Design Wall

I've really been working on ...well, everything! I have this locker hooking rug that is over a year old. I began this rug as a demo for our quilting group. I originally started the pattern with one thing in mind, and then decided that I didn't like it. I changed my idea to just blocks of color. I don't particularly care for the finished product but it will be just fine in my classroom at school. I can't wait to see if it's durable.

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I made it totally out of T-shirts, It is a great recycle project! The bits of color among each block are the logos, pictures and wording on the T-shirts.




I am allllmost done. The problem is that I am unable to work on it for more then a few minutes at a time.



I have some serious shoulder issues that really, really flare when I work on this rug. I am determined to finish it so I do it in small bits. I find it very upsetting that I cannot locker hook any longer. Luckily I have this and this and this to enjoy. Unfortunately, I also have tons of supplies to do more rugs!!

It's so much fun to pop over to Judy's blog and see what all the bloggers are working on this week!!

What to do

A 6 hour workshop [for school] with an hour and half lunch! Absurd! What's any self repecting quilter to do with all that time? Mark fabric! Keeps me calm enough to try to forget the 1 1/2 hr lunch!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Back in position!

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Have project will travel!

Always have a project ready to go! I'm working my star struck quilt from the Bonnie Hunter workshop. I need to draw lines on a bazillion squares. Its great work to do while during in a hospital room!

I am loving working on this super easy quilt. It goes together so quickly! I have decided to make it queen or king sized. I haven't finished cutting my strip sets so the size will depend on that. I've already assembled 200 quarter blocks and 6 full blocks. For me, working this quickly is a big deal.

I don't think I'll be sewing before Dan comes home. To frivolous to sure and sew right now. Besides don't want to. I sleep just fine, for days and days on end, when he travels but can't sleep when he is literally only one mile away! Same with sewing. Soooo.... I'll suit and mark my bazillion squares and be ready to go as soon as he comes home!

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Update!

It seems the surgeon didn't look at the CAT scan......till today! (only the ER doc looked) It may not be a micro tear after all! He is started on liquids which is fab! If it isn't diverticulitis and is what they now think, recovery will be a matter of , well, recovering! He'll have to have additional testing but allowing him to put something in his system is a BIG clue that the surgeon is probably right. Sure hope they have all their ducks in a row now!!! He is happily drinking his first cup of water since Weds!

Sigh....

Never a great thing to be able to take a photo like this. DH woke me up Weds night at2am writhing in pain. Many hours later he was admitted to the hospital with a diverticulitis micro tear. In other words a hole where there ought not be a hole. He has been and will remain in the hospital. He is healing but the treatment for this is resting the colon and antibiotics. Only way to do that is through IV meds and nutrition. Hopefully by Mon he will be able to go home. In the meantime I'll quietly do handwork in this chair while he sleeps through the hard hitting pain meds.

Thank goodness for modern medicine.

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So much fun!

Temp measured from my car on Friday

Thursday and Friday of last week I went to see Bonnie Hunter in Houston at the Kingwood Guild. It was absolutely what I needed! I've read everything on her site, followed her for years, cut my fabric into strips....but somehow, never "got" it. Listening to her made a light bulb go off in my head. It was as if she was saying to me "Marla! JUST do it! Just go out and do what you want! Just use your stuff! Stop being paralysed! FORGET the quilt police!" It was as if a huge weight was lifted off of me. My GF took a picture of Bonnie and me but I need her to send it to me.

Let me tell you what a trooper she was. The church we were meeting in had no A/C. She carried on as if it was nothing. We were dying of heat and not even moving around and talking.

It was utterly miserable!

I need to take a picture of my star struck blocks ( the workshop project). Right now I am busy sewing, sewing and limiting my computer time.

Test

Design Wall

Look familiar? This is the quilt for an hour quilt that Judy


hosted in 2008. I am going to finish this because I just love it!! I plan on having it done for my June UFO project!





