Sunday Sew day

Sunday my quilting buddy and I got together for some sewing therapy. Personally I think she is nuts because her form of therapy involves itty,bitty pieces and hand sewing! This is a pattern she bought in Houston a few years ago. It comes from Schoolhouse Quilts.

Look ONE block finished.

Too small for me to enjoy working on that is for sure!

potholders

I was on a serger kick. I just felt like serging and quilting. I learned a few things.

1. My serger doesn't like batting

2. My serger DOESN'T like Insul-bright batting

3. My kicks don't last long. I tired before I finished! LOL! I did finish all I had started. I still have a few strip sets left to quilt but I'm in no hurry.

I used a pattern from Sewing with Nancy called Ready ,Set, Serge. I used it because of the unique method of turning. There is no hand work and no topstitching. I think next time I will modify it and only add one "hand pouch" on the back.

I used up some bits of batting, thread that the long arm doesn't like and a few random strips of fabric. All in all a good experiment a good quilting practice.

Minkee Monday

I was organizing my charity fabric. I filled this tub with strips and instantly had a friend "helping" me. The pictures tell the story!

Just a quick note

YOu all have been BUSY!!! I haven't read bloglines since.....well who knows when and I had 2300 posts! I think I'll need to hit the delete button and start fresh!!!

Working on potholders........

Thanks so much

Thanks so much for all of your kind words. It has been a difficult few weeks. I am amazed at myself. I didn't expect to mourn the way I did. My brother's death was much more difficult than my mother's. Everything seemed so tedious. My brother was sick for less than 10 months. We barely got adjusted to his illness. I seem to have a better handle on things now.I am SOO SOOO glad I went to Ohio this summer. I will post on "Auntie Camp goes on the road "even though it is months late.

I have been sewing. My daughter has requested pot holders. Oooooo tough stuff! LOL! I decided to use my scraps, make blocks and then practice quilting before I layer and actually turn it into a pot holder. I'm having a good time. I need to take photos.

I've also been Facebooking. Man is that fun! It is such an easy way to keep up with family.

The photo is just one of the sunrise over the gulf. I took it this summer when we went to watch baby turtles be released back into the wild.

It's been a while, but there is a reason

Oh how does one post such a thing? I have been in Ohio for the past two weeks. My brother lost his battle with melanoma. He was diagnosed on Thanksgiving last year. It has been a steady deterioration over the past 3 months. I was here visiting in July. I am so glad I came while he was still conscious. He leaves behind a wife and 12 year old son. The funeral is tomorrow.

I will be back to posting and quilting soon but really have nothing right now. Craig had a difficult time over the past month and the texting and phone calls were so prolific that I haven't had the presence of mind to quilt. I have missed the first two weeks of school so I have quite a bit waiting for me once I get home.

Minkee Monday

I stand up....she sits down. I can be gone for one minute or an hour and she is in my chair!
Her new favorite hangout. ....an old computer shelf waiting to go to goodwill....

Some of my recent projects

My new table runner and the quilting on it.

The pillowcases made for CheerGirl during Auntie Camp.

My new hair

I LOVE the color of my hair. The foils always crack me up so I posted it t00.....I asked her to make me more red.....I did give birth to not one but two redheads!

the quilting

The finished quilt from Auntie Camp. I used this quilt to practice my machine quilting. I love quilting on the longarm but I love quilting on my DSM also. Here are the various patterns I worked on. I really had fun and I worked on lots of feathers.


LOVED working on these feathers!

Auntie Camp.....Auntie Style

Auntie Camp is long over and I have finally recovered. It seems I'm not 25 anymore. Here is Cheergirl learning to quilt. Yes, she is capable of matching clothing as well as a quilt! For some reason she is wearing her pj top with her shorts!! LOL. I let her loose on my 5" squares and she assembled, arranged and sewed.

I set her machine up across from me so this was the view from my sewing machine.

Her first seam!!

The final quilt. It is finished and bound. I am delivering it to her this weekend. I am off to visit with my family. Next post...the quilting on this quilt. I had a ball just trying out different quilting techniques.

