http://www.thequiltshow.com/myblog/soren2go.xml an occasional sharing of a quilter's musings and projects, finished and not finished en-us http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14647 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14647"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/14647_img_8676_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/14/2013: Every once in a while I manage to pop in and say hi to everyone. This past Saturday was my quilt guild meeting and Alex was our guest speaker. It was an easy one for her because she lives in Livermore and is actually a member of our guild, Amador Valley Quilters. She did a slide show and talk about her journey through quilting to where she is now. It was inspiring and funny all at the same time. Of course, she mentioned TQS which reminded me that I hadn't checked in lately. First off.....the wrist report. It has been 6+ months since my fall on the granite stairs in Portugal. I began January with removal of the cast and weekly physical therapy sessions. At this point, I check in with PT once a month and at home I use a "wrist twist machine" from a company called Joint Activation Systems. I use it 3X a day for 30 minutes at a time to help convince my wrist that it can eventually maintain a palms up position. And here it is.................. It's not as bad as it looks but it sure is ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14647">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 14 May 2013 12:03:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14647 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14350 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14350"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/14350_img_8372_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/05/2013: I am three weeks cast free and in to weekly hand therapy sessions. According to the PT, I need to make rest, recovery, and hand exercises a full time job for the next few months or longer. Right now we are working on getting my fingers re-aquainted with their grip function and strength. Along the way, we're working on the wrist movement but fingers come first. Cocoa Butter is a scar's best friend. I am also using Eucerin creme (which feels like grease...ugh!) The scars from the pin removal look worse in the picture than in person. You can also tell I can type with two hands. Unfortunately fatigue sets in and I can't type for long. But this also means I can sew for awhile (until fatigue sets in). The problem is that I can't rotary cut anything so for now I'm just playing around with pre-cut 5 inch squares. I think I am going to end up with lots of UFO sections of things. Give your hands a pat on the wrist and say thank you. They really do more than you think they do. In ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14350">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 5 Jan 2013 20:14:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14350 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14223 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14223"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/14223_img_8265_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/16/2012: this will be short since i am typing with one finger of my left hand. i fell down steps in portugal. broke my wrist in two places. had surgery and two pins inserted in portugal. stayed with tour for 8 more days. now home and under the care of my own doctor. some issues with swelling but it is getting better. will write some more details later...several weeks when i begin to get function back. once again God walks with me through yet another bump in the road of lifes journey. sporting the latest in fashion accessories thanks to kaiser permanente that gave me a choice of colors. swelling has gone down some since this picture. who knew that i would be ecstatc to have wrinkly knuckles. anything that indicates healing is good. i won't be sewing for awhile.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:40:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14223 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14061 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14061"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/14061_img_79291_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/27/2012: Hello all.......I'm still around and sewing when I can. I just don't get around to reading and writing blogs much. I'm joining the Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop that will be starting soon. We will all be using Jillily's pattern that she put out last year. Last year I actually purchased the pattern and kit from her and made this for my darling DIL: Now I am going to make one for me with some different fabrics. It's probably a little hard to imagine but with these fabrics, a pillow begins: Still need to pull some green for the trees. My houses will be gray and red and my edging will be red. Wow! I may actually have something new that I've made out for this Christmas....amazing!</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:11:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/14061 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13893 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13893"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/13893_img_7578_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/07/2012: I've been away from the TQS blog for awhile but not necessarily away from home. The pictures below will explain where I've been and what I've been doing. In June I went to my guild retreat in Turlock, CA at Cal State Stanislas. There were 80 attendees and we all had a great time. Among other projects, I completed this small quilt to donate to community quilts. I also worked on making 20 small friendship star blocks. These are being used to make mug rugs for a group that I belong to. But the real time consumer of my life has been to begin a bathroom re-model for our master bathroom. Who knew how long just the design phase can take. We haven't even begun to consider getting bids yet. In the meantime, we've shopped 'til we dropped and I've become intimately familiar with internet options for planning and designing. Also.....I should give a shout-out to the nice lady at Home Depot who spent at least an hour with me........at no charge. Did you know that EQ6 can help you plan tile desig... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13893">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 7 Aug 2012 19:22:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13893 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13664 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13664"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/13664_img_7340_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/31/2012: Just a quick check in with the TQS family to share my latest finished project......Please note the word finished. I have many UNfinished projects. I bought this pattern/kit while at the show in Paducah in April. It was small enough and intriguing enough to make me want to get right to it and finish it. Thank you Laura Wasilowski for your easy do kit. And a quick update on my son Jon. His doctor has down-graded his initial diagnosis and he is now on a every three month check-up instead of every month. He is feeling well and looking good. We have every reason to be thankful and we are.</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 31 May 2012 21:48:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13664 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13314 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13314"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/13314_img_6347_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/28/2012: I just got back on Sunday from a trip down to Southern California to Disneyland. Last time I did anything Disney it was for my husband's 60th birthday at DisneyWorld. But now I'm back in CA and I needed to introduce my DGDs to the delights of my childhood memories at the one and only Disneyland. We spent 3 days and nights at the Disneyland Hotel. It cost a bundle but the delight of the grand-daughters made it all worth while. It was an incredible family trip. Just by chance really, the last day of our trip was the 3rd anniversary of Stephen's Heaven Date. We felt his presence and his love. It was good to be together with family. We're off to see Pirates of the Caribbean. The girls were incredible troopers. They even went on the Haunted Mansion ride without being scared. And I have done some sewing since the beginning of the New Year. Let's see what I can show you. A snippets project from a class that I took at Road To California (and yes I did see Alex and Ricky there) Playing wi... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13314">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:50:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13314 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13066 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13066"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/13066_img_6232_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/01/2012: The good news for our family is that Jon's first monthly check-up showed his cancer markers to be down to 12 from 14. Whoo Hoo! We are all shouting here in Alameda, CA. He also had a chest x-ray which was completely clear. He will be going in for monthly blood tests and bi-monthly CAT scans for two years. We are encouraged by this first report. I spent the break between Christmas and New Year's Day puttering around, putting the sewing machine back up, throwing away clutter and trying to put some sense of order back in my sewing/office room. This is a continual challenge. I seem to be always re-arranging things. Those baskets mainly contain scraps. The "real" fabric pieces reside on other shelves. And then there are the UFOs... Some of these precious objects not yet finished hide away in this drawer. Others live outside the drawer in order to remind me to work on them. Let's just say that like children whining, I have learned to tune them out. Above is a sampler that I made from a ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13066">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 1 Jan 2012 21:48:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/13066 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12985 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12985"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12985_img_6103_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/11/2011: Is this not cute or what????? I just finished it this evening and I'll be giving it to my darling DIL. Can't wait for Christmas. She gets it tomorrow afternoon. The pattern download can be found here Jillily Studio . I ordered the kit with the fabrics to make my choices easier but you could certainly make it in your preferred colors. BTW.....the wall hanging on the back of the chair I have had for at least 25 years. Notice how holiday colors have changed.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:55:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12985 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12900 <p align="left">11/18/2011: Wednesday, Jon and Lissa met with a doctor at Stanford whom they both really liked and trusted. She had him get another blood test for cancer markers. In the meantime, she felt that his blood markers were low enough that possibly he was one of a few people who just generally run a low level of these cancer markers. Since it has been almost 6 weeks since his surgery, she was looking to see if the markers have stayed the same or have gone up. If they have stayed exactly the same, she would recommend monthly vigilance with blood tests and occasional CAT scans for two years. Within that time, if a test shows elevated cancer markers, then chemo would be started. So..............the blood test came back exactly the same which is good news. Also, she recommended that he have a chest, abdomen, pelvic CAT scan. Actually, he is already scheduled Monday for a PET scan which will be a better indicator of any stray cancer cells floating around. And that is all I know for now. Jon and Lissa seem mor... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12900">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:52:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12900 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12891 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12891"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12891_img_5941_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/16/2011: I couldn't wait to get back to the phone cozy project this evening. I figured that I needed to take what I had learned from the first attempt while the brain cells still remembered. I added an inch to the width which took care of the fit problem. At 9:30 p.m. (California time) this is the result. I love it. Now I wish I had added a ring so I could attach it to my belt. I think there may be one more phone cozy for me to sew. Fabrics cut to new size and ready to go with iron-on fleece. I made the closure tab a little wider. New SmartPhone fits just fine. Neat, tidy, cute and ready to go in my purse. I'm giving myself a pat on the back.</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:21:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12891 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12889 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12889"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12889_img_5934_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/16/2011: In a burst of energy and filled with the excitement of getting a new SmartPhone, I decided to make a phone cozy. Confidence high, I decided to make it without a pattern....How hard could it be? I had previously (with a pattern) made a case for my Kindle. So measuring tools in hand, I was off and running. First problem......sewing the velcro on to the wrong side of the tab......rip, rip,rip.....start again. After that, intuition kicked in and I was off and running......until....I went to turn everything right side out and discovered this: I had sewn the little cap from my Alex Anderson 4-In-One tool inside. What you see above is a bit more ripping out so I could retrieve the cap and resew the lining. Then to my consternation, I found out that the phone cozy was quite cute and exactly what I wanted, but it was a tad too small. So I'll use it for a glasses case (It works perfectly for my reading glasses!) and make another phone cozy this evening with NEW measurements.</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:54:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12889 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12879 <p align="left">11/14/2011: I woke up this morning to find many, many, many responses and prayers for Jon and our family. I am uplifted and encouraged. Last night we had a lovely family dinner with Jon's family.....and yes, those beautiful DGDs are his daughters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reaching out to me. I totally believe God hears your prayers. Wrapped in lovely thoughts and hugs, Leslie</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:39:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12879 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12876 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12876"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12876_2009_0928_chez_panisse_jon_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/13/2011: So many of you traveled with me along my journey with Stephen's cancer and his passing in February 2009. Now once again the "C" word has entered into our family life. My oldest (and surviving) son Jon was diagnosed with testicular cancer about 5 weeks ago. At this point, he's been through surgery and he is now dealing with consults as he makes decisions about follow-up treatment. This is a very treatable and curable cancer. There is nothing fun about what treatment entails whether it be further surgery (of abdominal lymph nodes) or chemotherapy. Thanks to God's great love and mercy, I remain hopeful for the eventual outcome. I do not look forward to seeing another son have to deal with cancer and its treatments. Because I know that the TQS community holds the hearts of its members, I reach out to you knowing you will keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Quilting will keep me sane. I'm already planning a quick and easy quilt to make for Jon to wrap him in love during his treatment. ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12876">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:16:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12876 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12651 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12651"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12651_img_5710_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/18/2011: I seem to have not done very much quilting for myself lately. Most of my sewing time has been spent sewing for others. I've made Rice Bags for my DIL who teaches special ed, baby quilts for community quilts, pleated pouches for gifts and a placemat/table runner set for my PEO Chapter fund-raiser. So here are a few pictures. I do have a quilt-top ready to be basted together with its batting and back. It's one of my UFO's that is about 4 years old. I have actually cut out the batting and backing. I just need to kick myself into sitting down and basting. It is made of blocks from an exchange with friends. I'm pretty sure I'm going to actually hand-quilt it so I can remember friends as I work. Oh My! I have finished something for me. I forgot about this table topper that I finally finished by sewing down the binding. It began last Fall and fortunately is ready for this Fall. I actually played around and designed this myself with scraps. It adds a nice colorful touch to the table.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:13:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12651 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12430 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12430"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12430_img_5666_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/21/2011: ....I sure hope so. My newphew and his wife just had a baby girl this week. I started a baby quilt about a month ago and it is actually ready (with label!) for mailing today. I knew the baby was to be a girl but I just didn't feel inspired by girly pastels. So I dug around my stash, bought a little more fabric and produced this: It's pretty bright for a baby girl. She might like it better when she's old enough to toddle around with it. But I like it and it was made with love. Now to get back to all those other UFO's that call out to me.......and then there are the new projects that beckon............and the promise to make a quilt for various people in my life........and the list goes on........</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:29:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12430 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12374 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12374"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12374_p9150014_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/06/2011: My article for QNMs feature, 300 Words About Quilting , was accepted for publication on their web-site as part of the Aug/Sept issue. Below is the link if you would like to read it. http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/articles/300_Words_about_Quilting__Quilting_and_Grief Celebrating Stephen's life on his birthday, September 15, 2010, Alameda, California</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 6 Jul 2011 15:01:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12374 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12370 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12370"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12370_img_5629_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/05/2011: We had three almost back-to-back trips this spring......Arizona, Ireland, and the Mid-Atlantic. I'm ready to stay home. Though we were away, a little bit of sewing, etc. did get done. First I must show off the Row by Row project that I got back while in Maryland. It is absolutely wonderful. I now need to get it finished and hung over our bed. It turned out to be everything I had imagined. Then there was this project that I took along on my trip. And finally today I made this. I think I will fill it with RED candies. That's all for now. A glass of wine awaits me on the patio on this warm and beautiful California evening.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 5 Jul 2011 18:24:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12370 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12252 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12252"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12252_img_5426_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/13/2011: The following picture is an example of why you should practice, practice, practice, and also TEST your tension before attempting free-motion quilting. It's not that I don't know this. It's just that I was in a hurry to make a sample mug rug and this is what happened. I will now be picking all of this out. thank goodness it is only a small mug rug. Then I will go to bed and pick up again tomorrow. But first.....I will practice, practice, practice and establish my tension.....DUH! You would think I would know by now. I think there is a second lesson here. When you are yawning over your sewing machine, you should quit for the night.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:50:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12252 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12242 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12242"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12242_img_5405_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/10/2011: ........makes me happy. Look what I did with a drawing from my oldest DGD. I didn't use any particular technique. I just used various scraps of information about doing something like this, got out my fusibles, scraps, tracing paper, scissors and went at it. Then I traced her signature from the picture and embroidered it. I'm going to give it to my oldest son, father of my oldest DGD for Father's Day. Of course, I don't currently have a picture to interpret for the youngest DGD so I'll have to put that on my ToDoList. From this: To this: And now I will be getting back to my long-term project.......my tribute quilt for Stephen. I've finallly put it together and now I'm at the quilting stage. So here is a little peek at the only quilting I've done on it so far. This type of project is so totally out of my expertise. It started with a class and now I'm on my own. It is theraputic to work on it but I find I can't work on it continuously. So it has sat for a year waiting for it's moment.... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12242">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:42:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12242 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12085 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12085"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12085_img_4816_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/10/2011: I enjoy reading quilt/craft/sewing blogs. Every once in a while I leave a comment that allows me to enter a give-away. To my utter amazement, I won the end-of-the-month super give-away at Stash Manicure. If you haven't heard of this blog, you should check it out. So.........all the way from Canada came this lovely package of gifts: I'm in quilty heaven. But I'm going on a trip to Ireland so it will all have to wait until I get back. So many ideas.....so little time.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 10 May 2011 11:13:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12085 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12043 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12043"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12043_img_4775_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/01/2011: I did my volunteer stint with my local quilt guild, the Amador Valley Quilters. It was a lovely day in Pleasanton, CA. Lots of wonderful quilts were enjoyed by all. Here are a few:</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 1 May 2011 20:29:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/12043 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11868 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11868"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11868_img_4271_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/22/2011: I just posted a blog. Check it out to see this very cute bag that I made. Here is a sneak peek. The blog will tell you more about it. Well, I've been trying to put in a link but it's not happening. I think my settings at Blogspot must be preventing the link. So.............if you are a Blogspot blogger you can look up "A Loose Thread" to read more. **note** I just figured out that if you click on my blog link above, it will take you to my blog. Basically it has to do with leaves, lots and lots and lots of leaves.......60 leaves that need to be appliqued down and quilted around.