I am giving Ms. CCCAtlover free reign to quilt this. I will be the helper but once the borders are on and it's being quilted, it'll be her baby. BUT, just to clarify, mine to keep!! LOL!





Check out all of the other fabulous works in progress at Judy's blog.

Stash report/Catching up

******YEAH!!!! I'M BACK ON!!! COULDN'T LOG IN! ACTUALLY FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS AND CLEARED COOKIES AND VIOLA!! HERE I AM AGAIN!! WHOOHOO!!!!

So funny, I haven't blogged in two months, the urge hits me, blogger is down and it drove me nuts! I guess I'm really NOT ready to quit blogging!!!

Lots to catch up on…
In the department of stash busting….

INCOMING- I bought 5 yards of oriental prints to make an anniversary quilt for my daughter Serena and her husband Chris. I had NOTHING in my stash that would even remotely qualify for oriental. Since it’s their quilt, I figured I’d use fabric they would like!

*****EDIT SINCE THIS MORNING******Went to a friends "getting rid of my fabric" sale. Bought 5 lbs at $3/lb.....equals 20 yards!! I'll take pics of it later and show.....I'll take the "hit" as I got a bunch of wool felt, a few nearly finished projects, and all blenders,neutrals, and tone on tones, mostly pieces but a few bits same as or bigger than fat quarters...things I need!


OUTGOING-I finally finished my April UFO! I used 10 yards of fabric on this! Aviva has a whole room devoted to the Simpsons and I knew she would love this.



Individual blocks.





Doesn't this fabric just scream the Simpsons!



Plus I finished this little cutie! It’s a doorstopper. It didn’t use much fabric but something is something. I used a pattern from Thimbleberries but the door stopper was my idea. It didn’t quite work as planned and it ended up like a big pillow but I still love it!



Used this period: 11
Used year to Date: 59
Added this Week: 25
Added Year to Date: 101.5
Ahead or behind 2011: 42.5 purchased...therefore behind

Catching up

Hope anyone out there reading my blog is in the mood to read as I plan on updating over the next few weeks. Gotta catch up with pictures from Aviva's wedding, my UFO finishes and stash reports! See ya soon with updates!

Paper piecing fun

A few weeks ago I made this adorable paper pieced pin cushion. I needed a good excuse to break out the heat set tool and jewels and this was as good a reason as any! I forgot how much fun paper piecing can be.



I gave it to a friend so she too can be a princess!

State of my backside

It is a never ending cycle. Yes the weight is coming off BUT I have been sooooo busy that I haven't had time for the gym. The weight loss is great but the muscle loss is awful! Toned is so much more important than a number on a scale and shows just as equally. No, I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled the pounds are coming off again, just annoyed with myself for not making the time necessary to work out.

The truth of the matter is I only have less than 30 pounds to lose to BE AT GOAL! Maybe by fall...........

Wedding prep 1

A few weeks ago we had a massive wedding prep day. Noone (read bride and groom to be) was safe from the weekend of crafting.

Chris and Aviva used large amounts of glue and made even larger mounds of hot glue strings in the process!



Aviva is making a lollipop topiary with white fabric. Up close it kinda looks like white and red roses. Not so much in this shot.



Chris was the winner this particular weekend. He created the most amazing Tootsie Roll topiary. Give a guy a job with very specific instructions and plan to receive amazing results.


He was meticulous in his application. However, boys will be boys and after a few hours of crafting fun he couldn't take it any longer and resumed his Mortal Combat game!



The picture of the finished product does not do it justice. You'll just need to hang around long enough to see actual pics from the wedding. Those tootsie rolls are packed tight! It is absolutely adorable. There are about 5 lbs of candy on this thing. He said if you get close it smells like a tootsie roll flower!

A few weeks earlier, I made this starlight candy topiary. It is holding 7 lbs of candy. I made a mistake and used permanent glue! LOL!!! The only way these puppies are coming off is if you unwrap them!

