Halloween Stuff

Hello out there in blog land! I know, it's been a while :0( Again! Getting this guilty feeling reading others blogs and not participating :0) I have been doing some sewing and hope to post some pics of that next time. Anyway, I would have to say that Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. Christmas coming in second only because of the cold and snow. Tonight is my daughters Halloween dance and my hubby and I have been asked to chaperone :0) It should be fun! This is us dressed up two years ago for Halloween and we are wearing these same costumes tonight :0) My daughter is HUGE into Transformers and loves the character Prowl. We made the mask a couple of weeks ago and I thought that was the extent of her costume. WRONG!!!!! Here it is two hours before we have to leave and she is trying to do stuff for the arms and breast plate and probably tires too!!! grrrrrrrrrr.

This is a picture of the character she is ttrying to copy. Pretty cool.

We went for a pumpkin carving Demonstration by our local celebrity, Ed Moody. This is the pumpkin I did. You should check out his web site: pumpkined.com hopefully he still has it up and running. He is the most AWESOME carver you've probably ever seen :0)
Have to go help make a costume and cook dinner and Costume up!!!! Off and running!!!!!

One Month!!!!!

O.K. I just popped over to arletasmotleywool and noticed I haven't posted in over a month!!!! Yikes! Without a lot of detailand depressing yada yada, I have been very depressed but am doing and feeling a lot better :0) I was actually in my sewing room earlier and was SEWING!!!!!! YEAH!! This is a star I found On line and was working on for the back of a jacket I hope to finish sometime:)
My son is a weblo scout and we will be selling popcorn at our local super market tomorrow...Yipee???? Oh well, he likes it :)
Our 4-H quilt group is working on a donation quilt for the hospital auxiliary ball. It is falling leaves. We hope to maybe get borders on it next week and maybe I can post a pic.
Off and running! Keep on quilting and have a great weekend!

Sand Hill Cranes

Here is a nice picture of some cranes that visited the pasture next to us a couple of days ago. They were quite interesting to watch too, as they would try to get to the grain in the barn and then the two young steers would chase them across the pasture. It was a fun game to watch. The young one sure had a work out :0)
I did not get to finish the quilting last night and it is a b-day present for tomorrow :0( Oh well, good thing it's a good friend as she will understand as she knows how I operate!!!!
Woke up this morning and went to download a pod-cast to my iTouch and remembered that I had an update to do on it. It would take a half hour to do so I set it up and went to work. Well long story short (because I'm completely exhausted!!!) It Crashed!!!!!!! And it took two HOURS of phone tech support to get it to restore!!!!! What a nightmare!!! Then, I'm still in my work cloths mind you, I still had to go to the grocery store. My eyes hurt and I'm burnt!!!! Ten dogs to groom today was just too much. My hopes for a better day tomorrow. Of and dragging myself to bed!!! LOL! Happy quilting!!!
Cindy

Carpal Pond

Well, here it is. My Carpal Pond!!!! When I had my carpal tunnel syndrome surgery, I was soooooo bummed that I couldn't quilt :0( Well, when my friend picked me up to take me to my surgery, she showed me a paper pieced bumble bee that she had done. Then the light bulb then went off!!!! I bet after three days I could paper piece!!!! So I did! This is a pattern that I had been wanting to do for a long time. Can't wait to get it quilted and the eyes on those little guys!
We did meet tonight for our quilt group but is was too hot to quilt. so we just sat around and hen talked about our day. Probably won't quilt tonight.... oh wait, I do have something that has to be finished for Thursday. So I'll do that. Note to self... Tooth picks to hold eyelids open. LOL Off and running! Happy quilting :)
Cindy

Mom's Socks!!!

Yippee!!! After a year and a halfish, I finally finished my mom's knitted socks. They actually match too! Right down to the little red toe!!!! Couldn't have done them without the help from my friends. Thank you, Arleta for teaching me and helping with all the tinking :0) And Carrie helping with tinking, getting my toes to match and kitchener stitch.
Have to go cook some dinner after I drop off A visiting child. Have a great quilting night! Off and running :0)
Cindy
First attempt at links - hope they work!

