks the end of Yom Kippur and concludes with the blowing of the shofar, a sign of redemption.

It is said, "On Rosh Hashana, it is written. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed." Thus, the traditional Yom Kippur salutation is "G'mar Tov" (finish well) or "G'mar Chatima Tova" (may you be sealed in the book of life).

I won!

Me! I can't believe it! Last week I won $50 at work and this week Paula's giveaway!( Can you believe she has made 400 posts!) I'm so excited that I won homespuns. They are my secret passion. I keep trying to give them up but just can't!!! She may have just tipped the scales here for me to host a giveaway of my own.......hmmmm........hmmmm......

Wacky

I make alot of things. Many times there are things hanging on my design wall for weeks and weeks. I show nearly everything I make to DH and usually I get the customary, "Oh, that's nice." or "Hmmm, grunt, mumble" which tells me he saw it and is acknowledging the fact that I said something. It's not disrespectful, he just doesn't really care about the baby quilt I made for such and so or the pillow cases that match a quilt. Not his thing. Imagine my surprise when he came into my sewing room and of all the things I've made, all the projects that have been hanging over the years, he chooses to comment on these two string blocks. I didn't want to go to work one morning so I made these to reward myself for getting it together and going. That night, DH came in my room, saw these and said, in a very clear voice, "Oh, I like these!" They look wacky!" No mumble, no grunt. Clear and concise...well understood. I just stared at him in disbelief as he left the room. Of all the things I've created over the past 26 years ....and these he likes AND chooses to comment on! They aren't even anything. Just two rectangle blocks hanging on the design wall. No work, no effort. Just two blocks. Big Sigh! Too funny!

Another Finish

It may not be a quilt but I've finished two of these in the past few weeks. I will tie together all of these little random projects I've been finishing. Let's just say I am on a mission.

I've been working

I have been working ALOT on using things. We all own so many patterns and have so many ideas. We have magazines and books. In my case I own three of these panels. I bought them the first time I went to Houston Quilt Festival...uhm....at least 5 years ago. I began to hand quilt one of them...my one and only attempt at hand quilting. That's been sitting half done for the past 3 years. Well, I finally got off my duff and finished this one on my home sewing machine. THe full shot was very blurry so I'll have to retake it. In the meantime, you can check out the quilting. I've also finished the hand quilted one....on the machine. I agonizzed over whether or not to do hand and machine quilting together and decided that done is done and perfect is not part of my name.

Speaking of Houston.....anyone going??????????? They may be recovering but the show is still on.

The decision

Sort Of! You know me and the whole "don't show an entire project before it's finished but here is the middle to the table runner. I'm so tickled with the quilting on this.





Oh, It is not perfect. It wobbles a bit this way or that and my loops are not perfect but man! I knew I'd be able to work with this system. I've had this book by Pam Clarke called Quilting Inside the Lines. I have wanted a to try this system for some time now. It really does work. First I practiced on paper, then fabric and then my table runner. I don't have the stencil but may end up sending for it because it works! I'm not sure if you can tell, but I am thrilled. I'll show the whole thing once I bind it. Hey, and the best part is, Mrs. S's anniversary isn't until the end of the month!!!!

I do have two questions though....

How do I get better pictures of the quilting? Obviously my lighting is off.....Do I backlight? Make it brighter? Darker?

Should I fill in the background around the design? I filled all of the individual squares but didn't want to ruin anything so didn't do the cream background fabric. I'm leaning toward leaving it alone. I have big problems with scale when quilting that I don't want to mess it up.