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:27:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11868 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11804 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11804"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11804_img_4228_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/10/2011: In January at Road to California, I took a class from TQS member and teacher, Mickey Depre. We learned all about DecoBond while making a cute little wall-hanging called "Fish Nets" . I got quite a bit of it done before I got home. And then........it sat. And then it hung up for awhile. And finally I finished it. Since I had offered it to my DGD's school for the school silent auction, I all of a sudden had a deadline. Nothing like a deadline to get you motivated. The process begins with free-form "netting" to capture the fish. We had to design our own wonky fish and decide where they would go. That wasn't the hard part. The hard part was choosing fabrics from our scraps to make the fish. One, two, three, look at me! Aren't they cute? That's as far as I got during Road to California. Time to put the layers together with basting spray. Thanks to TQS member littleflower who put out a great tutorial. Look for it under Projects. The key word is PAT not SMOOTH . Worked great but that ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11804">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:48:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11804 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11798 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11798"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11798_img_4229_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/09/2011: I just found this blog entry that I wrote yesterday. Our computer all of a sudden had a glitch and I thought I had lost it. But I guess I had saved it after all. So this blog entry should really come before my last one. ------okay, now I see it was filed in the post list by its date so it is in order after all. Sorry to confuse everyone. Encouraged by TQS member, littleflower, I decided to try the spray basting method for a wall-hanging that I had made at Road to California with Mickey Depre. Let me start by saying, Yikes! That 505 spray is expensive. I bought the smaller can and I sure hope it lasts for awhile. So I dutifully went to my computer, found littleflower's tutorial under projects and I opened it up. Then I just followed her directions step by step. It was actually raise my head from the floor where the quilt was, look at the next step, do the next step, scroll down the directions, do the next step, etc., etc. First you put down an old sheet or whatever...I had some old t... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11798">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 9 Mar 2011 15:17:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11798 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11644 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11644"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11644_img_4130_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/14/2011: After battling a cold all week, on Sunday I finally felt better. The best thing I could think of to do was work on some sewing projects. Though DGDs birthday quilt is very close to finished, I just didn't feel like stuffing it through the machine for quilting. Instead I churned out the 9 postcards that I need to send out for an on-line exchange. They still need their notes on the back and addresses so I can mail them but essentially, they are finished. Quilters mantra - Finished is Good! And since I was feeling so energetic, I multi-tasked and baked valentine cookies at the same time. These chocolate sugar cookies look pretty but they are kind of dry and cakey. Won't use that recipe again. I think they'll be just fine, sandwiched with some ice cream. Hope you have all recieved hugs, love, flowers and cards. Happy Valentine's Day.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:10:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11644 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11537 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11537"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11537_img_4107_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/30/2011: The fabric postcard craze has been going for awhile. I just this afternoon gave it a try. This is in anticipation of participating in a fabric postcard exchange with an on-line group. This attempt was just to see how it goes together. They are amazingly easy to do. The design element will be my dilema. BUT wait! I just took a class with Mickey Depre at R2CA. Maybe I can make kooky fishes.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:02:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11537 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11523 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11523"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11523_img_3981_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/29/2011: Lately my life has been full of trips and birthdays with a little quilting thrown in for good measure. We finally bought a second car which has definitely made life with a retired husband easier. Turns out I got the new car and he took over the old car -- it's only two years old. But the new car, a Nissan Maxima had to be tried out so we took a two night trip down the road to Monterey. We had incredible weather and a very relaxing two days. If you catch the good weather, January is a great off-season to travel in California. You get scenes like this: And scenes like this.............the mission at San Juan Batista. Three days after we got back, I took the new car to Southern California to visit friends and attend the incredible Road To California! Here are a few of the quilts that I particularly liked. This one is called Montezuma Castle, This one is called Cordoba. It looked like a tapestry. Just incredible. And a final picture of my January life. Today we celebrated the 6th birt... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11523">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:41:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11523 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11108 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11108"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11108_img_3343_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/27/2010: We returned two weeks ago from a delightful river cruise on the Danube through Eastern Europe. It was quite an eye-opener and very informative. While we were on a walking tour in Budapest I happened on this: Cool surprise! The rest of the group was taking a WC break. I hurriedly ran in the door and took a few pictures. The lady at the entrance table saw me and I looked at her and said "Quilter" "American" "Do you speak English?" She zipped over to another woman who is an American who has been living for 20 years in Hungary. She invited me to buy a ticket and have a look around. Unfortunately, I had to catch up with my walking tour. We also already had plans for a bus tour in the afternoon. So the pictures below are all that I got. But it was so great to see quilting alive and well in another part of the world.</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 27 Nov 2010 12:00:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/11108 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10884 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10884"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10884_img_3020_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/25/2010: Last week I got a Kindle for our up-coming trip. I'm still playing with it but I think I am really going to like it. I got on-line to see what kind of tutorials were out there for making a case. This morning, I warmed up the sewing machine (when I should be gathering things for packing) and made a case for "Travelette".......that's her name. There were several different versions of cases to make on-line. This one works for me right now. Better than the $29.99 that Amazon wanted to charge me for a case and much cuter. Here is the url for the tutorial if you are interested: http://Junie-moon.blogspot.com</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:21:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10884 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10873 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10873"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10873_pa120013_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/24/2010: My darling grand-daughters get to be the recipient of Halloween costumes each year from their "auntie Cheryl" (she's really their first cousin once removed or something like that). Here is what she sent for this year. . So....................there are three very cute and stylish costumes and there are two adorable little girls. It will be interesting to see who gets to wear what. They have about three different Halloween events they participate in so they may just wear a different one to each.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:36:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10873 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10630 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10630"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10630_img_2887_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/18/2010: It's been awhile but I actually posted a picture of a small wall quilt in the quilt gallery and on my profile. If I really searched my picture files, I could probably find a few more. By looking at my profile gallery, you would think I hadn't been sewing. In case you miss it in gallery, here it is: I'm a member of a women's philanthropic group called P.E.O. I was asked to make something small for an upcoming fund-raiser raffle. The only catch was that it had to somehow incorporate Alice In Wonderland. I found theme fabric on line and went from there. I basically made it up on my own. Now we'll see if anyone wants to put their raffle tickets in for it. I might just bid on it on my own.</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:19:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10630 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10512 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10512"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10512_img_2787_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/31/2010: While cleaning out some drawers, I came across this thimble. It probably came from my MILs sewing box. It has this little slide thing on it and I have no idea what it is for. Maybe for somehow holding a needle? Or is it a thread cutter? Here are some pictures. If anyone has seen something like this and knows anything about it, please let me know. Thank you. Kind of interesting isn't it? It's always fun finding sewing stuff from "back in the day" as we now say. Anybody else out there have a thimble like this?</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:21:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10512 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10462 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10462"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10462_tqs_bom_finished2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/24/2010: I'm a little late and I only did 9 of 12 blocks but here is my finished 2008 TQS BOM. It will be going to a dear friend who lent me her heart, her home, and her car during Stephen's illness. I had it machine quilted by a member of my new quilt guild.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:19:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10462 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10378 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10378"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10378_16_begin_the_organizing_process_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/16/2010: Ricky's post on the Daily Blog inspires me to post a picture of the beginning of the re-model of my sewing/guest room/office area. We bought a cubby type shelf unit from IKEA as our inspiration piece. The plan is to have doors, drawers, baskets and open areas. All together I'll have 60 cubby spaces. Though you see stuff in the cubbies, it's not really "organized" yet. Other life comes calling, and sometimes you have to stop work for awhile. But this week I hope to get back to IKEA for some doors and drawers. I just LOVE organization! The walls are really not a bright yellow. Something with the camera settings caused that color. They are a pale yellow. The queen size bed that is in the room will eventually leave and be replaced by a trundle bed. The antique desk is going to my DIL. Cramped at the moment but I can see the possibilities. BTW.....I just LOVE my SewEzi table. It's very stable and does not vibrate when using the machine.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:10:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10378 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10089 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10089"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/10089_018_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/14/2010: I have finally been to Sisters, Oregon for the outdoor show. It was quite an experience. My two friends and I drove up from northern CA all in one day, arriving at our lovely time-share in Eagles Crest Tuesday evening. Let me tell you. Central Oregon can be pretty warm in July. During our stay we managed to visit at least 5 quilt shops, go on the Sisters Home and Garden Tour, enjoy the Quilter's Picnic in the Park and of course, see the show. Here are a few pictures of our wonderful trip.....including a stop at Crater Lake on the way home. BTW......we spent a night on the way home in Ashland, OR.....a very wise decision. Poppies were blooming everywhere as we toured the gardens of different homes in Sisters, OR. Each home we visited had quilts on display. In fact, there was no place you could go in Sisters OR that didn't have quilts on display. The classic picture of what you expect to see. We weren't disappointed. Please note that this picture was taken at 7:00 A.M. My friends ins... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10089">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:05:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10089 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10050 <p align="left">07/09/2010: Here I am visiting in OR at 10:00 p.m. at night having just gotten back from your concert in Sisters. I attended one of your concerts about 6 years ago in Lancaster, PA. I had expected I would hear your grannie stories again and I knew i would laugh. I was not disappointed. But along with the laughter you provided me with blessings as you spoke about life. My life was in a different place when last I was at one of your concerts. Since then, life took quite a turn as I have traveled through a car accident, the death of my son from cancer and a move across the country from Maryland to California. The words you spoke about rising above adversity spoke to my heart. I have seen your words in action as I travel through the journey of sadness and grief that follows the death of a loved one. Thank you for the encouragement that you shared with us tonight. And thank you, also to the TQS community who reach out across the internet to encourage and support each other. It is A NEW DAY and we ar... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10050">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 00:28:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/10050 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9990 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9990"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9990_img_2467_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/30/2010: I've updated my profile picture. This one was taken recently overlooking the Gerainger Fjord in Norway. I love looking at it and remembering our trip. Here is another classic view of Scandinavia. This is the town of Bergen Norway. The painted buildings were just wonderful. If you look carefully you can see that a couple of them kind of tilt. That is because they date back to medieval times. I've actually adjusted back to some sort of routine and I've been sewing. Here is my current project - a baby quilt for dear friends of my son. I also worked on a row by row challenge that I'm doing with my Maryland friends. Believe me, each one of the projects has been very different and definitely a challenge. This one was using Cherrywood fabrics. My row addition is the "bars" blocks. The owner is looking for "Cherrywood Amish". The picture doesn't quite do it justice. Hard to get the colors right in a photo. The green is really greener and the blues are really bluer. And while we are at it,... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9990">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:24:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9990 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9913 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9913"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9913_009_5_28_2010_tivoli_gardens_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/22/2010: Finally! Just a few pictures from our trip to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as stunning as the Norwegian Fjords. We had wonderful spring weather and flowers were blooming everywhere. The food was fresh and tasty. I had some form of salmon almost everyday. Between my DH and myself, we took over 2000 pictures! That's what happens with digital cameras and lots of memory. We're still working on organizing and sorting them in to some form of slide show that makes sense. But here.......just for my friends at TQS are just a few pics to enjoy: Tivoli Gardens - Copenhagen Denmark Hardanger area Norway. On several days we had clear blue skies, puffy clouds and reflecions like this as we traveled. Isn't this a cool waterfall? It looks like there is a bottle of Champagne in the middle of it. The fjords are full of waterfalls falling from the plateaus. Breath-takingly beautiful. We visited a factory where Dalarna Horses are made. They've become a ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9913">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:05:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9913 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9803 <p align="left">06/09/2010: Hello my quilty friends......I greet you from Oslo, Norway. Scandinavia! Beautiful beyond compare. The Fjords must be seen in person to truly understand the forces that formed them and the beauty of their granduer. Our trip is beginning to wind down. Today we travel to Sweden. Saturday, June 12th we will say farewell to this gorgeous place. I have taken a zillion pictures including one of a quilt shop in Lilliehamer. Haven't bought any fabric. The shop owner told me it was way more expensive than in the states. But she did kindly let me take pictures. My travel adventures and pictures will contine later. Leslie Sørensen (spelled the Danish correct way)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 9 Jun 2010 01:09:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9803 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9675 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9675"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9675_img_1760_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/24/2010: Don't look for any blogs or comments from me for a couple of weeks. DH and I are off this week on a trip to Scandinavia. Appropriate don't you thing since our last name is Sorenson. DH comes by it honestly. His ggrandparents hail from Denmark and Sweden. We've also discovered that Sorenson should be SorensEn.....with an "e".......that's the Danish spelling. We're going on a small group tour that will include all the highlights and "must-sees" of Scandinavia. We start in Copenhagen then on to Norway and the Fjords. Finally Sweden and then back home. I think the worst part will be the jet lag. It's a nine-hour difference between CA and Scandinavia. But I don't care. We're going on a long awaited "retirement" trip so I will push through it with my melatonin. You've all heard of Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, CA..........remember Quilting in the Garden? It happens every September. I have yet to make it to the show but I have now made it to the fabulous nursery. I've never seen anythin... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9675">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 24 May 2010 23:20:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9675 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9538 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9538"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9538_015_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/10/2010: I know from reading the blogs that everyone out there has enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day with family and friends. I'm still giggling over "Prunes" as a Mother's Day gift. My gift (as always) was being with my family. I did get presented with a darling new set of pajamas for summertime. Our family enjoyed a morning at Crab Cove in Alameda and then we went out for Mexican food, Mariachis, and Margaritas. It was a great day. Here we are. The Sorenson girls at the beach. You can tell that someone thinks "it is good to be queen".</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 10 May 2010 14:18:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9538 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9403 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9403"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9403_leslie_and_quilting_april_2010_025_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/25/2010: Got back this afternoon from a quilt retreat with Amador Valley Quilt Guild. I'm a new member and this was my first retreat with a great group of quilters. Of course, I've never been with a group of quilters I didn't love. I've made new friends, found someone to long-arm quilt a top for me, and have found opportunities to help out. One thing I love about this group is their orientation towards community quilts. Here are some pictures. While others worked on class projects that were offered, I went for the free sew, catch up with the UFOs option. I managed to get work done on 4 different projects. I feel re-inspired about all of them now. Goal number 1: Figure out a lay-out for this Mood Swing Strip Therapy Quilt. Make sure to carefully stack and mark rows! Look! I achieved Goal #1! But there wasn't enough room to measure, cut and work on the borders so they will be done at home. But the basic top is finished. Goals #2,3,4: Work on, but not necessarily finish, 3 small orphan, left-... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9403">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:46:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9403 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9317 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9317"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9317_april_cookies_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/16/2010: I am so fortunate to have a wonderful daughter-in-law. I just love her to pieces. From the get-go, she has wanted us to enjoy family times together. Now that we live close, she includes us in all kinds of activities. There is a good side and a bad side to that. I have to learn to pace myself and know when to say no. Because today, as I was baking cookies for the Pre-school garage sale, I realized that I should be beyond pre-school fund-raisers. But they are my grand-children and I do want to support their school and my DDIL did ask me several weeks ago if I would be willing to do this. It really was me who put it off to the last minute. So here is a little peak at some really delicious cookies. If you put on your reading glasses, you can even read the recipe. We'll get to the quilt project after the pics. And I'm sure you all know that quilters can multi-task quite efficiently. While the cookies were in the oven, I worked on my current project. And because I'm so behind on watching... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9317">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:00:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9317 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9268 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9268"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9268_mar_2010_easter_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/11/2010: What I Know About Paper Piecing . Obviously nothing. After working, ripping, sewing, etc., one recent afternoon on a paper pieced block to add to a row by row challenge, I will now declare that I should steer clear of all paper piecing involving triangular shapes. In reality, I should just steer clear of all paper piecing. I had finally gotten to the last of the four sections that would need to be sewn together. I had even made plans to put a border on so as to finish at exactly the right size. I managed to cut off the 1/4" allowance on my last section. Yes. That is right. I tediously made 4 sections only to cut off the 1/4" seam allowance on the last section. There was absolutely no way to save the block. But I tried anyway. I figured that maybe I could trim the other three sections down to match the short one. First note that the bottom section is smaller than the others. That is because I "trimmed" off the 1/4" seam allowance. Having noticed my mistake, I think to myself "Is this ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9268">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:55:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9268 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9177 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9177"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/9177_march_2010_017_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/01/2010: DGDs came over yesterday evening for dinner and egg coloring. Word to the Wise: Don't buy Dudley's Sparkle Egg Decorating Kit. It uses a very sticky oily dye that is supposed to make "beautiful marble swirls" that you then sprinkle glitter over. Yuck! What a mess! This is not a project for little children. It is only for the serious adult crafter who craves perfection. The first thing the girls did was dip their eggs into one color after another. There isn't much color and it sticks to the egg immediately and then carries over to the next cup, etc., etc. Pretty soon you have a mushing swirl of ugly brown/green in each cup. And of course, the little girls complain because they want PINK. Where's the PINK and PURPLE Nahn Nahn????? And then there is the sticky dye which sticks to your fingers like permanent glue and the glitter which sticks to everything including your freshly done manicure. I literally used gritty sink cleaner to get it off of the girl's hands. I still have glitter under... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9177">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 1 Apr 2010 14:53:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/9177 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8968 <p align="left">03/08/2010: I wasn't sewing because we took a family trip with our oldest son's family to beautiful South Lake Tahoe. We had perfect weather for introducing our DGDs to snow. No skiing this trip. We just played, threw snowballs, ate birthday cake (Jon's 35th!) and generally had a great family time together. If you would like to see pics and hear more, please click on the blog link below. Adventures in the Snow</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 8 Mar 2010 23:39:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8968 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8824 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8824"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/8824_13final_spacer_again_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/21/2010: I posted a new blog at: http://soren2go.blogspot.com/ It has to do with my participation in a row by row challenge with my MD mini-group. In case you don't go to the blog, here is the finish of the third go around. Mine is the row with the leaf shape. It was an interesting stretch for me.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:33:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8824 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8766 <p align="left">02/15/2010: While DH is watching the Winter Olympics, I have been watching TQS. WOW! I just watched episode 403 with Ricky demonstrating his Kaleidescope Quilt technique. What an inspiration. I actually think that it is something I could do. Definitely need a design wall which I do not have at the moment. I'm putting this down as a "to do" on my list. Lets see...........they are now on series 6 and I just watched the third of series 4. Guess I have a ways to go. I'm not sure there is enough lifetime to do all that I'd like to do.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:26:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8766 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8744 <p align="left">02/14/2010: It's been quite a month so far........and it is only February 13th. I just updated a blog that I periodically write. Here is the URL if you want to catch up. http://soren2go.blogspot.com/</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:20:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8744 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8743 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8743"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/8743_sue_garman_block_003_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/13/2010: As much as I view myself as organized, logical, and methodical........basically I am not. I definitely give way to my impulsive let's get it done now nature. Recently I attempted a certain project involving a block for a friendship quilt. It doesn't help that I have been putting this off for several weeks. The directions sat in full view begging me to read them and absorb the parameters of this particular block. Did I pay attention? No. Not me. I thought I knew better and besides that life got in the way with all kinds of trauma, events and visitors. So I sat down this afternoon to tackle this project and try and get it in the mail on time. Well.......realistically it was going to be a day late because of Monday being a holiday. I had good intentions and I was so sure that I knew what I was doing. So I measured, cut, sewed, pressed and voila! I produced a lovely star block. It was only then that I looked at the directions. OOPS! It was the wrong size! Lesson learned and hopefully inte... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8743">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:03:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8743 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8650 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8650"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/8650_makayla_bday_and_quilt_044_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/03/2010: Today is Makayla's Birthday. She is Five. Five? How can she be Five already? Wasn't I just standing in my classroom receiving the call that she had arrived not too long ago? Oh my goodness. I was a kindergarten teacher. She is going to be "one of them". Of course, I love "them". Always have. Always will. Five year olds are great. They get so excited about everything. And this Five Year Old asked her grandma to make her a quilt because she said "you know I'm going to be Five pretty soon." Off to the quilt shop we went. Who cares that it was pouring down rain on the day we went. We had to go buy FABRIC for THE QUILT! And here it is. Finished in record time. Not exactly perfectly squared upped. It will never enter a judged show. But I guarantee that (according to Makayla) it will be loved FOREVER (emphasis hers). Be sure and check out the music jewelry box that she also received. You can't see them. But her parents let her get her ears pierced and she has very tiny little diamond studs. A... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8650">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 3 Feb 2010 23:43:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8650 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8488 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8488"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/8488_road_to_ca_016_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/17/2010: Just got back last night from Road to California . Finally this afternoon I began to get up-to-date on e-mail. Hmmmmmmm there is a note from alexandrsn. Who is that???? Click. Open. Oh my gosh! It's a note from Alex Anderson. I'm thinking............wow did she send me a note from R2CA because I saw her there and took a picture with her? No. She's letting me know that I was the random winner of her 4-in-1 tool from the TQS web-site where I commented on her new hair style. I screamed. I yelled. I ran out to the living room and told my husband. Then I had to give him a detailed explanation of exactly what a 4-in-1 tool is. He nodded politely and smiled indulgently at my delight. He would not have a clue what to do with a 4-in-1 tool. But me? I definitely know what to do with a 4-in-1 tool. You see, I took a class at R2CA where several of the students had the Alex tool and they were absolutely raving about it. They loved everything about it......the size, the fact that it doesn't roll off... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8488">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:35:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8488 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8178 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8178"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/8178_sue_garman_pillow_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/22/2009: Since a dear friend was coming just before Christmas, I decided to make a pillow. Sue Garman's little applique and quote were perfect for this project. Here's my result. It was on the bed to greet her and now it resides in the livingroom.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:56:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/8178 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7921 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7921"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/7921_november2009_018thanksgiving_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/27/2009: What fun! I got to host Thanksgiving for my son and his family in our new home in Alameda. I'm here to tell you that hosting company is a great motivator for cleaning up............even if it just means shifting the unpacked boxes to the garage. Here are a few pictures from our family Thanksgiving. We had one guest beside's Jon's family. She is a delightful neighbor of theirs. It was wonderful to be able to share our home. The Cook. Yeah! We turned on the gas firelog for the first time and discovered that it works. Notice picture "leaning" on mantle. Not enough time to actually get it hung. The "children's table". Tablecloth is a piece of Fall fabric hurriedly cut into a square (no hems!) with ties sewn on to anchor it to the table legs. Fabric can be used later......what a plan! Darling grand-daughter in the background. She made all the placecards for the table. Her sister added stickers. Table set for the feast. I roasted a brined Turkey Breast that came out perfect. We pretty m... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7921">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:41:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7921 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7787 <p align="left">11/14/2009: I decided to update my profile picture again. This one is a little more realistic to what I look like these days. After my "real" self appeared on the TQS Daily Blog, I thought I'd put the "real" me out there in my photo.</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:16:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7787 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7583 <p align="left">10/28/2009: Just checked out TQS to see what's happening. What's happening is that I am in a video on the Daily Blog. I was beginning to believe that it wasn't going to get out there but there I am in all my glory, no lipstick, gray hair around the temples but a smile on my face. It was a fun day at PIQF.</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:45:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7583 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7442 <p align="left">10/19/2009: Last weekend I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, CA. I've been to Mancuso Shows in PA and VA so now I can add CA to my list. It was a really big show. I loved it all. It is always interesting to see what quilters in different regions submit to shows. There were so many vendors! Maybe it seemed like alot to me because there were vendors that were new to me. I saw Cheryl Uribe at the APQS booth. I even got recognized by the TQS Press person who was taking pictures and filming the show for the website. I might possibly show up in a bit of video on the Daily Blog. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home so no picutres. I did manage to help the economy by buying border fabric for my 2008 TQS BOM and a mini-light to attach to my sewing machine. It was a great day and a New Day for me.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:13:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7442 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7339 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7339"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/7339_sewing_area_and_tqs_progress_001_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/13/2009: Most of you know that we moved here to CA in June. We down-sized CONSIDERABLY from the amount of space we had in MD. I went from having an entire loft area of my own to "sharing" the guest room with my sewing machine and assundry other items. It's nowhere near decorated or finished. I'm working on a grand plan of shelves and cupboards to be eventually installed. But in the meantime a girl has to sew. So here are a few pictures of my small sewing reality......and yes......I have a small ironing board in the bathroom across the hall. I'm finally back to working on my TQS BOM 2008. Remember, I only did 9 blocks. I have no design wall yet so the bed has become my space for now. There will be yellow/gold cornerstones in between the sashings. One must make do and find any available space. In this case, the bathroom is the nearest to the sewing room. And there is a plug in there. It works as long as I don't need to iron anything too big. Then I will have to pull out the large ironing board ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7339">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:29:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7339 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7231 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7231"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/7231_2alameda_quilt_show_purchases_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/05/2009: I love the big national quilt shows that show up periodically in my area. But there is something about a local small show with no vendors that is also great. I just went to the Alameda Quilt Show this weekend. It's not put on by a guild. It is supported by the local quilt shop and the proceeds go to the local Humane Society. It's a chance for students to show off work they've done all year through on their own or in classes. It probably took me all of one hour to see it all. It was quiet and small and we could get up close and personal with the quilts. There were a few chances to "donate" money to the Humane Society. I dropped a whopping $2.50 at the quilty flea market that was having a 50% off sale. Here's what I came home with. I also bought two large brownies on my way out. I'm so glad that I went.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 5 Oct 2009 17:43:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7231 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7005 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7005"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/7005_septem152009_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/16/2009: Yesterday was Stephen's Birthday. Our family celebrated yesterday with a late afternoon gathering at the beach in Alameda. We laughed, cried, remembered and threw flowers in the ocean......sending out wishes and dreams. Today I changed the picture on my profile. I knew that I wanted to do this but I had told myself I would make that change after Stephen's birthday. The picture that was there before was joy and sadness wrapped up together. I know Stephen is in a better place. I couldn't keep looking at a picture of him when he was so ill. I needed a smile. I know that is what he wants me to do. So here you are. I do have to admit that since this picture was taken in March 2008, I have cut my hair and let the gray grow out among the strands of dark brown. But for awhile, I will pretend this is my hair color. BTW....not getting your hair colored every 6 weeks really saves money. oooops! Here is me with my current hair, natural color and short cut. This is yesterday's birthday celebratio... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7005">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:23:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/7005 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6951 <p align="left">09/12/2009: I have now "visited" three different venues where quilters hang out in the East Bay area of SF. First I checked out East Bay Heritage Quilters Guild. They meet way way way up high in the hills of Berkeley. Then I stopped by the local Senior Center in Alameda where a lovely group of ladies meet every Friday afternoon to sew and visit. The room they use has large tables, cutting mats, ironing boards, irons and sewing machines (old but serviceable). Today my third outing was to a meeting of the Amador Valley Quilters in Pleasanton about 30 miles west of where we live. I am all energized and ready to get back into a community of quilters. Don't get me wrong. All of you in TQS Land are part of my community of quilters. But it's great to to sit with people, too. I've joined the two guilds and will get to meetings as able. I plan to drop by the Friday afternoon group as much as possible. Are quilters wonderful?</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:45:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6951 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6762 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6762"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/6762_charmed_gift_bag_moda_bake_shop_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/28/2009: Batteries charged. Camera plugged in. Let's see if we can get this picture uploaded and posted. TaDa! Pretty darned cute if I do say so myself. Makes me want to set up an assembly line and start sewing.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:08:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6762 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6758 <p align="left">08/27/2009: I saw this cute little bag on someone's blog somewhere and I just wanted to give it a try. It's called Charmed Gift Bag. It's not at all hard to make. The pattern is on-line at the Moda Bake Shop . Be sure and scroll down to July 24th. Of course you'll be looking at all kinds of other cute ideas along the way. Here is my first attempt with some scraps. I'm thinking these would be cute gifts for my quilt group friends for the holidays.....and then there are some friends that have birthdays coming up and the up-coming get-together/reunion with the girlfriends in Tahoe.......looks like I've got alot of sewing to do. OOOPS.....My camera lost battery power just as I was getting ready to upload the picture. Now I have to go plug the battery in. In the meantime, enjoy the Moda Bake Shop site. I'll get the picture up later (probably tomorrow).</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:45:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6758 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6580 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6580"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/6580_nahn_nahn_and_her_girls_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/13/2009: Tonight I watched episode 309.....yes......that would be from series 3. Yes.......I realize that the show is already on series 5. But with life being as hectic and confusing as it has been, I haven't had time to sit down and just really enjoy and watch TQS shows. I like to savor them. They also inspire me so I wanted to be sure that I was back in sewing mode before catching up. I counted. I am 20 shows behind! But just think of all the goodies that await me as I savor each episode. My goal is to catch up before renewal time. And here I am in my new room with the two adorable grand-daughters. Makayla is wearing a very "put-together" skirt with pockets that she wanted me to make for her when I was showing her my sewing machine. They are each holding a little bag I made for them. The trick was getting them to not step on the foot petal. We're going to have to come up with some grandma guidelines for the sewing machine. They are pretty fascinated by all the buttons.</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:25:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6580 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6552 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6552"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/6552_look_wilbur_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/11/2009: Last month I took my DGDs to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, CA. It had to have been the hottest day of the summer but we survived. Their main purpose in going was to see "Wilbur" (I'm sure you all remember Charlotte's friend) and we did see him......just not sure which one is Wilbur. In order to cool off, I convinced the girls that we should duck into the Home Arts Building where it was thankfully air-conditioned. They loved the cake decorating and all the other interesting displays including place settings. And of course.............Nahn Nahn made sure we oohed and awed and adored the quilts. Why do you think we posed in front of this quilt? If you guessed because it is pink you would be correct. Wow! I may be back. I've written a blog and I've managed to get recent pictures included. Could this mean that life is getting organized? Never! A little chaos never hurt anyone.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:10:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6552 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6502 <p align="left">08/06/2009: I'm on my way back to sewing! Today I went to my LQS which is within 4 miles of my new home. If you are ever in Alameda, CA, be sure and visit Quilt Fans.......though it may be a little hard to find. Call me I'll give you directions and meet you there. The good news is that the LQS owner gave me some info about quilting in the East Bay area. Of course, she first mentioned East Bay Heiritage Quilt Guild. They are widely know throughout the US. From what I could gather, they meet in a place north of where we live and you do end up hitting prime time commuter traffic to get to their meetings. On the other hand, they meet once a month and do have well-known speakers......Have to give that some thought. The next one she mentioned is Amador Valley Quilters which meets right down the road (and a little east of us) in Pleasanton. HELLO! Isn't that right next to Livermore where Alex lives?????? I could make it to their meetings and they meet on Saturdays ....once a month in the afternoon. Unfor... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6502">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 6 Aug 2009 18:31:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6502 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6305 <p align="left">07/20/2009: Hello TQS friends - I would imagine a few of you might be wondering where life has finally put me. Well, life has placed us finally in Alameda, California within a half-block of the SF Bay. We actually made the flight out here from MD on June 27th. Our belongings arrived about 6 days later. Lately life has been all about emptying boxes and trying to get organized. My standard reply to everyone asking is "I have enough unpacked to fix a simple meal, pour two glasses of wine, watch T.V. and take a shower." Actually I have a little more than that unpacked but none of it seems to be in its' eventual home. I can see my sewing machine but I can't get a chair anywhere near it. I've "dumped" fabric into plastic drawers but have organized nothing. So.....what have I done to stay focused on quilting? I talked to a friend on the phone for an hour while registering together for the Road to California 2010 Show and classes. Right! Just what I need.....more classes to produce more UFOs. But how co... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6305">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:42:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/6305 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5543 <p align="left">05/12/2009: Hi everyone......we're here in Alameda, CA in our new house, sleeping on air mattresses. Let's just say that camping out when you are over 50 is over-rated. This Thursday we'll return to Southern CA to pick up a small truck-load of items including (hooray!) the queen size bed. In the meantime, we've been scrambling like crazy to get estimates and work done for flooring, carpeting and painting. We had a "color consultant" come in and she helped us pick a very nice palette of colors for the whole house. I'm sure it saved our marriage LOL. Now we just need to get the painter final estimate and get a date scheduled hopefully before June 12rh. That's when furniture will arrive from MD. This has been such a crazy time. Mother's Day was emotional but I'm so glad that we spent the day with my oldest son's family. The weather was glorious and we all truly loved and appreciated being together. Along with everything else, at least one of my sewing machines and the Sew-Ezi table will be here by... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5543">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 12 May 2009 23:30:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5543 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5382 <p align="left">04/26/2009: Where does the time go? Not to quilting that's for sure. We're back in Southern CA working once again on our son's belongings. Still waiting for official notice of the closing date for our house in Alameda, CA. In the meantime, I dream about doing nothing but just sitting and sewing. My beautiful Bernina 440QE is packed in MD along with it's older sister Bernina 830 -- my original machine. The Bernina 150 is packed up in So. CA. and the Featherweight is at my son's house in Alameda. My mantra is "I will sew again!" Just don't know when. I tried to catch up on as many blogs as I could. Just last year at this time, I was at Paducah at the IQS show so I really enjoyed hearing about that.....great memories of times with friends. I have goals of going to the Road to CA Show and to take a class at Asilomar in CA someday. In the meantime, does anyone know of quilt shops and/or guilds in the East Bay area of SF? .....that would be communities of Oakland, Berkley, Alameda, San Leandro, etc. I ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5382">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:26:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5382 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5176 <p align="left">04/05/2009: The flannel scraps are packed, taped and ready for their label. Roxy from SD was the first to e-mail me her address. I THINK this is the last of the scraps to go but you never know. Those scraps are pesky little things and they seem to be hiding everywhere. Thanks for helping me out and I hope that lovely snuggly quilts for charity will be made from them. Leslie</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 5 Apr 2009 16:04:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5176 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5171 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5171"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/5171_fabric_scaps_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/05/2009: I'm sure that my fabric is dancing around, getting into trouble and multiplying overnight. I've found another box worth of scraps that would work well for charity quilts.....this time flannel with a tiny bit of Minky. First person who e-mails me an address to send it to gets it. I'll pay the postage. Leslie, who is sloooowwwwlllly making progress on the sewing/loft</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 5 Apr 2009 12:36:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5171 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5164 <p align="left">04/04/2009: I just clicked on Show and Tell and Spring Flowers. Those 105 flower pictures did my soul good and made my heart sing! Leslie in MD where spring is also beginning to bloom....achoo achoo achoo!</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 4 Apr 2009 18:12:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5164 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5143 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5143"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/5143_loft_moving_progress_apr_1_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/01/2009: Lots of scrappers out there! I have my boxes already designated for mail. Thanks for your interest. Here's a pic of my progress on the sewing loft. Luckily you are not seeing a view "behind the camera. There's at least this much and more that still needs to be gone through and packed. And this is only one small room. I keep telling myself to breathe and take one small step at a time.</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 1 Apr 2009 19:19:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5143 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5137 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5137"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/5137_2009_0306_happy_34th_jon_5_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/01/2009: Hello my dear quilting friends. We are currently back in MD for a few weeks. I only plan about 4 days ahead because my life is still spinning as I deal with lots and lots of details. I had a lovely reunion evening with my small quilt group and they presented me with a friendship quilt. I, of course, burst into immediate tears. We are making plans to get moved out to CA. I'm working on my sewing area. You know what that means.......lots and lots of fabric to give away. A large portion is going to my guild's service projects. But I do have 3 large flat rate boxes full of good-size scraps. If anyone out there in TQS world would be interested in them, I'd like to know. Give me some feedback comments and I will post pictures or e-mail you separately. How anxious am I to give theses boxes away? Well............I'll pay the flat rate postage to send them to you. Sadly, my beloved Bernina 440QE is packed in it's box. I had saved the original box with the packing foam.....wasn't that a good ide... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5137">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 1 Apr 2009 09:02:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/5137 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/4743 <p align="left">03/02/2009: Our beloved youngest son and younger brother, Stephen Todd Callaway Sorenson passed on from this earth to reside in his heavenly home on Tuesday, February 24th. There is an abundance of stories that could be told about how God walked us through and is continuing to be with us. My TQS family has been part of our journey through notes, comments and e-mails. Know that our family and Stephen have known that you were praying for us and thinking of us. Thank you so very much. Leslie, Jim and Jon Sorenson</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 2 Mar 2009 11:30:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/4743 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/4141 <p align="left">01/14/2009: Good Evening Fellow TQSers.....yes. I am alive and well and am now an official resident of California once again. Just yesterday, we registered the car my DH drove out here and I got my California Driver's License. I am even registered to vote. We've rented a house in Saugus, CA and last weekend we moved Stephen out of his upstairs apartment and in to the one level house with us. DH has returned to MD for a few weeks to keep track of life back there and make arrangements to ship some things out here. Stephen has been through one round of his chemo pills last month and he'll start his second round tomorrow night. It's been tough but he's been courageous and I'm terribly proud of him. Moving in with Mom and Dad has been a life altering reality that none of us are prepared for but we're trying to make the best of it. There have been blessings along the way as Stephen and I have strengthed our relationship. I've even witnessed a bit of healing in his relationship with his dad. No one ever... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/4141">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:03:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/4141 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3537 <p align="left">11/30/2008: Stephen has decided to go with a systematic pill chemo treatment. In the end, the clinical trial did not work out for several reasons. We are grateful to John Wayne Cancer Institute for helping and encouraging us as much as they could. Today is a fund-raising concert for Stephen's medical expenses. Many of his amazing musician friends have put it together. He will join them to play guitar and sing as able. He'll also be performing his own songs that he has written. There are way more details to this journey than I can possibly share but I knew you all were here sending your thoughts and prayers. Again....I'll update as possible. Right now, the plan is for me to stay here in CA and help Stephen get to his doctor appointments. My DH will return home to MD for a few weeks to take care of our "other" life. We take each day one at a time. Life changes in the blink of an eye. God is good and He is walking this journey with us. Yes... I do have redwork with me. No.....I've hardly had a moment... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3537">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:17:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3537 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3355 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3355"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/3355_img_00511_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/15/2008: Up days. Down days. We have them both. I am living the weirdest surreal life right now. And to top it off, I'm in CA where fires are literally raging on the ridges surrounding the Santa Clarita Valley where I'm temporarily living. Can life get any more bizarre??? So...quick update and a picture. We saw the doctor at Olive View (yes....that would be the hospital that was surrounded by fire) on last Wednesday. Not happy news. Cancer is incurable and they could offer a systematic chemo taken orally that doesn't have extreme side-effects. Thursday we saw a specialist at John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, CA. So far Stephen qualifies for the clinical trial but he needs a laproscopic biopsy to make sure his liver can tolerate the drug. They use a hepatatic arterial perfusion therapy....basically chemo targeted to the liver. Next week we'll get the biopsy scheduled. If all goes well, he'll either be admitted to John Wayne or possibly come back to MD to National Cancer Institute in B... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3355">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:51:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3355 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3308 <p align="left">11/09/2008: I'm going to paste in this note an e-mail I sent out to friends and family last Thursday (11/6). It will give you an update on our journey. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. On a quilty note...I have recconected with my CA small group quilters and I will be seeing them on Monday. Leslie currently residing in Canyon Country, CA. Sometimes there is an elephant in the room who demands to be heard. You might recognize the elephant and pat it on the head and even talk to it for awhile. But then he gets in your way and you push him into the corner. Our elephant has decided to have none of that. Yesterday he came out, lifted up his trunk, and roared at us to pay attention. Funny thing is......it was kind of a relief to actually recognize his presence. Now we can actually begin to focus on the next step of this journey that God has put us on. Yesterday, Stephen was told that the preliminary results of his biopsy indicate a 98% chance that the tumors on his liver are cancerous mel... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3308">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 9 Nov 2008 21:35:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3308 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3232 <p align="left">11/01/2008: I think NQR in the post title means Not Quilt Related. Let me know if there is another way to indicate that. Here I am at Starbucks enjoying a rare moment to "take care of the caregiver". As I looked at the November BOM I remembered that just a month ago I had decided to not venture on with this lovely project past September. Who knew what a wise decision that would turn out to be in my life. Stephen and I are still in a waiting place. We see one doctor on Monday at the county hospital for a review of their tests and scans. Then on Tuesday we see a specialist in Santa Monica, CA to discuss Stephen's diagnosis and eligibility to possibly join a clinical trial sponsored through NIH/NCI. We still (unbelieveably!) do not have a biopsy. In the meantime, Stephen's pain has gotten worse but we were able to get him a prescription for pain meds that are helping him get through to Monday. He has wisely decided to quit work because it ended up adding to his stress not taking his mind off his wor... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3232">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 1 Nov 2008 13:20:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3232 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3204 <p align="left">10/29/2008: Wish I had more to report. Basically, we were sent back to step one at the Olive View/UCLA County Medical Center. After fighting for an urgent appointment, they decided they had to do their own CAT scan and blood work. So on Tuesday, we went back for that. Now we have another follow-up on Monday (if we don't hear before) to review the new CAT scan and blood work to once again be scheculed for a biopsy. Mom thinks everything is urgent, County Hospital thinks as long as he is walking, talking, keeping food down (most of the time) and not rapidly losing weight, then there is time for this bureaucracy to gring their wheels. How I wish there was a private insurance option but there isn't. In the meantime, I'm gearing up for the diagnosis and gathering incredible amounts of information about clinical trials, etc. I'm looking at this time as God's gift so that I can analyze and make good decisions when decision making happens. I still appreciate and am eternally grateful for all your love, c... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3204">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:39:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3204 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3146 <p align="left">10/23/2008: I'm very busy and immersed in the health care system at the moment but I do check my e-mail and I've read all the comments and prayers that you have lovingly sent my way. Stephen has a liver biopsy scheduled for Oct. 29th. The county health system moves slowly. God's grace has assured me that being here in CA with Stephen is exactly where I need to be right now. Thanks again for thinking of me. Quilting???? Will I ever see my sewing machine again??</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:05:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3146 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3132 <p align="left">10/21/2008: Hello dear friends - Life as I knew it has changed a bit in the last week. When last I left you, my DH and I were about to go to Spain but Life is what happens when you are making other plans. HHHmmmmm....didn't that just happen in January with my car accident? Without going into a myriad of details at this point, I'll try to give you a brief summary. I am currently in CA with my youngest son. He is going through some serious medical issues....serious enough to cause us to cancel our trip. We have a long medical journey ahead of us. I am a person of faith and I have evoked all the prayer and support I possibly can. I'd like to know that anyone in the TQS family who can will support us with prayers and thoughts. Though I have access to a computer, I'm not always going to able to check in with TQS so you may not see my name too often for awhile. I'll try to check in as able. Gorgeous quilt projects can always lift one's spirits. Just wanted to give you an update. Thank you in advance f... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3132">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:22:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3132 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3013 <p align="left">10/11/2008: Is it just me or does everyone L O V E Fall? It truly is my favorite season. I just don't understand the people who love summer. But I think that is because summers in CA were HOT and summers in Maryland are HOT and HUMID ! Heat just zaps my energies. Give me the cool days and warm colors of autumn. I have to say that Spring runs a close second to being my favorite. Yesterday I went out to "stimulate" the economy. I started out at the mall looking for a Sephora store that was now gone. Guess that tells you how much I get to the mall. So I wandered around the mall anyway just for the exercise and didn't buy a thing. Next stop....G-Street Fabrics in Rockville, MD. With coupon in hand and a sale going on, I stocked up on batting, stabilizer, fusible backing and a new foot (#34 - clear foot similiar to #1)) for my Bernina. Got to the checkout only to discover I was $4.00 short of getting the $10.00 discount. What to do? Go over to the Bernina area and add a couple of packages of sewing ma... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3013">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:09:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/3013 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2957 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2957"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2957_bom_008_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/05/2008: Fall is settling in around here. We're experiencing lovely cool evenings. Haven't seen much color change in the leaves but it is coming. Just thought I'd hop in and get my September BOM posted in my profile. After much deliberation, I've decided to stop at nine blocks. I've learned alot but mostly I've learned that I'm not really an appliquer. Now I absolutely LOVE looking at fabulous applique that other people do and I will always appreciate the hard work and love that goes into making those heirloom quilts. But for me at this point....nine is enough. I may print out the rest of the patterns but my final quilt will only have nine. Oh right! I'm supposed to actually sew these blocks together and quilt it! So....what did I learn from September's BOM Curlycue vase handles are hard to stitch around on the machine. If you don't write down the stitch formula that you use to machine applique, you will forget what it is and have to do alot of practice to remember. I have come to really a... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2957">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 5 Oct 2008 17:40:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2957 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2878 <p align="left">09/28/2008: Like many of you, I also have another blog that I post to. But be assured, the TQS Blog gets more of my attention. I just finished updating the other one and I'm going to just link to it here. It took awhile to upload the pictures, etc. and I just don't have time to re-do it here. So if you would like to catch up on my September doings, check this out: http://www.soren2go.blogspot.com I plan to still blog here but not tonight.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:11:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2878 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2821 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2821"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2821_pesto_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/22/2008: A quilting friend made me an offer I couldn't refuse.....fresh basil. All I had to do was meet her for lunch and then go to her house to get it right off the plant. The scent of the basil wafted throughout the car as I was driving home. I had to immediately make pesto and fortunately I had everything I needed.....basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic. I threw it all in the Cusinart and I was halfway to dinner. At dinnertime, I cooked "curly pasta", chopped up a fresh tomato (also from my quilty friend), added a grated 4 cheese mixture and here it is: It was sooooo yummy. I just had to blog about it. Next time........quilts and projects.....yes I have been sewing.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:57:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2821 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2690 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2690"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2690_008_tqs_bom_2008august_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/09/2008: The finishing detail embroidery is done and my August BOM joins my others on the design wall. Actually my design wall isn't that big. Here are my observations: What looks like not so many french knots can actually be alot of french knots. French knots take much longer to sew than I thought they would. HHMMMM....would beading have gone faster? Zig Zag works nicely for baby breath stems. Varigated brown thread makes a nice stem Gentle curves are so much easier to sew around. So here you have it......August. Now I need to print out September and get started.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 9 Sep 2008 13:36:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2690 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2686 <p align="left">09/09/2008: My DS is coming for a very brief overnight at our house this evening. Business trip that brought him east. What's a mother to do but make cookies for him. First problem - no flour. A trip to the grocery store (with other errands along the way) solved that problem. I had very wisely left the margarine out to soften. Patting myself on the back, I began the process while watching The View . First batch in. First batch out. HMMMM they are a little soft and not coming off the cookie sheet very well. Oh well, they will harden as the cool. Second batch in. Second batch out. Still soft and squishy and trying to pull apart as I put them on the rack to cool. Oh well, they too will harden (I hope). Third batch and last batch in and still baking, I decide to glance at the package recipe I had used. OH MY! I read flour as 1 1/4 cups and it was supposed to be 2 1/4 cups . OOOPs! Too late. Third batch will be done in three minutes. They are baked so they are edible. We'll eat them anyway. HMMMM I tho... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2686">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 9 Sep 2008 11:36:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2686 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2610 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2610"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2610_dgd_august2008_030_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/01/2008: I figure that as long as there is an interest, you'd better take advantage of it. While in CA, my three-year old DGD found her mother's sewing box and immediately wanted to see inside it and "sew". Being the cautious grandmother, I gently steered her towards "sewing" Barbie clothes with fabric and tape. She's already pretty good with scissors. But I couldn't leave well enough alone, so the next day I bought her a child-size needlepoint kit that had a good size plastic needle and yarn. Who cares if she is following the pattern? In her mind she is sewing as she pushes the needle in and out around and about. We (her mom and me) emphasized that sewing is to be done with a grown-up's permission and that she should keep her sewing kit up and away from little sister. Looks like maybe I've planted "the sewing seed". BTW....she's brown as a berry due to having just come back from a vacation trip to Mexico.