CALLING ALL CRAFTERS.. MAKE ME MORE TIME IN A DAY?!?!

Where to start?!?

I am still working on that pineapple I started last month. I swear they make more blocks after I turn out the light and close the door…

I am working on Gyleen’s: colourfulstitches.com Summer Camp quilt. You would never believe I have a really hard time with colors. Give me a bunch of glass and I can see where to put what color, density of glass, etc. and can see the finished project but I CAN NOT do this with fabric! It took me about an hour to lay out this one small 9 patch. I finally noticed one of the blocks was ‘fighting’ with the others and had to remake it. Obviously it is a scrappy and a mystery, therein lies even more of a problem because there are no pictures for me to see the end result…

There are actually 2 different ones started.

It was amazing how the border made this 'come together'. 

Friday night was First Friday in our town. My sister-in-law wanted to go to a new pub she heard about at work. She said ‘they open up the walls and it’s like you’re sitting outside.’ 

(tent on street)

 She also heard the Rueben Sandwich was really good….(she’s never had one before). After I got our bill I thought to myself  ‘I don’t remember seeing any gold dust or diamonds'. She and I shared the sandwich (in my opinion nothing to write home about), got 2 drinks ($13.00), (I could not drink mine because the lemon juice overpowered the champagne); tipped $3.75 for the both of us….and we left $30.00 between the two of us!! Am I sounding cheap or is this a little pricey for a sandwich? Oh yeah, must have been the few fries that came with!?! 

The pub was remodeled nicely though. They took the tin tiles off the ceiling opening it up, and put the tin on a section of the wall. They removed all the sheet rock taking the walls down to the bare wood and brick, papered some of the new replacement walls. Notice the paper next to the tin? It was also on the ceiling in the ladies room. 

(Sister-in-law on right)

Both the door/windows were open which made for nice atmosphere. The tent in the second picture is the start of celebrating the 75^th anniversary of Little League Baseball. Little League was started in Williamsport. We strolled by the tent after leaving the pub but there was too much ‘hob-nobbery(snobbery)’ for me.  

Received my Valdani order from my supplier! (I can order for you too, just email me.) No, they are not all mine to keep.

 

This is a great tip I tried this past weekend. I have been using a piece of one of those rubber shelving mats (you know the kind you put under your machine and foot petal to keep them from moving) to get up those pesky bits of thread and fabric from my carpet for some time. I ‘pull’ it into a pile and just vacuum it up when I clean. I started dust busting the stairs and after a few minutes of going over the same spot to get those buggers up, I got out my piece of mat. I started on the top step but the shelving mat piece was so used and I couldn’t find the other part I used to cut the piece off of so I got out my rubber glove. It worked! Fast and easy with no breaking my back by vacuuming!

Those white 'dots' came from the mat that was coming apart.

As if I don’t have enough to do one of my customers (93 years old) makes glass Christmas ornaments for a few of his friends and family. Last year I talked him into making a fused Santa. I thought this would be easier than cutting, grinding, soldering, etc. for him. Did I mention he is ultra meticulous? Because he could not have the pieces fit EXACTLY last year it ended up that I sent the glass home with him to cut and bring back to me to finish. Why should I have thought any different this year? I sent the pattern and glass home with him to cut and glue together. EIGHT EASY PIECES!  Again he brought me the pieces stating the glue I gave him (which is what I use all the time) was not working. He told me he was going to use Super Glue at which point I said NO, it has to go in my kiln and I don’t want to take the chance of explosion, let alone fumes! 

Now all I have to do is set up the rest, fire, and finish them. Thank goodness it is an easy pattern!

Yes I have to embellish them too...

A parting thought:

On the pub wall.

Thanx for visiting. 

D.G. L

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Congratulations Brandie! You are a follower and left me a comment….how hard was that??

