Tuesday, April 29, 2014

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BRAIN?!?


Happy Easter Again!

What a joy and honor it is that He died for me!
 
You are correct Brandie it is an egg plate. You can hardly see them but I line painted Easter Lilies on the back.


 



Instead, because all the children did not come to our house Lar and I went for an Easter ride. We were trying to find the bunny but he was already sleeping in his nest...he was exhausted! 
 

This past Friday I decided to treat myself to…UTTER TORTURE! I have never had a pedicure and now I remember why I always put the thought out of my mind. I am very ticklish so the man that took the top 5 layers of skin (or more, he didn’t stop till he drew blood) was lucky I didn’t kick him in the head from all the flailing of legs and jumping around! (I thought being pampered was supposed to be relaxing?) Maybe I should have kicked him in the head for drawing blood?!? There are no pictures, I don’t think you want to see gore.
 
Friday night was our guild meeting. The pedicure I had earlier must have reached up to my brain and took a few layers off that too because I volunteered to be quilt show chairperson for our 2016 show…what was I thinking, oh that’s right, I WASN"T!
 
Our guild hired Guyleen Fitzgerald: http://colourfulstitches.com to give us a trunk show and explain what she would be teaching us Sat. It was a ‘trash to treasure’ pineapple quilt class that uses your scraps. (Gee, as if that didn't sound like it was a way to save one of those bags.)


 
The pineapple quilt is on my list of  To Make and when I saw this one I decided to take her class.  I am so glad I did. If your guild is looking for a speaker…she is so funny…and you want a new technique, hire her! We had so much fun and she even threw in a ‘freebie’ on her ‘butterfly’ technique. (It is how you join any Y seam with NO Marking and NO Stopping ¼”!)
Fast, actually the whole class was fast. I was able to get 4 blocks together in no time! (If I only would have gotten my hair done.)


 
 
Everyone's block turned out so different:




Dawn's
 

Break time...Already???
Kay, Vicky, Guy
 
Maybe Shelly should have joined Kay, what do you think?


Shelly


Betsy's (can you tell she's an engineer?)
 
Guyleen also showed us her new 'polygon' technique. This  is where the 'butterfly' really helps.
 
 
 
 
I didn’t sleep well Sun. night because my carpenters and I were going to start taking out the church windows I was hired to restore. I always get anxious before I start removing windows (and have them put back in) because so many things can go wrong.


 
 
Well true to form - we laid down the plastic, set up the ladders, (the windows are 25’ to the top) and started on the trim to get the windows out. After trying to get the trim off we discovered  the windows have to be taken out from the outside! (When windows were installed over 100 years ago, you never know until you start to take them out how they were put in.) Now I have to wait till another company removes the outside covering to do their work so I can do my work. What a waste of a day and also pay.
Do you ever anticipate something going really great and when one little thing goes wrong you just give up?? That’s what I did, went home and took a nap.

When I got up I did get in my sewing room and sewed. That always makes me feel better.


 
Now I think I only have 98 more of these to do before the next step…I Can’t Wait!
So after I finish this post I will start on pressing and trimming this pile...that still leaves me, you guessed it, 98 more to go!!

Next thing to learn is text wrapping and maybe something else so the posts aren't so lengthy and maybe I can get some pictures to be side by side. (I know it's a lot to ask of me but maybe some of my brain cells will return, if you don't use the cells, you lose the cells.)
 
Hope your weeks were even better then mine.

 
 
 







 

















Sunday, April 20, 2014

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The more things change, the more they stay the same?


If you notice, I added a linky button on the right. It's for EQ7. (Says picture will be displayed, but I think you can still press on it.) Even if you do not have this program you should follow the linky party. You can get a ton of great ideas! (And maybe win something too.)
Also, press on the other linky party hosted by Sew Many Ways!

I am on a mission to try and get those 40 bags, though I will settle for 10-20 in maybe 6 months not days. (I am such a hoarder but trust me, that show really helps me!) No I hope I'm not that bad...although if you ask Lar, he'd insist I am.

I came in to work today and my mission was to clean off the back table:


 
It's really hard to tell but I do have stuff on shelves behind and beside this table.
Should I be embarrassed or ashamed???









I started with these snowflakes (didn't turn out) I was making as gifts last Christmas before my kiln temporarily died.  OH NO NOT MORE DYING! (It is back to life.)


I thought I can't just throw all this glass away so I decided to set them aside and use them to pot melt, (a stained glass technique). I started cutting the wire hooks off each snowflake and happened to remember that I used 2 different glass companies. Oh fudge, so into the garbage, hey it's helping with the 40 bag thing:
After I finished with the snowflakes, did I mention all the hours and hours to set them all up?, I started feeling pretty good about letting go of junk.
I opened a box and found:
 




NO it HAS NOT been that long since I straightened up, I said I found this paper in a box!
Maybe things do stay the same:




No they don't:


Do you think this is sanitary?:


 Hope this wasn't at the same hospital.....