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 1 Sep 2008 17:01:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2610 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2580 <p align="left">08/29/2008: We just got back from CA after a very bumpy ride that had me digging my fingernails into my DHs arm. This morning I was delighted to see that I had lost 3 pounds. Was it the fright of the air turbulence or the chasing of DGDs or just not finding time to eat while in CA? Who knows? Who cares? Wouldn't it be nice if the pounds don't come back. Saw everyone's Friday report so I decided to chime in though I'm not really joining the fitness group at this point.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:41:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2580 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2454 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2454"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2454_scrap_quilt_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/18/2008: Well tomorrow we are off again to CA. Seems like we spend alot of time out there. It will be so nice when we actually live there and don't have to go through the airplane hassle every few months. This visit will be relatively short...just 10 days. We'll be house-sitting while my DS and DIL and DGDs are in Mexico and then we'll stay a few extra days to enjoy the hugs and kisses. Today has been full of errands and packing but before that I was trying to work on a few projects. One thing I finished was a scrap quilt that I'm going to give my FIL in November. He'll be turning 90 years old. I just need to add the label. Thanks to the Olympics, I've been able to finish a redwork piece. I just kept working a little each evening and before you knew it, I was done....and the Olympics aren't even over yet. And finally I have been working (but have not finished) my August TQS BOM. It will reside on my design wall waiting until we get back from CA. It needs to be stitched down and the embroide... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2454">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:28:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2454 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2309 <p align="left">08/06/2008: You are going to laugh when you read my "recipe" since I never really use a recipe for this. I'm going to try and remember what I did and the amounts. You can always go to a general cookbook and find a recipe and substitute in whatever fruit you want. This is what I did: Peeled and sliced up about 8 medium size peaches and dumped them in a large bowl. Added to that 1 large container (a rectangular plastic box) of washed blueberries. Over that I sprinkled 1/2 cup sugar (you could add more sugar if you like it sweeter) that was mixed with 3 tablespoons of tapioca. I mixed that up and let it sit while I made the crumble top. For that I put 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg in my food processor and gave it a whirl until the oatmeal was finer. Just occurred to me that I usually add some brown sugar to the crumble but I forgot. You might try that. Then I added 1/2 cup butter (or margarine) to the food processor bowl and pulsed everything until it was crumb... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2309">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 6 Aug 2008 15:11:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2309 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2308 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2308"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2308_blueberrypeachyum2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>08/06/2008: Yum, yum! Blueberries and Peaches were on sale last week at Safeway so I just had to buy them for my favorite dessert....Blueberry Peach Crumble. As you can see from this picture it is already half gone (and there are only two of us at home!) I bought Ricky Tims Grand Finale DVD several months ago but just yesterday got around to watching it. I love the fact that you can pause, back up and review things along the way. I was very inspired so when he said in the video to go get some paper, I did just that. While he was demonstrating and teaching, I was doodling. He is so right on! The more you doodle and practice the better you'll get. Now I need to take my practice to the machine. I have a scrap quilt that needs to be quilted and it may be just the thing for practice. It's just for us around the house so it will work just fine. But if it comes out decent enough, I might send it to my FIL who is in an assisted living home and is wheelchair bound. Here are my doodles:........well maybe ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2308">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:36:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2308 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2192 <p align="left">07/25/2008: To all of you who have watched my blog reports of trying to sell a townhouse in California. It's done, finished, completed. Sale final. Money in the bank. The road to the end was full of glitches and paperwork but as of today we no longer own a townhouse in Valencia, CA. It makes me a little sad since this is where we lived when my two boys were born. I made life-long friends among the women I met. Three of us still keep in touch on a regular basis and now we are all grandmothers. But it's time to move on so I release this part of my past. Now we can begin to seriously plan a fall trip. Our number one choice is a trip to Spain and Portugal. Monday morning, we'll be at the AAA travel agent's making plans. We can also now get more serious about buying a home in northern CA and making plans to move next spring. Life is busy.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:18:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2192 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2167 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2167"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2167_007_tqs_bom_2008_july_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/23/2008: I did it! I finished sewing down the fused elements of my July BOM. Once again I have discovered and learned things along the way. Let me share with you July's lessons: Cut out more little circles, leaves, and hearts than you think you will need. You will lose them or they will fall off and you WILL need them. Even though you think you are now tired of this project, you will find yourself feeling happy when it's finished and that will make you want to go ahead and do next month's. Did I mention I still don't like circles..... will they ever end! It's okay to leave off the teeniest tiny circles on the heart flowers. They look just fine the way they are. It would have been a good idea to have sewn miles and miles of bias binding in the three green colors ahead of time. Then all I would have to do is cut off the proper lengths. Buy enough fabric (or more than enough). I'm running out of one of my greens. Will have to try and get more or at least one that is "close enough". So here ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2167">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:50:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2167 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2149 <p align="left">07/21/2008: No pictures today. Just a report on the progress of July's BOM. After procrastinating for 2/3 of the month, I finally began working on it this past weekend. I now have everything fused down and ready for stitching. I do the stitching in small sections because I tend to get too focused and tense if I work too long at the machine. The goal is to finish it by the end of July.....hey...I still have a week! and I think I will. Our townhouse in CA closes escrow on Wednesday. It would take pages to describe all the glitches along the ways. Suffice to say, we have supported our local Fed EX/Kinkos with lots of faxes and overnight mailings. BTW....if you ever have the need to have "precious stuff" hauled away at the last minute (because you forgot about the HEAVY outdoor table and umbrella sitting on the patio) then give a call to 1-800 GOT JUNK. Their customer representative on their national line was wonderful, understanding and easy to work with. Their local guy who picked up the table was ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2149">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:35:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2149 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2103 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2103"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/2103_tshirt_quilt2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/18/2008: What is MAQ you might ask? MAQ is Mid-Appalachian Quilt Guild. It's sole purpuse is to meet once a year in Emmitsburg, MD to hold a quilt retreat/seminar. It draws students from all over the mid-Atlantic area. This year there were 312 attendees for 59 classes. It is so much fun and I look forward to it every summer. I may just have to fly back to MD to attend next year. This year I took two classes and spent one day in studio where you can work on whatever you want to. Friday was a T-shirt quilt class with Lauren Kingsland, a friend from our quilt guild who has written a great book on making "A Scrapbook You Can Sleep Under". You can get her book on Amazon.com. I wasn't too excited about it but in the end, I really liked my project. It still needs borders but I know I'll get to that because my husband really likes it and it is made from his T-shirts. During studio, I worked on some sampler squares that I have from a small group exchange. They've been sitting around for about 2 years an... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2103">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:07:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/2103 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1932 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1932"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1932_scrappystring_quilt_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>07/02/2008: I've been trying to make a small dent in my stash lately. Along the way I'm setting aside fabric for our guild's charity quilts. I came across a good size bag of fabric strips of all different sizes. From the looks of some of the fabric, this bag has been collecting odd strips since about the 1980's. They seemed just perfect to give to the charity group but before I let them go, I had fun with them. And this is what happened: It's not finished yet. I need a border. Then it will go in the pile of finished tops that need to be quilted. I have at least 3 good sized quilts in that pile. I think my reluctance is finding the space to lay out the layers and get them basted. I used to use my dining room table but currently my DH has taken it over for a genealogy project. and here is some bummer news. The Ricky Tims Super Seminar is coming to Frederick, MD (no... that's not a bummer) The bummer is that it is to be at the end of April 2009. According to our current plans, we may well be in the... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1932">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 2 Jul 2008 14:52:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1932 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1844 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1844"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1844_turtlequilt_001_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/23/2008: Wow! Look at all the new editing stuff. Aren't we going to have fun! This weekend I played around and made a small 10"X12" wall hanging. I got the pattern from a link from the internet but not sure where. It had been sitting around for a few weeks calling to me to make it. So after finally watching and catching up on a few TQS shows, I was feeling inspired to do something. What I really liked is that it was small, easy and fun to do......and I could finish it in a weekend.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:28:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1844 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1801 <p align="left">06/19/2008: It's happened. The CA townhouse has sold and is in escrow. If all goes well, it will close on July 23rd. We were stunned on Tuesday to get 3 offers! The best one (which of course we accepted) was for full asking price, 25% down and 30 day escrow. Who knew? After not having our counter-offer accepted two weeks ago on a different (and much lower) offer, we'd pretty much decided that it might not sell and we'd be putting it back on the rental market. According to our real estate agent, the inventory of "clean" houses like ours is down. Most of the inventory out there is foreclosures and short sales. Alot of people don't want that kind of hassle. So I guess it worked to our advantage. So the ball is now rolling towards our eventual move to CA. Looks like there will be quite a few discussions and dilemas about what to do with "the accumulated stuff" and the timetable for buying out there, moving and listing our MD townhouse. It's exciting/scary/overwhelming. But in the meantime, life goes o... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1801">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:07:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1801 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1761 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1761"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1761_006_tqs_bom_2008_june_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/14/2008: It's done. My June BOM is done and it isn't even officially half way through the month yet. This has been my favorite block. I don't know if I especially liked the fabrics I picked or if I just like tulips. Sure glad that this one was easier with NO circles. Things I've learned through May and June: 1. Figured out the right foot (#20 embroidery foot) to use for my machine for sewing bias binding strips. Also figured out exactly where to place the material to get the right width. 2. Sewing down skinny bias binding is tedious. 3. Picking out the stabilizer from skinny bias binding on the back is even more tedious. 4. Have I mentioned I don't like circles. 5. Looking at the first six blocks on my design wall makes me happy. 6. It's okay if you forget to make one of the leaves. You don't have to go back an fix it. Can you find where I forgot a leaf?</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:31:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1761 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1754 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1754"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1754_005_tqs_bom_2008_may_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/13/2008: I'm catching up. Here is my May block. My June block is fused and I've begun to stitch it down. I think it is safe to say that it will be finished by the end of June. I'll get May posted to my profile unless DH appears suddenly and announces it's time to go the the matinee to see the Indiana Jones movie.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:12:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1754 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1713 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1713"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1713_23820_via_jacara_valencia_ca_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/09/2008: .......but not because of any quilting or sewing project. We finally have our first offer on the townhome we are trying to sell in CA. We recently lowered the price and of course the offer is below that. We've counter-offered so now we're playing the waiting game to see if they'll accept. Selling this townhouse is our first step in moving to CA eventually. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'm working on my BOMs for May and June to take my mind off of real estate matters. I was going to show you a picture of the townhouse but seems I don't have one in my files. So here instead is the house that we lived in when we lived in Valencia, CA. It always makes me a little nostalgic since my boys were raised in this home. The boys on the other hand, though they have fond memories, seem to have no particular nostalgia for this house. Must be a girl thing. DH has moved on also.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 9 Jun 2008 16:45:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1713 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1686 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1686"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1686_the_birthday_girls_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>06/07/2008: It is so good to be back home! We came home last week to heat, rain, humidity and a dead car battery. With a charge from the parking lot guys, we limped home and now the car awaits another charge to get to the dealership for a check-up and a new battery. Thankfully, Tilly, the numero uno car was in the garage ready to go. The surprise B-day party for my sister-in-law was a great success! Since I share the same birthday, my niece surprised me by having two cakes.....one with my name on it. My SIL was blown away by all the friends, family and tributes to her. Here's a pic of "the birthday girls: Cathy is my husband's older sister. We are six years apart in age. It has been very special to share our birthday each year. We hadn't actually been together for our birthday since we moved to MD. She is a retired nurse who has had her hands full the last few years. She cares daily for a husband with diabetes, her ailing father and autistic brother. Through it all, she smiles, laughs, and kee... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1686">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 7 Jun 2008 10:55:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1686 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1637 <p align="left">05/31/2008: Hi everyone......I haven't checked in for awhile and just wanted to say hello. We're nearing the end of our trip to CA and will be heading back to MD on Tuesday. The birthday party for my SIL was beyond incredible....I'll post pictures and write more about that later. It's fun to travel but I'm ready to get back to home and my sewing machine. Hmmmmm......there is also the matter of that May BOM to do and YIKES! I believe the June BOM pattern is about to be released. Oh well.....what is life without a few UFOs hanging around.</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 31 May 2008 19:54:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1637 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1543 <p align="left">05/18/2008: Last Tuesday, we began a three week journey. Currently we are in Independence, MO. The first four days of our trip were spent at the National Genealogical Society Conference in the States in Kansas City, MO. This has been my first ever trip to any mid-west state. The only comments I had ever heard about the mid-west can be summed up in three words--flat, humid, and tornadoes. I had no idea what to expect. At this point, I am pleasantly surprised. Kansas City, MO is a delightful place and we've had wonderful weather with no humidity so far. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center so we were close to a mall and the Hallmark Visitor Center. I have no quilt related pictures to share. In fact, I haven't been close to a quilt shop yet. I have worked on a little bit of redwork. So I offer instead two pictures from downtown Kansas City. The first is of a fountain at Crown Center. We walked out of Panera's to discover music playing with these dancing waters. The second is an incredible a... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1543">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 18 May 2008 16:41:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1543 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1476 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1476"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1476_pillow_for_cathy_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/10/2008: I have finally finished the pillow for my sister-in-law's 65th birthday. It started with an idea and seemed to take forever to come together. Once upon a time, my mother-in-law took some orphan dresden plate blocks and appliqued them (with orange embroidery thread!) to white blocks. The original dresden plate blocks were made by my husband's great grandmother. Dear MIL then pieced the blocks together, curved the edges, added lime green (yes, lime green) purchased binding and used the whole thing for a springtime tablecloth. Over the years, I ate many a meal with this "quilt top" under the plates. When dear MIL passed away, I immediately claimed the tablecloth. I have since taken apart all the blocks with the intention of putting some of them back together into a quilt and to use a few to make pillows for my SIL, niece, and DIL. At this point only one pillow is done. I've learned that I hate making piping/cording. I even hate more sewing down piping cording and trying to get corners to ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1476">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 10 May 2008 17:22:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1476 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1432 <p align="left">05/04/2008: 1. I hate sewing around little circles. 2. I like doing stem stitch. 3. A black marker does nicely for filling in a very little cut-out notch that wasn't supposed to be there. 4. It's okay to not have your block done by the end of the month. 5. Taking out all the little pieces of stabilizer from the back can be done while chatting with a friend who is cleaning out her sewing room and just needs company. 6. I thought I had bought enough fusible for the whole project....I've already had to buy more and will probably need more before the project is over. 7. My Bernina 440 and I are becoming better friends as I work on this project. 8. Clean out the machine and change needles often. It really makes a difference. 9. When the LQS is having a 25% off sale, buy lots of needles. You will need them.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 4 May 2008 17:58:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1432 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1431 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1431"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1431_bom_tqs_april_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/04/2008: Since we are leaving town for three days tomorrow, I have been determined to finish my April BOM...only 5 days late.....not too bad. So I hid out in the sewing loft and embroidered the remaining stems, which do not show up well in this small picture. But they are there. Finished! Yeah! Until I discovered that I had forgotten to sewn down the handle of the basket. Back to the sewing machine and NOW it is finished. Now I need to get a picture on to my profile and let the forum know of my accomplishments. Don't expect me to be in the first twelve of May. I'll be gone for three weeks starting May 12th. If I'm lucky, I'll at least get the pattern pieces ready and the fabric fusing on.