Here Chris is cutting papers to cover water bottles and Aviva is assembling candy bags.



See my sewing machine? I wasn't just the photographer, I was busy finishing the last bits of the kippot.

Just a cool shot. My phone has a panorama setting and I wanted to see how it worked. All that mess you see around is crafting stuff! It was a very busy and very productive weekend!

Minkee Monday

The view from my chair.......














Nuff said.

Presents for the bride

My design wall looks very empty...that's because everything I'm working on right now is 3 dimensional! I managed to finish everything on my list for last week...unfortunately we are now in a new week and the craziness re-starts!

I went very simple for Ms. Aviva's shower gift. First, I made her this bag. The entire wedding is candy themed. I made candy fabric kippot and used the same fabrics to make this bag.









This is the bag pattern.





I also made her pillowcases from this adorable fabric.

The best thing I included in her gift bag was a pair of booties!!! (they were $1 at joanns and I couldn't resist the joke) She wanted to kill me! I couldn't stop laughing!!! "MOM!!!!!!" (yes, I unashamedly would like grandchildren but no there are none on the way!)

Stash Report

I haven’t shared a stash report in 3 weeks. I just haven’t found the time to sit and file the report.
The “INS”
I did buy a little bit of fabric. I am making some covered bowls for Aviva’s wedding and needed the perfect cheery fabric for that. I also found this really cute “bones” fabric at Joanns. I mean who knows when you will need fabric with bones on it so you have to buy it when it’s 60% off right! Plus there was this green….it reminded me of my favorite “dimples” line from I believe Andover. All in all 5 yds. Not too bad.

The “OUTS”
The chuppah, a tote bag, and 4 pillowcases. Not too bad considering everything else I have going on….

BTW>>>>Pictures will follow in additional blog posts of the tote bag (SO CUTE) and the pillowcases (THE MOST AMAZING FABRIC FOR A BRIDE).

Used this period: 10
Used year to Date: 48
Added this Week: 5
Added Year to Date: 76.5
Ahead or behind 2011: 28.5 purchased...therefore behind

Judy is the keeper of the statistics! Hop over there and see how other quilters are busting their stash!

State of my backside

Is improving! I nearly have off the 5 7...9 lbs I gained!

I am interviewing a new trainer...read working out with him for a while. He is the owner of a Crossfit gym and I learned one thing....I haven't wasted my money thus far and I am waaaay more in shape then I thought. I think I surprised the guy!

THe downside is that I feel awful that I am not using the trainer I've been using. I feel like I'm having an affair on him!!! I go to the gym and have a hard time looking him in the eye! I think it's safe to say I'll never really do anything bad or I'd explode in a burst of guilt!!!! I may or may not go back to him but I'm giving the Crossfit guy a month first.

Ahead of the game

Well, I.DID.IT! I finished Aviva's chupppah!

(that funky line is just a reflection)

That also means that I finished a UFO for February!! It doesn't exactly seem fair but it was started last year.
That also means that the night before the wedding I won't be furiously applying the binding!!! WHOOHOO ME!

I entered the chuppah in the quilt show. No earth shattering reviews. But on the other hand, nothing said was unexpected. The judge "appreciated the custom quilting." All in all the negatives weren't too negative and the positives were just enough to make me feel ok, so I am declaring it a good review!

Here is a lousy shot of the feathers.

I don't know why I didn't take better pictures, but, don't despair! I'm certain this isn't the last time this silly thing will be shown as the wedding is coming soon! Also the color is sooooo off in this shot!

State of my backside

I gained 5 lbs......ok, I gained 7 lbs. URGH! I need to lose weight before this stinkin' wedding not gain!

New resolve. New determination. (uhm...and no more pizza) I really only have 30 more lbs to lose. I've already lost more than that so it should be easy peasy right!???? If I could only get taller instead.....

Big sigh.......I WILL NOT GO BACK TO FAT!

Now we will go back to our regularly scheduled quilty posts!