So after hours of throwing, yes there actually is a lot in that yellow bag....:



After the table was finished I decided to make (if it turns out) something. Can you guess what it will be???

 D.G.  L

Monday, April 14, 2014

I DIED, I mean I dyed Sunday!

Actually I am still alive.
I needed to match a piece of fabric Edyta Sitar of www.laundrybasketquilts.com made in 2010. The line is Bon Voyage and it is the teal color. I am going to try and match it myself. I got the fabric as close as possible but without the really dark marks. I was trying to get those dark marks and that's when it got screwed up. First I had to keep pouring blue on the fabric because it kept coming out too green. So I have blue splotches but no really dark marks. I guess it’s back to the vat again…once more. 
 If anyone has a few yards they would like to sell me, contact me.


 

I tried this recipe Sunday and it was amazing:
Mix ½ cup mayo with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Slather on chicken (I used legs and thighs), sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425 - the recipe said 20minutes, it took 1 hour for mine. The chicken was so unbelievably moist. (This is a Hellman's recipe but I used a different mayo.)

 Monday morning I spent a few hours finishing cleaning out my closest (so I can fill it up again) NOOOO!! ) I was on a site the other day and she is doing a 40 bags in 40 days (I am so sorry I don’t remember which site) but it lit a fire under me so I’m  trying to get my own 40 bags full. No I am not doing it in 40 days….too much stress, I’d have to just put the dumpster in front of the door and start tossing. I am putting out 2 bags for Tate tonight though. I posted a few things on Ebay but doesn’t look like they are selling so I will start filling another bag.
Last week I was having a give away to anyone who became a follower and/or left a comment. You can still become a follower…please I’m begging you…I got one new follower…Yeah!!!...but she is so busy she doesn’t want any more patterns. So I will have to give them as Christmas gifts or put them in a bag I guess. If you see any you would like, please contact me.
 
Friday morning Lar and I went to a ‘car show’ in Englishtown, (see the story at the end of this post). I saw VERY few cars, not like a regular car show, but here are some pics:


Lar must be warming up a little, I pointed at this and he thought it was a large speaker…we got a laugh at it, finally! It had been a very quiet morning.


There was a lot of junk (And even a real speaker.)

This is more my speed and no I didn't take advantage.




This is also my speed and I no didn't get to try one of these either:

 
And I'm sure this girl had enough!
You see all kinds of things at these meets...

I hope I have found the fabric for that pineapple border. I really like this:


This is the story of what happened before Lar and I got on the road to N.J. Friday morning, sorry it's a little long:
 

Let me start with an apology first. This is a long tirade, but I have to vent. (I am writing this section as we are driving to N.J.)
Two weeks ago I mentioned to my husband (Lar) to call his son in N.J. to see if we could come down to visit him and his girlfriend who are both having birthdays next week. After talking to his son his response was “Joe is in a tournament.” I just thought that meant we would have to go another time…(silly me).
I get home from work Thursday and Lars says “Joe wants to know what time we are getting there tomorrow.” What?!? I didn’t order the glass at the distributor to pick up, they request 24 hrs. prior to pick up, nothing is together, I don’t have a book downloaded, I have to go tonight to pick up fabric my friend got for me, just sooo much to do!
Friday morning before we left I had to call the dentist to make a root canal appointment for Lar, call for glass and see if I can pick up supplies, do the book, AND answer my emails because I cannot do them on the road. Lar is asking me all kinds of questions: did you pack this, do you have that, did you call…while I am trying to concentrate on MY stuff.
One of his requests is that I take my computer along for the maps and I said sure. As I am getting ready to walk out the door he say’s ‘Aren’t you taking your computer?’ I said I have my tablet. He says does it have the maps? (I did get a little huffy), got my computer, and that’s when it was…DADADA…The end of the world.
He says ‘If you’re going to be that way I’m not going!’, takes his suitcase out of the car, I go after him and persuade him to put the bag back in the car, he does, I shut the door…and LOCKED  BOTH our key sets in the house! I thought he had all the things in the car because he was in such a hurry. He says “Do you have the keys?” I say ‘No’, Why would I have keys?, you’re driving. I thought he’d stroke out right then and there. Hasn’t he learned yet he’s married to me??? I didn’t see it as such a big deal. Have you ever heard of locksmiths?
That’s what, 3 yards of fabric?? (Everything is compared to fabric prices.)  Needless to say it was a VERY quiet drive to N.J.!

AND, Joe was the only person that had (notice I said had, extra copies are being made and placed/given out all over) an extra key, what are the chances, someone that lives 150 miles away we just happen to be visiting!
 D.G. L