Pot-holders

Well, imagine that! A post for two days in a row!! Rare for me, I'll say :0) Another shocker.... Said I was going to make pot-holders last night, and I DID!!!! Well they were all but quilted last night and I quilted them a little while ago :0) YIPEE! Another project down. Next up needs to be the Tee shirt quilt a lady commissioned me to do for her son out of her late husbands tee shirts. Hopefully we are going to the beach, so have a great day of quilting!!!!!

I won!

O.K. I should be tied and quartered. Rotten busy summer!!!! I live in a resort type town and my beach time comes in January :0( Anyway, sorry I haven't posted in soooooo long. Have been lurking here and there but either too tired or too pressed for time to comment. I posted awhile back about a block contest I entered and I actually won something!!!! There were about 135 blocks that were entered. They had to be an original design and 12 1/2 inches. Mine took second place!!!!!!! Missing first place by only two votes!!!!! The best part of winning second place was that the prize was a 17 inch rotating olfa rotary matt!!!!!! YIPEE!!!!!! First place was a two hundred dollar quilters basket. Well, like a lot of you, I'm sure, I probably already had over half the stuff in that basket anyway! Almost didn't make it in the contest though, due to my carpal tunnel surgery. That's an other post... yes, you can piece with only one hand :)
Off and running to my quilt room as I'm making a couple of pot-holders for the Cancer relay on the 10th :0) Have a great night everyone!!!!
Cindy

Pictures, Pictures ,Pictures

Hmmmm, I guess one reason I don't post often is that I prefer to post with pictures. Well, it always seems like a fight. I can try to upload pics and it takes FOREVER to upload. Any tips on this would be great :0) Well, I'm sitting here recovering from carpal tunnel surgery on both of my hands a week apart. They did my right hand nine days ago and my left two days ago. It went really well and I'm doing great! Very little pain. Thought this would be a good time to get those pics from Paducah up. Well, my all time favorite quilt is New Dawn by Caryl Bryer Fallert and I was fortunate enough to meet her and get her autograph and picture with her in front of the quilt!!!!!! Which by the way is for sale for the low, low price of $34,000.00! Come on Mega Millions :0) LOL My friend Kathy (partner in crime, hehehehehe) Went with me to Paducah and she is pictured on the right. So that would make the person with the deer in the headlight look, me :( Of all the times to take a bad pic!!!!! Oh well, at least I have documentation of the event :0) Below is a picture of the New Dawn quilt. It may look familiar as a few years ago it was in a lot of the quilting magazines.




A little over a month ago, I went into the LQS to buy a flannel collection to start a quilt I have no business starting. (Sound familiar?) Anyway, I noticed that they were having a block contest. Three shops got together and decided on a fabric collection and picked a focus fabric that you had to use in your block. It had to finish 12 and 1/2 and be your own original design. For two dollars you receive a pack of tickets to vote for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at each shop. The three top prizes are a $200.00 quilter's basket for first, large olfa spin matt for second and a quilter's travel companion and a fat quarter bundle for third. Well, who would have known that I would have hand surgery the day after my surgical consult!!!!!! My center wasn't even completely needle turned! Well I had that night to finish my block :( So my idea of appliqued cherries and leaves went out the window. Crunch time!!!!! So here is my finished variation of my original idea. My biggest regret is that I had to fuse the leaves down:( Don't have thread to button hole around them either :0( Not to mention it was 1:00 A.M. !!!! So, they accepted it and it will be in the contest. I'm so glad as this hand surgery has me a little down and this will give me something to do. Get out of the house and Bop around some quilt shops!!! :0)


Hope you all have a wonderful day quilting!
Cindy

Back from Paducah

Well, we had a great time in Paducah. I had hand surgery Tuesday so can't type too much. We met Ricky Timms and he signed the picture of my traveling stars quilt. It aired on Monday. It was neat to see it hanging on the show! Anyway, also met and got an autograph from the best in show winner, Ted Storm. What a cool lady from the Netherlands. She quilted her quilt by hand and did fourteen stitches to the inch!!!!!! She's turning down the 20,000 prize money though so the quilt can be a handed down heirloom. It was designed from a bridle hanky that started in their family in 1829!!!!! Diane gaudinski was there and she won the Gammil prize and I met her and we chatted. She is very nice. She also signed my AQS book! Had to go by Bryer Patch studio and meet Caryl Bryer Fallert. She signed my AQS book and we had our picture taken with her by her New Dawn pheonix quilt!!!!! My favorite quilt ever!!!!!!!!! Soooooo Cooooool!!!!!!! She's a really nice lady too.