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 4 May 2008 17:38:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1431 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1421 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1421"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1421_threads_aplenty2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>05/03/2008: I had a goal to finish the BOMs by the end of the month they came out. Alas....April is not done but it is almost done. All it needs is embroidery on 4 more stems. I told myself I would not take a picture of it to post until it was done. But I did sneak one in when it was sitting by my machine waiting for the last of the invisible stitches around the circles. Did I mention that I hate sewing around little circles? And while I was taking pictures, I realized that I have a handy hint to share. I don't think it is a new one. I found a roll of wide brown paper packaging tape in my desk drawer. Turned out it was very sticky. I decided to use it for catching threads that I snip. I know alot of people use painters tape or masking tape for this but I found that I like the width of this tape. Picture is a little blurry but you get the idea. DH and I are off on Monday for a short road trip in to PA. As are alot of our short trips, this one has to do with genealogy pursuits. But we've made ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1421">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 3 May 2008 11:49:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1421 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1405 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1405"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1405_paducah_trip_044_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/30/2008: Wow! I have actually gotten my pictures on to the computer and I've only been home from Paducah for three days. So here they are with my thoughts about the trip. Yes. I know this is not a quilt. It's a Bison Butt. Since my friend and I were driving from Nashville to Paducah, we decided to take a side trip through the Land Between The Lakes National Preserve. She had never seen bison before and there was a small bison reserve there so we went off to see the bison. Little did we know they would be holding up traffic in the middle of the road. You get around them by inching up ever so slowly until they move. Under no circumstances should you get out of the car. Obviously we got past and were able to go on our merry way to the next stop....Grand Rivers, KY. Can you believe this house? It's part of a resort called Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers. We had 4 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and a lovely deck overlooking the lake at the back. It was a great place to go back to and re... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1405">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:26:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1405 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1395 <p align="left">04/29/2008: I am home safe and sound from Paducah, KY AQS show. I'm still recovering from the whirlwind of travel and activity. I have decided that washing clothes is a priority if I want DH to be happy and not resentful that I was gone for a week. So this is just a check-in and later I will deal with my pictures and a summary of the great experience that was Paducah. BTW Ricky's video blogs do a great job of giving an overview. I'll catch up with you later...the washing machine beckons.......</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:39:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1395 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1317 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1317"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1317_tqs_badge_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/20/2008: With my upcoming trip to Paducah looming over my head, I finally made a TQS Badge. But pink is not very big in my stash especially in batiks or hand-dyes. So I decided to just go a different direction. It's still recognizable as the TQS star. Were we supposed to put "It's A New Day" on it? I only included my name and my screen name. Hope some people will recognize me and say hi. OOPS. It is a bit blurry. Basically the colors are pinky orange and yellows with a little bit of brown on the star. I used some Cherrywood fabrics that I had on hand. Now I need to get back to some serious washing and packing. It's pouring buckets here in MD and expected to be the same off and on tomorrow. I just want a clear window of opportunity for my flight to Nashville to take off.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:01:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1317 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1308 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1308"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1308_ca_and_quilt_019_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/19/2008: It's amazing how a casual conversation can become a girlfriend roadtrip to a major quilt show. At one of my small quilt group meetings, I was mentioning how my Indiana quilting friend and I had always wanted to "meet in Paducah" for the AQS Show before I left the east coast. We tried several years but busy schedules kept getting in the way. My MD group, the Loosies, jumped right on it. They decided I must not leave the area without seeing the AQS Show and since none of them had ever been to it, they would just have to join me. And of course we would invite Barbara from Indiana. Now it is two days until I leave and a total of 8 girlfriends (one of whom is Barbara from Indiana) will be sharing a condo for 5 nights at Green Turtle Bay just outside of Paducah. You gotta watch my small quilt group. They are now semi-seriously planning a roadtrip to the Vermont Quilt Festival in 2009 and Sisters, Oregon in 2010. These girls do not let grass grow under their feet. I'm working on my April BOM... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1308">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:15:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1308 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1263 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1263"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1263_journals_for_friends2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>04/13/2008: I got an e-mail last week from a TQS member who wondered how I was doing because they hadn't seen any blogs from me lately. WOW! That was so wonderful and heartwarming to know someone cares. I guess I just have to reitirate what we already know..... TQS is a great site for friendship. Speaking of friends, I have been blessed with a great group of quilting friends in my small group. We come from different backgrounds, have different styles, and trying to schedule an event that includes all of us is near impossible. This is a group of friends who showed up on my doorstep with food and comfort when I was in the car accident at the end of December. I wanted desperately to say "Thank You" in a tangible way though I knew it wasn't necessary. I finally decided on a tea party at a great little funky coffee/tea shop a little north of us in Brunswick, MD. If you want to check it out their website is Beans in the Belfry . And here is a picture of the 7 of us having a wonderful time. You'll no... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1263">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:12:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1263 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1159 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1159"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1159_004_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/31/2008: Two days until we head home to MD from CA. I finished my goal of fusing down four flowers from the pattern and fabric that I bought. I've also found out where they moved the quilt shop. It used to be on Lincoln but I had noticed that it wasn't there. I was hoping they hadn't gone out of business. But while perusing the neighborhoods yesterday, We drove by an industrial/commercial new part of Alameda and as I looked over to the right.......there was "The Quilt Fan"......the quilt store I had found a year and a half ago. It was Sunday so we didn't stop but we're going out this afternoon and I'm thinking a side trip to the LQS is in order. I need to support them so they don't go out of business. Here are the purple flowers. Still not sure what to do with them after I do the stitching. The pattern book shows them made into a wall hanging. If I really get going when I get home, I could donate it to the silent auction of our upcoming quilt show.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:22:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1159 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1126 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1126"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/1126_journalquiltjanuary_019_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/29/2008: I'm hoping this is going to work. It's always a little iffy when you are using someone else's computer. I'm going to try and download a picture of my "little" CA project in progress. I wonder if my DH will discover that I've downloaded quilt pictures on to his computer? Then again.....he has been observed to be downloading genealogy stuff on my computer so I think we are even. So here is a picture of an applique ironed down with fusible. This is just one flower block. I'm going to try and do several more. I think I'm going to wait and buttonhole stitch them when I get home. Unfortunately a Featherweight doesn't do that stitch. Of course, I could do buttonhole by hand. But it's Saturday already and we'll be leaving to come home on Wednesday morning. I'd rather concentrate on tracing and fusing. Small it may be but it is fabric related. BTW.....my DIL had no decent scissors so I had to go over to Beverly's today. Luckily I found another 40% coupon in the paper so I splurged and bought a... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1126">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:37:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1126 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1105 <p align="left">03/26/2008: Here I am in Alameda, CA. Did I bring any sewing projects? NO. What was I thinking? Or was I just in too much of a hurry. But not to fear. Today I went by Beverly's (kind of like JoAnns) in Alameda Town Center. I would have made it to a LQS if I knew where it was. As it was, I was with DH and we were at the shopping center having lunch. So I just popped in for a moment and $40. later I had a book, thread, material and fusible. Fortunately, my Featherweigh resides at my DS and DILs house. I can't guarantee pictures because I'm using my DSs computer but I'll try. In the meantime, I can get back to sewing. What am I going to make? At this point I have no idea. The book (Berries and Blooms by Jan Kornfeind) will have to speak to me.</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:19:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1105 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1064 <p align="left">03/20/2008: We've been out here in CA for a week now and I've just today been able to breathe and take a few minutes to get on to TQS. Our first few days were in southern CA getting a townhouse ready for selling. This involved hauling the last of DS#2's stuff to his new apartment, meeting with a realtor and doing general work around the townhouse. The heavy cleaning, painting etc. will be handled by contractors. Then we had to load up our rental van with some furniture pieces and boxes to take to No. CA on Monday. I highly reccoment the Chrysler Town and Country Mini-Van. it took care of all our moving needs. Now we're in Alameda, CA at our DS#1's house....housesitting while he and the family are in Hawaii visiting with my DIL's family for a week and a half. My DH is keeping himself busy perusing the internet for houses to buy. But in actuality, we are nowhere near ready to buy. We have to sell the So. CA townhouse first and we all know how pitiful the real estate market is right now. It may be a... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1064">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:55:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/1064 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/988 <p align="left">03/09/2008: Just thought that I'd let you all know that the insurance dilema has been solved. My DH ended up in a three way conversation on the phone with Kaiser Mid-Atlantic, Lockheed Martin group insurance and him. No one could explain why I got "dumped" from the system but they assured us it would be taken care of. In two days I was on the phone making a physical therapy appointment with no problem. The next day we received a letter in the mail confirming that we both had medical insurance. Go figure! Sometimes the squeaky wheel does get the grease. We head out to CA on Wednesday for three weeks. We'll start in Southern CA where we'll be getting a townhouse ready to sell......I know, I know......terrible time to sell real estate. Our youngest DS has been living in it for three years and we need the money for our move to CA. It was our original home and we own it free and clear. I'm hoping that he hasn't left it too big a mess. We have an appointment with a realtor on Thursday morning. If all ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/988">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 9 Mar 2008 17:01:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/988 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/987 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/987"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/987_tqs_bom_march2008_004_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/09/2008: A goal has been met. We leave for three weeks in California on Wednesday. My goal was to have the March BOM finished. With persistence I have met my goal. So what have I learned from this months project? It your sewing machine needle makes even the slightest click.....change it. When your sewing machine returns from the Bernina dude, it will purr like a kitten. I hate sewing around zillions of leaves but at least they were rounded. Look for more contrast when flowers require two or more of the same color. Using one whole piece of stabilizer works very well. Putting the bobbin thread through that little thingy really makes a difference. I'll be posting a picture in my profile and will be mentioning it on the forum but in the meantime.......Here's March: There is actually more contrast in the two reds for the rosebuds than you can see but next time I will choose differently.</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 9 Mar 2008 16:39:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/987 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/923 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/923"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/923_journal_quilt_jan2008_001_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>03/01/2008: In just three days, I have made my first ever journal quilt. It's been "cooking" in my mind since my accident two months ago but recent insurance issues brought me out of my reverie and into the quilting room. I started by doodling and then a friend told me to just pull out fabric and get started. The design represents the intersection where the accident occurred. The words are lessons that I'm learning as I heal. The finished size is 11X14 inches. In case you can't read the words, this is what they say: Live a life ready to pay it forward Life is what happens when you are making other plans Being a friend is allowing a friend to help you Life comes at you FAST December 27, 2007 This was a great and freeing experience. It didn't take long. It focused my frustration into a creative project and helped me put life in perspective. I'm alreading "cooking" an idea for a February journal piece. I think I would like to make one every month this year since we have so many changes ha... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/923">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 1 Mar 2008 19:32:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/923 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/910 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/910"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/910_va_trip_004_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/28/2008: My husband has only been retired a month and already the system is trying to get us. We got notice this week that only he had medical insurance....it seems I wasn't included. So DH gets on the phone and the "retirement guru dude" assures him that he will look into it and fix it. But two days later, I go in for a Physical Therapy appointment and find out that I am "inactive". AAARRRGGGG! I am not a happy camper. Kaiser let me keep this appointment but they will undoubtedly bill me for it while we try to straighten out the mess. In the meantime, they would not allow me to make another appointment. So no PT until the insurance mess is fixed. All of this has led me to the sewing room where I am throwing together a 11 X 14 journal quilt to sew out my frustrations. I was so into it that after dinner, I will be ready to do the quilting. I just fused everything down and I'm going to "write" with my quilting. The whole project is a new avenue for me but it had the proper effect. I'm calmer and... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/910">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:48:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/910 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/850 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/850"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/850_quilts_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/19/2008: I've just been "fiddlin'" around the last few days.... pulling stuff off shelves and out of baskets and discovering all kinds of stuff. I've managed to make a pillow top (yet to be quilted and finished) for the upcoming 65th B-day of my SIL. I inherited a dresden plate quilt top that had been made into a table-cloth by my MIL. One day, I worked at taking it apart and trying to salvage as many complete squares as I could. My Darling MIL had cut the top into an oval shape and added lime green purchased binding. With what I had left, I was able to put together a quilt top (yet to be quilted) and have a couple of extra squares left over. Out of this came the plan to make a pillow for my SIL. Her birthday is in May. I think I have a good chance of finishing it. Next in line for finishing was the orphan squares that I had made from left-over triangles from a long ago stack and whack. I got them made into a top. Now if I could just find the rest of the left-over fabric (I know it is hi... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/850">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:22:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/850 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/822 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/822"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/822_quilt_blocks_003_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/15/2008: This is a second attempt. I forgot to click "submit" before picture so I'll try again. I have finished my February BOM. Here are the lessons learned this month: Using a 70/10 needle makes a huge difference. I also tried a 60/8 needle but my Bernina rebelled against it. I'm finding 70/10 needles to be delicate and you have to be careful not to pull on them or they will bend. This is an expensive lesson. I'm on needle #3 of a five pack of needles. For my machine (a Bernina 440QE), I'm finding that a #3 stitch, reversed with a length and width of 1 seems to work well for my raw-edge applique. I prefer light-weight Heat and Bond to Steam-A-Seam as a fusible. Outside curves are easier to stitch than inside curves. No matter what, each of these blocks will take some time. So here is the picture of Miss February next to her sister. The Feb block alone is on my profile.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:07:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/822 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/821 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/821"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/821_quilt_blocks_005_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/15/2008: The day before Valentine's Day, I noticed DH sneaking a pink envelope behind his back. This was a definite clue that he had bought me a valentine. Of course, did I have a valentine for him? No. So that evening, I whipped up a fabric version of a valentine for DH. I hand wrote a sentiment on the back and put it beside the bed in the morning before he woke up. It was so much fun, that I think I'll do this more often. The picture didn't look this blurry in the digital viewfinder. Sorry. Guess I was too close up.</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:52:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/821 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/767 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/767"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/767_tqs_bom2008_jan_finished_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>02/09/2008: I'm still in awe of myself. I finished the January BOM this afternoon. I've learned many many things along the way. Here are a few: Check your supplies for the project before beginning, otherwise you'll have to make two trips to the LQS to finish the block Raw edge applique can leave teensy tiny threads hanging about. If you want that look fine but try a different method/stitch for February if you don't.......That's what I'm going to do. January will be my "humility block". If you have a pelvic fracture, your leg will not want to use the lift bar on a Bernina so just get over it and lift the presser foot the old-fashioned way for now. Outside curves are easier to stitch than inside curves. This project will take time each month but expect the learning curve to kick in so quality and time spent will improve. I've got to figure out how to get my BOM picture posted in the forum but until then, here's a picture. Being a follower more than a leader, you can see I stuck with colors ver... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/767">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 9 Feb 2008 13:42:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/767 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/694 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/694"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/694_redwork_finished_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/31/2008: Last night was the elegant celebration for my husband's retirement. His department has gone through many changes lately and the "party planners" decided they needed a fun social occasion to celebrate a co-worker's retirement. The result was an elegant dinner at a French restaurant and the company paid for it! There were about 15 people there and we all had fun. Unbeknownest to DH, I brought some pictures of him with his co-workers in Burbank, CA from 25 years ago. That provided lots of laughs. So here we are enjoying a lovely evening out: Now for the really neat part. This lovely man whom I've been married to for 38 years had flowers sent to me yesterday. The note read "for all your support through the years". I almost cried. He's a sweetie and I'm going to keep him. The flowers arrived just before we left for the party. And to make this a little bit quilt related, here is a picture of the redwork block that I finished.</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:08:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/694 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/677 <p align="left">01/28/2008: Since I seem to be moving around a whole lot better these days, I spent some time in my sewing loft. Yes. I can go up two flights of stairs (slowly) and not huff and puff. Yeah Me! I managed to get the 12 background fabrics cut out for the BOM. Then feeling inspired I decided to get started on cutting out the fabrics for the star. Unfortunately I found out that I had only one small piece of Steam-A-Seam......just enought for three points of the star. So that is as far as I have gotten. Sorry no pictures since I forgot to take the camera upstairs with me. In the BA (before accident) days, I would have dashed down two flights to get the camera. I don't find myself tempted to do that right now. LOL So I need to get out to a fabric store or order some Steam-A-Seam on-line. A friend is taking me to an appointment on Wednesday. Since she is a quilter friend, I'm pretty sure I can get her to stop for quilting supplies. I also want to pick up some Bottom Line thread. DH officially retires on ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/677">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:23:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/677 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/642 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/642"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/642_bom_tqs_2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/22/2008: What a great group of quilting friends you all are. I've gotten several separate e-mails from members inquiring about how I'm doing. Well.........almost 4 weeks later I'm doing relatively well. I see the orthopaedist Thursday and I'll have a better feel for the healing process after that. The good news is that I can take independent steps around the house so I'm spending less time in the Red Chair. That's not to say it's pain-free but at least it's bearable. But I have to be careful because I want to do to much and I find my leg and hip get tired and I have to sit down for awhile with my feet up. This is so not my nature but I want to avoid set-backs and I don't want to fall because I'm tired and not careful. The excitement of last week was a trip to my guild's retreat. It was at a lovely retreat center in MD not far from where we live. It was such a joy just to be with a lively group of creative people, listening to their laughter and happiness. I only took handwork and below you'll ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/642">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:04:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/642 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/614 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/614"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/614_snow_showers_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/15/2008: Some nights are better than others. Last night (thanks to a sleeping pill) I actually got some sleep that lasted for more than a one hour stretch at a time. It made all the difference in my outlook on life this morning. I actually got the Yo-Yo factory up and running. Okay, I've only made six of them but it is a start. They are coming along with me to the quilt retreat this weekend. While working on them, I turned my head and it was snowing! Well not really. Basically we had about 20 minutes of off and on snow showers that melted almost immediately. But snow stayed around long enough for me to get a picture. and...........I've managed to take about two or three independent steps without holding on to anything. I only attempt to do this if someone is around and the walker is nearby for me to grab. My steps are more like a shuffle but it's progress. My DH says that I remind him of our DGDs learning to walk. Actually they probably progressed faster than I'm currently doing. I'... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/614">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:17:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/614 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/594 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/594"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/594_leslie_and_the_pelvis_007_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/13/2008: I am actually happy to report that the red chair is seeing less and less of my derriere these days. I'm still traveling with the walker but at least I'm traveling. Each day I make an attempt to take a step without holding on to anything. Haven't succeeded yet but I know it will come. I got up to my sewing loft on Saturday but discovered that standing in one place (i.e. cutting fabric with the rotary cutter) for too long was not good for the pelvis. I lasted about an hour before calling my husband (what would we do without cell phones?) to come get me. But now I do have a project put together in a little bag beside my red chair. Yes......I am doing Yo-Yo's. What will I do with them? I haven't a clue but they are fast and easy to do. A friend of mine made a darling little doll quilt for her DGD using Yo-Yo's. Maybe that's what mine will end up being. I don't believe anything involving Yo-Yo's was on my list of projects to try this year. I'm not yet ready to sit back down at the machine.... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/594">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:36:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/594 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/548 <p align="left">01/04/2008: Just catching everyone up with my recovery. I'm doing quite well. I can tell because I'm itching to get back to my sewing machine. Unfortunately, that won't be for quite awhile. This will be a time to hone my hand-sewing skills. Wonderful quilty peeps came over on Wednesday and brought down my first project.....two labels to sew on two quilts that were mercifully all finished. One of my friends took a small redwork pattern home with her. She's going to kit it and bring it back for me to work on. I can't say enough good things about my small quilt group. They are so there for me. I've got my EQ6 book in place but haven't gotten to working with it yet. I did catch up on the Libby Lehman TQS show. I haven't watched the Quilting Legend show yet. Thanks to QNN there are lots of other quilty shows to watch. Hmmmmm......I'm seeing some blessings in all of this. Each day I walk a little more with my walker. Slowly but surely my strength will come back and my hip will heal. Hope you all have ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/548">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 4 Jan 2008 14:47:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/548 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/539 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/539"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/539_leslie_and_the_pelvis_004_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>01/01/2008: As you will see in the picture at the end of this blog, I have accomplished a big thing today. Doing the side step shuffle veeerrrrrryyyyy slowly, I made it upstairs to the shower. I indulged in a long warm shower, washed my hair and allowed my DH to rub lotion all over my body. Fortunately, I have a chair and counter area in my bathroom so I could sit and blow-dry my hair and put on a teeny bit of make-up to cheer me up, Then, feeling frisky, I decided to see if I could possibly get in my bed and be comfortable to sleep there this evening. We found our back pillow with the arms (remember those from your college years?), and turned it around like a wedge. With an additional pillow, it will make a perfect sleeping area. So tonight I get to sleep with my DH. He's been such an angel but I think he'll actually enjoy the break of going back to work tomorrow. Dear quilty peeps from my small quilt group are coming over tomorrow to hang out and keep me company. I'm well on my way to recovery a... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/539">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 1 Jan 2008 12:04:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/539 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/519 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/519"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/519_leslie_and_the_pelvis_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/29/2007: or "How to Put a Stop to Your Christmas Holidays". Thursday started out as a normal day. The housecleaners were coming in the afternoon, so DH and I went off to do errands......library, lunch, grocery store. As we were almost home, crossing the intersection into our development, our car was hit by a man running a red light......flash, noise, slide and there we were looking at each other and saying "what just happened?". What had just happened is that a car running a red light had just rammed into the passenger side of our car where of course I was sitting. I am thanking God for Hondas and side airbags. My life has been saved to continue on as grandma, wife, mother, friend........ The door was so crunched that they had to use the jaws of life and remove it to get me out. As far as I know, I never lost consciousness. And then it was off to the hospital and the trauma unit. Again, I thank God for caring, wonderful medical staff. Turns out I have two hairline fractures in my pelvis. I'm h... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/519">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:24:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/519 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/500 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/500"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/500_christmas_convergence_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/22/2007: In spare moments I've been been working on my first ever attempt at a convergence quilt. Snowplow has already told me it's "okay" if my seams don't all match up......and believe me they don't. But it has been a learning experience and now I have the basic technique in my head. In fact it is so much in my head that I keep thinking about convergence quilts everytime I see fabric. I hid some (not all) of my wonky seams with an applique circle. Now I'm working on quilting it.......not because it's perfect but because I just love the colors and the basic design. I'll probably even hang it up next Christmas. Given that it is only two days until Christmas, it won't be done for this year's celebrations. So bravely I show you a picture of the work in progress.....warts and all.</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:53:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/500 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/497 <p align="left">12/22/2007: One of the coolest benefits of living in the D.C. metro area (and one I will miss when we move) is the wonderful exhibits that come to the Smithsonian and various galleries around town. Yesterday I went with some quilting friends to see "Going West", an exhibit of historical quilts at the Renwick Gallery. It was full of historical quilts from the midwest. Almost all of them were autograph type quilts with signatures in embroidery or ink. Others had stories of how they had survived trips and wars. One quilt was from 1861, whole cloth made from silk, and it had traveled to the United States from Sweden. It was in incredible condition. How the family must have loved and treasured it to save it all these years. There were two women from the Annapolis Quilt guild at the end of the exhibit and they were showing a few contemporary quilts and reminding quilters to LABEL YOUR QUILT! Good advice. While in D.C. we walked a little further and went over to the Cocoran to see a fabulous Ansel Adams... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/497">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 22 Dec 2007 09:15:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/497 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/482 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/482"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/482_christmas_open_house_007_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/19/2007: ....and a great party it was. The weather co-operated and the Holiday Open House went off without a hitch. No rain, sleet or snow but plenty of wind. The guests almost got blown off our front porch as they came in. My DH can't stand the thought of there not being enough food so I kept adding to the menu. The result was that we had tons of food left over. The next day, I took quite a bit of food to a local homeless shelter. I'm sure guacamole and tortilla chips is not their usual fare but they probably enjoyed it. Lights, candles, action........the party is ready to begin. Everyone hung around the kitchen and dining room where the food and drink was. I don't think anyone ever ventured into the living room. Who uses a living room anymore? I want my next house to have a great room that flows from kitchen to family room. Unfortunately I have come down with a cold. But that didn't stop me from venturing out to Annapolis with friends yesterday. We had a nice lunch down by the har... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/482">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:00:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/482 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/469 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/469"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/469_kitchen_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/15/2007: Yes! The Trees on the Table Topper is finished thanks to an unexpected chunk of time. DH lovingly gave me a Merry Maids housecleaning day for our Holiday Open House tomorrow. And that left me with time to indulge in something other than party preparations. I finished sewing down the binding last night while watching Bridget Jone's Diary (fun movie!) with DH. I don't think my house has ever been this clean. I almost want to move out and leave it as a "museum" LOL. Hooray for clean kitchens. They even oiled the kitchen cabinets. If only I didn't have to cook. This picture was taken right after they finished. Already the signs of real life have reappeared. DH insists we need to eat. And here it is..... Trees On The Table. I really like it. I've even gotten used to the "peppermint candy" in the center. It will sit on this kitchen table during the party, surrounded by lots of cookies and sweets. Anyone have a Christmas Cactus like the one in the background? I love these plants... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/469">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 15 Dec 2007 07:40:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/469 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/460 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/460"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/460_leslie_alex_hair_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/12/2007: Anyone out there have "fluffy hair"? I do. You wouldn't believe it most days but underneath it all, I have natural curl in my hair. Only it's not really curly, it's just got mostly wave with a mind of it's own. Just enough wave to "fluff" in humidity. Just enough wave to sometimes hold a style. Just enough wave to have stubborn cowlicks in strange places. I've spent my whole life looking for the perfect hairstyle but like everyone else, I get tired of one thing and go on to another. So I've gone short, medium and long. My hairdresser keeps telling me my hair is to heavy and I need layers. I have a round face and a high forehead and I've always worn bangs. According to a stylist on the Oprah Show, women of a "certain age" shouldn't wear heavy bangs. So what's a person to do????? I printed out a picture of Alex with her medium length layered look and took it to my hairdresser today. I'm not trying to look like Alex but I was hoping that her basic style might work for me. What do you thin... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/460">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:05:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/460 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/457 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/457"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/457_table_topper_christmas_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/10/2007: I really didn't think I would get back to this project but I have. The basic top is finished. Next step....layer and quilt. I'd like to have it done for the Open House on Sunday. Maybe a late night is in my future. From this: To this: If I were to do it over again, I'd use the same background as the trees for the center pinwheel. I think my original idea was to use more pinwheels but in the end I didn't. No way was I going back and tearing it all apart. I'll just put something in the middle when it's on the table. Now to get the soup heated for dinner. Sometimes I'd rather quilt than eat but DH might not agree with my priorities.</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:39:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/457 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/453 <p align="left">12/09/2007: Wren requested the link for the Table Topper pattern that I posted. I sent her an e-mail but in case anyone else wants it, here it is: Trees on the Table I originally got the link from someone's blog here on TQS but I don't remember who put it out there. I think this person put up a picture of her project recently. Have fun. It's a fairly easy project but I have to admit that I have not gotten back to it. My goal is to have it done for our Holiday Open House next Sunday. Not too sure I'll make the goal. Note: I found the picture of the Trees on the Table project that someone had posted. It wasn't here on TQS. It was on a quilt blog. If you would like to see someone elses version, click here: http://ragdollquilting.blogspot.com/</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 9 Dec 2007 11:30:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/453 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/446 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/446"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/446_table_topper_christmas_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/07/2007: Last night I got back to working on a Christmas Table Topper. Someone here on TQS was making something similar and gave a link to a pattern. Since I have the center done, I think I am now committed to finish before Christmas. My small group quilting peeps are coming over this morning. They can help me figure out a border option. Thanks to whoever put out the link to the pattern. I'm using up scraps.....yeah! Other notes on life: Things I learned about from living on the east coast: Don't buy a house with the driveway facing north. You'll deal with an icy driveway everytime it snows. We were from CA. We wanted the sun on the kitchen. What did we know??? Things I've learned about computer picture cards: Be sure and double check TWICE your holiday picture greeting card before hitting order. Otherwise you might find that the face of one of your DGDs is covered by another picture and you'll receive 40 cards printed this way. So you will order seperate pics of the DGD to include with th... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/446">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 7 Dec 2007 09:19:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/446 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/435 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/435"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/435_first_snow_dec_2007_001_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>12/05/2007: Just stopping by to post a picture of our first seasonal snow. Now I realize that some of you folks get way more snow than we get in MD. You probably get lots of laughs at how Washington, D.C. shuts down at the sight of a snowflake. But still......it's snow and it's pretty until it turns slushy or freezes like glass on the driveway. It's a perfect day to stay at home, and catch up on home things. I'd like to say I'll be quilting but first things first. I've got to bake one more batch of cookies for the Open House. Then I absolutely must finish wrapping the gifts that need to be sent to California. THEN maybe I can find time to quilt. DH really dragged his feet getting out the door to work today. I fixed him a steaming cup of hot chocolate before he left. Do I get the good wife award for the day?</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 5 Dec 2007 09:24:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/435 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/412 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/412"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/412_stockings_for_the_girls_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/29/2007: Two years ago, I made a stocking for my first grand-child for her first Christmas. It accidently got left at my house when they visited. Then last year, I forgot to get it out and get it to her because we were all caught up in the birth of her sister..***Side Note***...Today is that grand-daughter's first birthday! Well, upon discovering the first stocking amongst my Christmas stuff, I knew I needed to make one for baby sister. I even had some of the same fabric left-over. Now they are off in the mail to CA for the girls to enjoy. They are nice and roomy so Santa can bring lots of toys.... gggg. On another subject......I went to the wonderful G-Street Fabrics today and treated myself to two new feet. No not the kind you put in shoes LOL, the kind you use on your machine. I rationalized the expense by telling myself I was using my $100. rebate from Bernina. The best part is that G-Street was having a 25% off sale on Bernina Accessories and the cashier took off an... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/412">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:57:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/412 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/410 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/410"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/410_dressing_the_house_for_christmas2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/28/2007: Sometimes a simple Thanksgiving can be the best. Despite the fact that DH and I were staying home and eating alone, we had a great day. The weather was glorious and the food came out fabulous. I prepared a Brined Turkey Breast that was absolutely moist, declicious and tender. My Chiffon Pumpkin Pie was adapted from a current Martha Stewart recipe. It was yummy. I decorated the table in USC colors (that would be Southern Cal not South Carolina) because we watched the game that evening. USC won over Arizona. Go Trojans! I made the stuffed fabric pumpkin about 20 some years ago. After all these years, I still use it. If you haven't figured it out, USC's colors are cardinal and gold. This was as close as I could get. DH wore his USC T-shirt all day. I even wore a red sweater over a gold Tee. Next on the Thanksgiving Weekend projects was to get out the Christmas stuff because of having a holiday open house on Dec. 16th. This led to taking everything (yes, everything) out of the co... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/410">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:58:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/410 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/388 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/388"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/388_cookies_and_trees_001_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/20/2007: I've been to the grocery store. It wasn't even crowded. And.......dried cranberries were on sale. Third try was the charm. The cranberries soaked, the batter was made and I am now in the process of baking delicious Brandied Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies. Just to show you I've been a busy bee, here are pictures: I haven't actually tried one but they sure look good. The plan is to freeze them for the upcoming holiday open house on Dec. 16th. I will sneak out two of them for DH and I to have for a taste test after dinner tonight. Speaking of dinner, we're having soup from Safeway this evening (Rosemary Chicken with White Beans) with their delicious Kalamata Olive Bread. Cookie making has had precedence this evening. And lest I forget........I did get in a bit of sewing this afternoon. Hopefully time will allow me to actually finish this table topper project before Christmas. I was going to keep it for myself but it might become a present for my sister.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:32:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/388 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/386 <p align="left">11/20/2007: I have to tell someone this story because I'm so frustrated. I'm going to make cookies for our holiday open house. Not a problem. I have several tried and true recipes that I often make during the holidays. But I wanted to try something new. AHA! I found a recipe for Brandied Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies on the internet. Yummers! (as Rachel Ray says). So I head for the grocery store for cranberries and the other Thanksgiving stuff I need. First try.....not a drop of brandy anywhere in the house so the softened butter goes back in the fridge. Second try.....go to the county liquour store and buy brandy (cheap kind, this is only for baking). Bring brandy home and pour over a cup of cranberries to soak for an hour. Put butter out on counter to soften. Go sew for awhile. Come back to begin cookies. Discover that the recipe calls for DRIED cranberries (duh, that makes perfect sense!) but I have soaked fresh cranberries. No dried cranberries anywhere in the house. So now I need to ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/386">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:43:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/386 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/380 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/380"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/380_card_holders_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/19/2007: At my house, the computer and the sewing machine reside on separate floors. In fact, there is a floor in-between. Then there is the problem of the camera which seems to move its position on a regular basis. Therefore, getting together quilt pictures for writing a blog sometimes doesn't happen. It just depends on how much walking up and down the stairs I want to do as I search out all the necessary components....projects, camera, computer, cables, etc. That said, things came together this afternoon and I'm ready to blog. The next day after coming home from Walt Disney World, I went to a weekend small group retreat at a quilter friend's home. Fortunately, I had packed ahead of time. My goal was to work on some cute business card holders to give as gifts. I got several cut out and three finished. I've got stacks of cut fabric ready to complete some more. Sewing on embellishments seems to be the most time-consuming part of the project. One thing I learned is to only embellish the front an... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/380">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:57:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/380 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/355 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/355"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/355_makayla_in_the_minnie_glasses_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>11/11/2007: We are back. We arrived home at 10 p.m. on Thursday and immediately fell into bed exhausted but happy. My husband was so surprised upon opening the door and seeing the DGDs. He was so tired that the next day he told me it was a rather surreal experience. Everyone enjoyed the trip. The weather was absolutely perfect......mid 70's not a drop of rain. We came home to the chilly 40's. We had an incredible dinner at the Flying Fish Restaurant at the Boardwalk Resort. Very elegant and delicious. I was so impressed by how the wait staff handled the fact that we were there with two small children. You can see the mess we created. The birthday cake arrived after dinner as planned. We even surprised my DH with phone calls from our youngest son and his father and sister. It was worth every minute of all the planning. Aren't these glasses hysterical? DH and I couldn't resist buying them. They are really sunglasses but they flip open to reveal glasses. We think DGD looks like Harry Potter. W... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/355">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:18:00 PSThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/355 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/322 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/322"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/322_the_alameda_sorenson_family2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/31/2007: When I get back from WDW, the very next day I'll be joining my small group quilting peeps for a mini-retreat at one of our members home. So that I could maximize time available to sew, I decided to pack up my machine and all my project stuff so I could just grab and run on retreat day. That's all well and good but now I can't sew. Of course, I have two other perfectly acceptable sewing machines but believe it or not........I packed all my thread! I think I got a little too organized. Talked to my DIL today ....Halloween!.....and she is getting the girls dressed in their grandma made costumes so they can walk downtown to see the parade and trick-or-treat at the shops. She's not sure the baby will wear the sheep costume 'cause it's a little scratchy. Hopefully she'll at least wear the hat. They live in Alameda, CA and yesterday evening there was a 5.6 earthquake in San Jose (south of them). Freaked everyone out but they are just fine and the girls slept through it. Another CA friend wr... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/322">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:23:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/322 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/308 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/308"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/308_triangle_box2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/28/2007: I have it in my head that I want to give everyone on my Christmas list a homemade present this year. To this end, my head has been collecting ideas. So far, I've come across patterns for tote bags, a credit card holder, fabric boxes, coin purses, sunglass holders, and notepad holders. I'm basically looking for easy ideas along the lines of Humbug Bags. My small group is having a quilt retreat at one of our members homes in two weeks. If I can get my stuff together this week (remember----I'll be at Walt Disney World for a week beginning this Friday), I want to sew, sew, sew on my Christmas projects. We get back on a Thursday. The retreat begins on Friday. I'll need to have all sewing/project stuff packed and ready to go if I want to make the best use of my time. Today I played with a pattern for a cute little triangle box that could hold candies or whatever. I just played around with scrap fabric and my decorative stitches. What you see is really kind of a sampler. If I go with this, I... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/308">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:57:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/308 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/294 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/294"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/294_humbag_pattern_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/26/2007: I've had an inquiry about a reference to Humbags that I make. Actually, I've just looked at the pattern and they are called " Humbug Bags ". Gee......all this time, I've been referring to them as "Humbags". They are not at all an original idea. The pattern was designed by Nancy Restuccia and is available through Make It Easy Sewing and Crafts. I've also seen the pattern at quilt shows and in LQSs. I'm sure I've made at least 20 or more during the years. They are great little bags that as the pattern front says, "are perfect for a little something". I currently use one for storing extra headphones and the battery chargers for our cell phones and one for keeping hard candies beside me while I sew. I've given them in sets as baby gifts. You can make them in three sizes: small (4 1/2"X5 1/2"), medium (5 1/2" X 7 1/2") and large (7" X 9 1/2"). Preparing fabric for them is an excellent way to practice machine quilting. So if I haven't sold you on them yet, here are some pictures. ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/294">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:23:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/294 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/289 <p align="left">10/25/2007: Yesterday I got back to working on Nina's breast cancer quilt. It was time for quilting the borders. I decided to use some printed border paper in order to have a pattern to follow. I got it all in place fairly easy and was even able to work out the corners and make things symmetrical. I decided to use my walking foot since the pattern had a pretty gentle curve. I ended up hating that method. Even with the leg lift lever on my Bernina, there was way too much lifting and turning. Also, the fabric didn't move very smoothly through the machine. Soooooo......I decided to get out the BSR and free motion the pattern with the feed dogs down. Wow! That was so much better and easier. The fabric moved with my hands, the stitches were even and I was able to work much faster with less hassle. The quilted borders are done. Today it will be on to making and adding binding.</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:09:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/289 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/279 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/279"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/279_quilt_002_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/22/2007: Just two weeks and we'll be at Disney World celebrating DH's B-day. In preparation for the trip, I found some cute Mickey Mouse fabric. I managed to make two tote bags with one yard and some fabric from my stash. I've sent one off to the DGDs and forgot to take a picture of it. But I made another one for me and here's the picture: I looked up a pattern on the internet and with the basics in mind, I designed and made my own bag. I included small pockets on the front and back and two inside pockets. I even played with the left-over scraps and made a credit card holder and a small zipper bag for the inside. The Disney trip is coming together. I've sent out an e-mail to friends and family, asking them to send me B-day cards for DH. I want to present them to him during his B-day dinner at WDW. I even found out that I can pre-order a cake with his name to be delivered to our table. I know Disney is basically OT (off-topic) for quilting but if anyone out there is planning a trip to "the h... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/279">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:09:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/279 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/262 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/262"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/262_wonky_quilt_with_embellishment2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/16/2007: Whooooo Eeeeeeee! I'm doing my happy dance. Here it was: And here it is now: Adding couched yarns definitely made a difference. I had great fun playing around with new techniques. I'm not quite sure of what I'm going to do with it but it will definitely hang in our next year's guild quilt show. Now it's back to finishing up baby quilts for the baby boom. Two baby boys are due in November. The goal is to use up stash so I hope I can find some baby boy type something hiding in the stacks.</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:02:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/262 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/248 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/248"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/248_wonky_log_cabin_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/14/2007: My sewing machine took a trip on Saturday to our guild quilt-in. I was running behind and did not get there at 8 a.m. with the early birds. I think I managed to find the place somewhere around 9:15. So with coffee in hand, I took one of the few left-over spots that required me to ask two people to push their chairs in everytime I needed to get up for anything. Moral of that lesson: Don't come late if you want the primo spots. Then my machine didn't want to cooperate even though I had lovingly cleaned and oiled it the night before. After a few twists, turns and rethreadings, I finally got the tension I needed to do some quilting. I ended up giving up on the walking foot and just using a regular foot. The walking foot was not feeding evenly and was skipping stitches. Why? I don't know. Maybe it needs an adjustment. But........I stuck with the project and got all the quilting done for a baby quilt. Of course, I had brought two projects but after one, I decided to call it quits and head fo... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/248">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:27:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/248 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/239 <p align="left">10/11/2007: In between clearing dust bunnies today (in prep for the quilting peeps coming tomorrow morning), I went over to AAA to pick up travel documents for my DH's surprise 60th B-day trip. I'm sooooooo excited. He knows we are going to DisneyWorld (I had to make sure he could/would take the time off) but that's all he knows. The BIG surprise is that our oldest son and his family will be joining us there. I've gone all out (and spent a fortune!) for the "Disney Experience". We're staying at a two bedroom Disney Resort Condo. When we get there, I'll whisk him off to Epcot for the afternoon and evening. Then when we finally get back to our lodgings, DS. DIL and DGDs will be there to greet him! I don't think he suspects a thing. I've kept all paperwork out of his sight. We don't go until November 2nd but I'm gettting SO excited.</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:39:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/239 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/232 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/232"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/232_alamo_san_antonio_tx_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>10/10/2007: Painters, painters, painters........all over my bedroom and loft area. Everything, including the sewing machine is covered with drop cloths. Guess I won't be sewing today. Instead I'm going to concentrate on cleaning my downstairs area since my small quilt group is coming over on Friday morning. We just got back from Texas on Sunday night......at midnight EDST....yawn,yawn. I really enjoyed San Antonio. The Riverwalk is so beautiful. I also enjoyed visiting the Alamo and getting a real sense of Texas history. Did you know there is a small branch of the Smithsonian Museum in San Antonio? It's called Museo Alameda. The had two very nice exhibits there. One was on Latin garments called Huipilies........very colorful. I highly recommend visiting San Antonio if you ever have the chance. Brother Bill loved his birthday quilt. Huipilie from the Museo Alameda. Doesn't this inspire a quilt? Our quilt guild is having a Quilt-In on Saturday. They've rented space at UM Shady Grove (that would b... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/232">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:59:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/232 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/188 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/188"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/188_bills_quilt3_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/29/2007: The Quilt in a Week is almost finished. Just need to make and add the binding then add a label. I'll sew down the binding this evening while DH watches USC (Go Trojans!) football. That way we can share some quality time doing what we love.......him, watching USC Football..........me working on a quilting activity. Monday we leave for a trip to San Antonio, Texas for a business conference for my DH. On Thursday, we'll stop off at Dallas to drive over for a 4 day visit with my siblings in Jefferson, TX. Considering that I have 3 siblings all living within a few miles of each other in Jefferson, TX, you would think we were Texans. Not at all. We are all native Californians. It's a long story, but one brother ended up in TX and convinced the other brother and sister to move there, too. I was the only hold-out. They'd still like me to join the family compound but the draw of my DGDs is leading me to Northern California. My youngest brother will be the recepient of the Star Quilt. He is fin... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/188">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:50:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/188 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/161 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/161"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/161_quilt_wip_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/25/2007: I love to play with scraps. Doesn't everyone? I've got a huge box filled with scraps. Then I have a huge bag or two filled with scrappy strips. Then there are all those Quiltmaker magazines sitting around filled with inspiration and ideas. Which leads me to the origins of another quilt. Last Saturday, I was sipping a cup of coffee and looking through back issues of Quiltmaker Magazine. I put aside a couple of cute ideas. Next thing I know I'm up in the sewing area loft pulling out miscellaneous strips and "making fabric". At first I thought I would follow a Quiltmaker idea but in the end I just kept sewing, cutting and putting together. Along the way it needed stars. Then it needed mini piping. And it needed a recepient......my youngest brother who is turning 50 on Sunday! No way will I get it mailed to him in time BUT we just happen to be taking a trip to Texas for a conference for DH and a side trip to see my sibs. Little does my youngest brother know that he is about to become the ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/161">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:53:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/161 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/147 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/147"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/147_baby_quilt_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/21/2007: Way back many years ago, it seemed that everyone I knew was getting married. Then they were all having babies, then their babies were getting married. Now their babies are having babies. When you are a quilter (and you love quilting!) it's hard not to make these new babies a baby quilt. Right now I have at least 4 baby quilts waiting to be made. Today I got started on one. It's for the daughter of a dear friend in California. She's due in November and knows she is having a girl. She and her husband like to scuba dive and they are doing the baby's room in an aquatic theme with a painted mural of fish. Yesterday I found some darling flannel fish fabric at G-Street Fabrics in Rockville. Of course, it had blue background......but the fish were all different colors including pink and purple. All I have to do is add pink and purple accents and I've got a quilt for a baby girl. I would have gotten a lot further on this project today but my work space is in a loft area above the master bedro... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/147">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:46:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/147 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/123 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/123"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/12370_img_5629_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/18/2007: Sometimes, non-quilting projects take the place of quilting for awhile. My DIL has asked me for two years to make Halloween costumes for my DGD. This year I finally bit the bullet and decided to do it. Of course, now there are two DGDs so that meant two costumes. I found a Simplicity pattern that fit the bill for both of them. DIL chose Ladybug for the 2 1/2 y.o and Lamb for the 10 month old. Since I hadn't sewn anything even remotely resembling a garment in years, I decided I would follow the pattern religiously.......even using as much as possible their fabric suggestions. Ever sew with Sherpa????? That's fun and different. I gave up when I got to making booties out of Sherpa. For the life of me, I couldn't get the elastic threaded into the ankle part. I finally e-mailed my DIL and suggested she wear white socks and shoes. DUH! That's an easy fix. And forget making a black jumpsuit for the ladybug......black tights and a turtleneck will do just fine. But Hip, Hip, Hooray! As of thi... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/123">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:05:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/123 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/115 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/115"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/11523_img_3981_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/17/2007: I just read a new post on the forum where someone posted a picture of their first quilt. That got me to thinking about my first quilt so I went and found it and decided I'd take a picture and put it out there for all to see. I'm still not an Advanced quilter, but I've definitely come a long way from that first effort. My first effort was spured on by an adult education class and the birth of my second son. The teacher taught us the "quilt as you go" method so each week we had a new assignment and type of quilting.....nine patch, applique, etc. We were to make 6 blocks. I'm pretty sure that the fabric I used has polyester in it. We made all of our templates from cereal box cardboard and we hand-stitched everything. Well... I hand stitched almost everything. By the time I got to the last bit of quilting, I was getting antsy so I did a rather wiggly job of machine stitch in the ditch on it. Then the fun part. We were to put the finished blocks together by sewing the edges from the front ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/115">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:48:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/115 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/82 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/82"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/821_quilt_blocks_005_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/14/2007: Something about this quilt made me keep at it. This afternoon I finished the basic top though I need to zig-zag applique the pink ribbons. I knew it needed more pink, so I also added pink mini-piping to the border. What a difference that made. I was inspired because Susan Cleveland had just this past week been at our guild meeting. Just seeing her quilts was inspirational. Don't know if I'm ready to try Pipin' Hot Curves. Just for comparison I'm going to include a picture of the original breast cancer quilt that I did for my sister 3 years ago. To her quilt, I added family names and lots of inspirational quotes to keep her wrapped in love. This is the original quilt that I made with these fabrics for my sister, Cindy. Detail of Cindy's quilt before it was finished. Nina's quilt made from orphan blocks and left-over fabric from Cindy's quilt. Piping detail from Nina's quilt. Really not hard to do at all and it adds a little spark. Now all I have to do is stitch down the ri... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/82">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:28:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/82 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/69 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/69"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/69_ninas_quilt_wip2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/13/2007: With all the WIPs and UFOs sitting around my sewing area, you would think that when the urge to sew hit this afternoon, I'd be working finishing something. No...........before you know it, I was cleaning up to get started and I came across a bag of fabric and scraps from a quilt that I had made for my sister when she was undergoing chemo for breast cancer. As I looked through it, I realized there were enough orphan blocks and fabric pieces to probably put together another quilt top. Having just found out about another friend about to have a mastectomy, I started playing with the blocks on my design wall. So before you know it, another quilt has been started. This one I'll need to finish within the next month. Here's the basic idea so far: I'm thinking it will need a pink binding. And somewhere on it, I'll applique a pink ribbon or two. So while I had the camera out, I decided to take a picture of my sewing machine. It's a Bernina 440QE that I bought almost on impulse. I'm still get... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/69">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:46:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/69 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/26 <p align="left"><a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/26"><img src="http://www.thequiltshow.com/8/28/1006928/blog/26_mr_sm._b_the_right_way2_sm.jpg" align="left" title="Read More" border="0" width="150" /></a>09/11/2007: Blogging is such fun! Of course, my sons can't believe I've actually gotten savy enough to even know what a blog is. My friends say "be careful and don't put too much info out there". But I've got another blog on Blogspot and I haven't had any problems yet. I think of it as a way to keep a bit of a diary and to also share a bit of my life. I never get too personal. During our vacation this year, I did blog entries and pictures that kept a record of our trip. I e-mailed it along the way to friends and family. According to my feedback, my friends and family enjoyed sharing our trip with us and I have a record of a great time. I see this blog spot as a place to share the random thoughts that I have while quilting and interacting with TQS members. It'll will also be a great spot for putting more pictures out there. I won't always have to wait until the project is finished. I personally like to see WIPs. So here is a WIP from my work table (okay, it's actually on the floor): ... (<a href="http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/26">read more</a>)</p><br clear="all"/> Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:16:00 PDThttp://www.thequiltshow.com/os/myblog.php/customers_blog_id/26 http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/images/custom/valid-rss.pnghttp://www.thequiltshow.com/myblog/soren2go.xml