A few weeks ago 2 of my BS friends bought the new double pointed Panasonic iron. It was on sale for $89.00 + tax. I’m still not sure why it has points on each end, how many times do I press backwards? Not many, but I might could. I thought about getting this iron but really, really hate spending that much money for an iron. I don’t know about you but I have this thing about paying over $35.00 for an iron.  I bought a T-Fal (had a coupon) and took it back because it would turn off even while I was ironing. I bought a Procter Silex but it only lasted 6 months before it started ‘spitting’ on me. I HATE that! I have also gotten many others. I decided to go to Sears because we were given a gift card for Christmas. (Free is definitely the best!) I found a great iron for $22.25 (that included tax)!! You see I don’t like to spend a lot of money for my irons because I am always dropping them. (This could be the reason the PS only lasted 6 months.)

This iron is amazing! It works just as well as an Oliso, Panasonic, Rowenta, any of them!

 

Our quilt guild meeting was a girl’s night out. We went to the only local quilt store (20 miles from my house). It is really an everything store that also sells fabric and quilt items. We ate at OIP before we went to the store. The owner of the store was at the restaurant, I guess to see how many would be coming to his store, and he paid for everyone’s meal! He also gave great discounts on everything. (He already gives our guild members a 30% discount.)

Sorry I do not know this lady's name , but she just joined our guild. She also just started shopping.

See Betsy M. (on the right) signing up for the 2016 quilt show I am chairing?

It's never too soon for Mel to teach her granddaughter Mari about quilting!

My birthday cake already?!? Oh, it's a cake Patsy got for the guild party, my mistake....

Midge and Mary had a great time. (Will their husbands be bringing the semi later to get the rest of their goodies???)

Wow, I certainly didn’t expect my birthday turning out the way it did!

Weeks ago I told my husband Lar what I wanted to do for my birthday. Because my children do not live close to me I wanted to take my younger son’s family (he lives 2 hours away) with us to my older son’s home in TN so we could all be  together. All I really wanted for my 60^th birthday was to be with my family. My younger son had to work upstate NY and wouldn’t be able to go, so that plan fell through. I stepped back, reconnoitered, and decided I wanted to go to Knoble’s to spend the day with my brother. He called Thursday to tell me he would not be going this year. (Going to Knoble’s for Memorial Day has been a tradition for my brother for 30+ years, not going only maybe 3 times at the most.) I was so upset.

The reason everyone kept making me change my plans was because Lar threw me an amazing surprise party. After walking in and seeing a bunch of people my eyes landed on my sons!! At that point I just lost it.

(I was going to just hole up in my sewing room and work on my pineapple quilt.) The party was amazing! It was the first time both Lar and my families where together…minus one of his sisters and 2 brothers.

Unfortunately the pictures of everyone are on Lar's camera yet. Also we were the only ones left so I had to take 2 different sets of family.

My brother and I with our cousin Sharon. She raised us in the summer when school was out. She is a 'walking wonder'. She had her neck broken in a car accident, survived cancer, has had numerous operations.  At this time she is healing from carpel tunnel on her right hand, getting left done next, she says she lives on $600.00 a month (still don't know how she does that) and yet she keeps plugging along without complaining!

 

I did get all the boys together tough.

It's amazing how my sons hold their hands just like their grandfather did...

 

Which brings me to the WINNER of my birthday present! It is Brandie Campbell of ABC: http://abrandiecreation.blogspot.com!

Congratulations and thank you for sharing my special day with me!

 

Speaking of parties:

This past Sat. Chookeyblue: http://chookyblue.blogspot.com  had a birthday party and I thought why not join in. It was great having birthday parties 2 Saturdays in a row. I went in my sewing room around noon and Lar called me at 7:30 to see if I was cooking anything for super. I had no idea what time it was and could have kept on sewing, but alas had to stop. I continued the party on Sunday though, all by myself.

Now all I need is the other 119 on that pile to be put together like this.

This coming Sat. I just might see if anyone else is having a party and crash it….

As if I do not have enough on my plate, I signed up for Gyleen’s summer camp. http://colourfulstitches.com 

I have so much fabric and she teaches several ‘scrappy’ techniques so started pulling fabric. Her method seems so logical. You pull your ‘soloist’ first, then add your ‘choir’ and finish it with your ‘harmonizer’. I haven’t decided on my ‘harmonizer’ yet  so I will show you the pic later.

  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
Again Thank you to the Men, Women, and Families that made and make our Nation Free!
D.G. L