Paduka Bound!

My friend and I are going to Paduka!!! Yipee! I have relatives that live there and are letting us stay at their house. So in turn we made them a table runner. My friend Kathy did the applique and binding and I did the piecing and quilting.
The spring Fling for the school fund raiser is also this Sat. and I won't be here :0( This is the table runner I donated. Not quite a Championship Basketball quilt but hopefully it will raise some money for the cause :0)
Things have been crazy around here. I haven't even been able to lurk much. Hope all are well. Off and racing!

Oh Bummer!

Well, as Murphy's law has it, when things are just going along smoothly - watch out. Well, yesterday I did a load of wash just like every other day and boy did that machine start cussing and swearing at me!!!!! Call the repair man and he said it probably wasn't worth repairing and as i was talking to him the motor just died :0( Having the whole drum full of dirty soapy water with clothed in it :0( Bless my son as he wrung out and bagged all the cloths and double bless my friend Kathy as she told me to bring my two loads to her house and she would do it for me. Such an ANGEL!!!!!! I will be taking her quilt shop hopping and to lunch on Wednesday :0) That freed up my evening to buy a washer and low and behold by power of the internet and my trust phone, I now have a brand new Maytag washer and just did my first load and it sooooooooo ROCKS! It is bigger and a lot quieter too. I will sleep so much better tonight! Might go sew a little :) Off and running!
Cindy

Great Aunt's Table Linen

I did also watch The Quilt Show and A & A had a guest on who looks for old linens and quilts them and adds overlays of doilies and they are just beautiful!!!! Thought I might try it sometime on my Great Aunts. It has some love stains but that lady says that it gives them character :0)
Off and running to the store for some adding to the turkey soup!
Cindy

Back Home

It's always so nice to get back home after a trip! Have plenty of time to get settled back in before quilt group tonight ( can't wait!). Had a great time spent WAY too much money ( kids cloths and shoes :0( no fabric. Did make a quick run into JoAnn's and grabbed some fusible and some thread for the christmas round robin I'm hand quilting. EFT 2010 ish! LOL! Kids just had to have some yarn for finger knitting. My son loves it! The weather was iffy but we are home safe and now I'm off to unpack. Off and running!
Cindy

Gone for a week

My computer is tired and sassy. So it's going to the spa for a massage :0) I expect it back in about a week. Please keep me in your prayers as the twitching will probably start as early aS TOMORROW :0) LOL
Cindy

What's on my Bed????

Well. imagine that! Two posts for me in one day! So here is what is on my bed. Aquilt that I made for my Grandma who has since passed way. This is one of my first attempts at quilting and is probably more of a comforter as it is tied :0)
We don't have an actual quilt for our bed yet because I tend to give all my quilts away :0) However, I did a mystery with my quilt group that was designed by Iowa Star (?) Well the plan is to get this baby quilted on my little memory craft 4000 - see why it's not done, LOL - and get it on my bed :0) It is quite large. We have six foot ceilings and my husbands arm span is six feet and he couldn't open it all the way. Man I wish I had a long arm!
Still working on the runner! Off and running,
Cindy

Auction Quilt and Place-matt

Well it's a snowy blowy day here! Wind just a whippin'! Had a great day yesterday, was kidnapped by my sewing studio and was able to start a thank you table runner a friend of mine and I are doing for some relatives of mine in Paduka, Kentucky. We are going to the show this year and they are going to let us stay with them. I;m so excited! I haven't been there in five years. We are planning on making quilted jackets to wear but we'll see, time wise :0) The hubby and kids took our four year old niece sledding, i didn't go because I had already ice skated earlier in the day and winter sports and i don't really get along. Nor do I get along with steep hills :0) I stayed home to get dinner ready and when the in-laws came to get the niece they ended up staying for dinner. O.K. I had made enough oven potatoes and my son wanted mac and cheese and I had six thin pork chops and seven people. No problem, until I opened the chops that had to be cooked in twelve minutes and they were BAD! The expiration date on it was for today! So I had to run to the store and replace them. Man, second time in six weeks In have had a meat issue with that store. The next grocery is seven miles one way! The manager was really nice about it. Replaced the chops with better thick chops for the same price and even said she'd come and ck them for me if she could leave work :0) Small towns ,eveyone knows everyone and she even goes to my church. Anyway, the chops were great and a good time had by all.
This is the auction wall hanging. It measures 33 inches by 38 inches. Thought I'd do a simple quilting pattern on it and I like how it made circles around the butterfly blocks and kind of a cathedral window design in the toad in the hole blocks.
Then this is the fist place-matt I have made for meals on wheels. The second one may not be heavily quilted or pieced. Again, it's that time issue ;0)
We may just stay tucked in here today where it's warm. Hope you get a lot of quilting done. I'm going to try before it's back off to work tomorrow:0)
Cindy