Aunti Camp. Wednesday & Thursday

Yesterday was filled to the brim. I am still resizing pictures on the computer! I probably won't be able to post photos today either. I will report back. It's just we are soooo busy having fun and this blogging takes up soooo much time. One picture of our morning at the beach. We were there at 6:15....A.M.! More on that later. It may take me a week or so to get this all blogged! OH YEAH.... I HAVE LOTS OF QUILTY CONTENT BUT NO TIME TO POST!!

Auntie Camp. Tuesday

Oy! I've been keeping this a big secret. I know this will be a surprise/shock but, I'm not 25 anymore. Nope. Ahemmm.....not even 30! We went to the beach and used our boogie boards (sorta like a small surfboard that you lay on to catch a wave). The water wasn't very rough but it still beats ya' around. Today....today I wish I hadn't stopped exercising 8 months ago. My biceps are sore, my legs, my shoulders....UH! The best part is that our 50 sunscreen worked just fine and we are not burned. The worst part is that we are doing it again today. Oh my aching muscles!

Here she is, the first moment on the beach.This is the jetty we walked out on. We are lookingback at how far we walked. To the right is the ship channel, to the left the bay.

We went across the ferry. It's pretty cool because between the island and the mainland is a small strip of water. For whatever reason, they cannot build a bridge. We drove all the way there just so we could ride on the ferry. We had a wait to go across the first time and CheerGirl was very hot! She is fanning herself with her hand.

I have a dear, dear friend who thinks of everything. She had a present waiting here when CG arrived. It was a waterproof, whoopdee doopdie watch. Here they are showing it off.

Auntie Camp. Monday

This week is Auntie Camp and my dear niece, CheerGirl, is visiting . I have been waiting for this week for the past 6 years! Can you imagine the thrill for an 11 year old girl to leave mom & dad, drive to the airport with one MARRIED cousin.and her other cousin and BOYFRIEND, fly to Texas, spend the night in Austin, and finally drive to Aunties house?! Can you imagine the apprehension of letting your 11 year old go with your nieces, who in your mind, are still 11 themselves? Add to this that I'm not so sure about my girls parenting abilities.....It seems that all of the Ohio relatives (read great-grandma) were certain that they were going to starve, so they were loaded down with various goodies to "hold them over during the loooonnng trip.!" They ate those. One the WAY TO THE airport, the boys insisted on visiting White Castle. Next, they fed CheerGirl Cinnabon at the airport and then pizza for dinner. Yesterday morning they ate the leftovers from Cinnabon and pizza for breakfast. Then Mrs. S called to say that they would get a late start because they were taking CheerGirl to Amy's Ice Cream. They had mini burgers and ice cream. All this and the trip was only 24 hours old. The poor child will need Pepto and a dentist before she goes home!! LOL!! After finally arriving here, we played Guitar Hero....oh yeah and ate dinner! She fairly collapsed at 10 pm.! Our agenda today? The beach of course!

We took this picture by holding the camera ourselves....not the greatest, but what we have!

(because I use this blog as a journal, I will be posting about our adventures all week!)

Minkee vs. Grrr

This has been an eventful week in the life of poor little Minkee. Grrr...loves to chase and YAP at her. She doesn't appreciate it. For the first time I hear/see a cat hiss. Of course she ran into a corner before hissing....big, brave hunter! She was relinquished to the sewing room behind a 4 ft. table barrier. Here is how our week has gone. Put Minkee in the sewing room, block entrance, let dogs out of the kitchen. Let dogs outside, unblock Minkee....she stalks/slinks into the livingroom and takes up refuge...hiding really untill the dogs come back in. Dogs in, Minkee in sewing room. Here she is on the lookout for yappers

She fell asleep defending her area!!!

It's really pitiful because Grr took her favorite spot.

We have had quite a few standoffs at the barrier....Grrr trying to find a way in, Minkee crouching down ready to pounce. I saw Minkee on her hind legs like a bunny looking over the barrier and Grrrr the same. Usually they just stand there for a while and then go lay down. I'm really looking forward to Sunday. I'll be exchanging two dogs for one niece. At least she pottys on her own!