Post Here or Post There

Well, I don't know where to put my words down. Can't figure out bloglines so have to jump around in bookmarks looking for all you new posts :0) I like the way the other blog site had everyone current post right there to scroll through. That was much easier for me. I finished a place-mat for meals on wheels, have to have two done by March. Finished as auction quilt wall hanging yesterday for the silent auction today. Phew! That was close! I'll see how it goes and post some pics when I have more time. Calling for another snow storm Sat. night through Sunday. Looks like Jen over in Wisconsin is going to get it first though, since she is across the lake from me.
HOpe you all have a great quilting day! Have six dogs to groom today and the the girls night out fundraiser action from 5:30 to 8:30 then my son is having someone sleep over:0) Off and running :0)
Cindy

New and Old Hobbies

Howdy All,
Well, I have been quite busy in my sewing room trying to get done wit a three inch on line square swap and am almost done with that. Also will finish up five blocks for another online project today. It was fun doing them but it will be nice to be a little freed up to pursue yet another project :) Yippee! Here are a couple of pictures of the jewel box quilt I did for my daughter. It really was a fun project. I think the brightness of the colors helped with that.
Oh, and not that I have enough going on I have recently taken up violin lessons and I LOVE it! Some times 45 minutes go by just like that while I practice. It is really cool. So, you might have figured out that that is another reason I'm probably not blogging as much as I'd like, but I'm trying :0)
Hope you all have a great day of Quilting :0)
Cindy

Last Day of Christmas Break

Well, tomorrow is back to school for the kids. Hmmmmm, on one hand I'm glad, it's easier to work when they are in school:0) Then again, we say good bye to another year. We did have a very productive day, none the less. My son had a friend stay the night last night, which seems to be a good thing as I get to have some uninterrupted sewing time. So I was able to get squares all cut and bagged to send for a block swap I'm in. YEAH!!! A little stress gone:0) Can't wait too see what I get back. How fun! They are really pretty sets of squares too! Before my son's friend left he sweet talked me into fixing his bunnies arm, patch his quilt his grandma made ten years ago and made him a pillow case. Also been working on a quilt on the design wall that I haven't touched in a long time. It will be nice to have that thing completely pieced. Well off to fix some dinner :0)
Gave a great day!

Happy New Year!

Hey everyone,
Hope you all are having a safe and wonderful New Years eve :0) I am spending it with my parents at their house. We have been shopping till we are dropping! Eating, eating and eating!!!!!!! OMG On wonder the first of the year is diet, diet, and diet!!!! Oh well, still having a great itme! However our plans have taken a turn, my da has come down with the 24 hour flu! Ohhhhhhhh, YUCK!!!!! Man, I hope we don't catch this or it's going to be a really rough 4 and 1/2 hour ride home on Wed.! Can't wait to get to finishing some of those U.F.O.s. I lkie Jen's idea of just seeing how much we can get behind us in Jan. I'm also fired up about starting some Christmas presents for next year. Was last year too but it didn't turn out like I pictured :) HMMMMMM! Wonder why? We are supposed to get some serious snow here too. Four to eight inches, which for this area is quite a bit. My brother drives a gas tanker and has to work eleven hours tonight, during the night and the storm, doging drunk!!!! Please keep him in your prayers :0) Thanks
Keep up the great quilting and I'll try to catch up on blogs but I'm away from my favs list so I'll have to wing it.
Again, Happy New Year and have a GREAT 2008!!! :0)
Cindy