Quilting obsession

It is 11 o'clock at night.  This is an unusual sight...a clean sewing table.  I was ready to go to bed when.....

I start sniffing around my quilting room and find these 25 year old Christmas patches and wonder how cute it would be for my 2 year old granddaughter Lynsey.  I tell you this table was clean for 3 minutes max...hello?????  

It was never ever meant to be clean.  My grandmother was right when she made this for me forever ago:

The new change purse and continuing saga

Well, on the way to the pool this afternoon, I decided to drop by Marshalls to see if there was a purse that I liked since mine was getting oh, so ratty.  I was just looking around when a clerk came to me to see if I was carrying a drink...eg Coke..  Of course I was!  Always I am...Me and my diet Coke are best friends.  This time again...the bottle was leaking in my purse all over the store leaving a trail, not to mention what it was doing to my ratty purse.  I was so embarrassed when I saw the girl coming with one of those big mop and bucket items to clean up after this eccentric.  Sigh!  The good news is that I found a new purse for $20.  I got home and emptied the wet contents of the ratty purse...I will spare you the details..As it all was drying, I realized that I was not a silk purse kind of woman.  I am a oilcloth woman!! Yup...me, diet Coke and an oilcloth purse for leakage!

 The next blunder was sewing the zipper on the wrong end..the black was supposed to be on top.

 Here I am using my trusty new teflon foot for slippery things as I attach the scraps I had purchased from Oilcloth Addict when they had their postage free holiday.

And here I am making the big zipper the right size by sewing back and forth a few times.  Below I use clips instead of pins so the oilcloth will not mark.

The purse tutorial comes from Momtastic.  Sigh...too bad I am not a silk purse kind of woman!

Block of month "rosebud"

Guild obligations for the month are done now.  This is the block of the month of August for the breast cancer quilts.

I think that my mind must be somewhere else because when I started to applique, I had both blocks together and I had to pick stitches out.  When the phone rang, I thought it was about my mother and my heart jumped...so I guess there is still stress there.  Anyway, I am glad to have done these.  I am off to the pool to exercise my body and my mind.

Quilts of Valor blocks

Mindfulness but mindless, as in easy....to bring back my sweet angel disposition:).  Appliqued star quilt blocks to donate to our Guild for Quilts of Valor.

Silk purse....or/ fool that I am....

The crabby tale:  Last year I bought a bag of hand dyed silks for $10  from a vendor at the Asheville quilt show.  At the time I had the crazy idea that I would try something new.  Last night I took them out to have a try at using some of them.  The piecing part went smoothly enough, although the silk did shift a bit.  I decided then to add some iron on interfacing to stabilize it.  The purse idea came so I sized the pieces and quilted with some yellow silk thread I found in my mess. and went to bed.  This morning I was eager to see what I could do.  *%$#  First of all the zipper didnt catch all the way and I didn't notice till the purse was done and I had to go back by hand and repair it.  Then I forgot to put the machine on Mode 3 and got a stitch I didnt want. Then I forgot to change my quarter inch foot and broke a needle.  Then the lining was put in wrong and I had to take it out and it is still not right.  There was so much of the *&%* business, that my husband came in to the sewing room to find out exactly how much FUN I was having!!

The two sides of my silk purse...I am putting it away for now because I am annoyed.  I will take it out on Wed for my group to critique...so I maybe can save myself some aggravation next time I get a loose goose  idea.

Andrea's blog

You just have to check out this creative blog...I have said it before and I'll say it again....how does the rest of that saying go??  Anyway.....check it out ...Andrea's blog

As for me...well, I got a reprieve on my tooth pulling for a few weeks.  My mother has her favorite quilt, cat and view from her own room and is recuperating at her place..TBTG..  And my adorable grandchildren came to visit this weekend...Last night I got my energy back and sewed till 1 am making the backing for the jelly roll quilt..I hope to get that basted Wed nte.

Dog Screen Bag

The man at the pool who gave me the animal food bags gave me this one.  I really loved the image, but when I went to make the bag, I saw that it was made with paper instead of plastic.  In another post here and here, I showed the process of covering the picture with vinyl.( there are several steps to this process around those other posts.   Finally tonight, I finished making the bag!!  So delighted with my favorite word.....UFO....DONE!!!  Yeah for the picture, the vinyl and the leftover screen from my screened in porch. This time, I washed it first:)

Butter Churn mystery quilt finished

I have so much to be happy about.  My friends who insisted that I take this mystery quilt workshop that I was refusing to do.  Then there is my friend, Terri Feehan who quilted this beautifully on her long arm...Thank you Terri. My sister who just happened to have the yellow big enough for my backing in her stash and gave it to me.  And then my own insistence on buying nothing in order to shop my own stash.  Thank you to Sherry who  found the name of the block.  And, now....presenting my Butter Churn mystery quilt all done!!

I found the cutest red and white batik sort of dots for the binding:)

Jelly Roll Race Top...

This is so funky..I .used up strips just sitting around....instructions for the Jelly Roll/ Lasagne type quilt is  here

Although my version of this quilt is not exactly adorable actually it is odd but, it was a perfect "no-think" quilt when stressed as I have been for the past two weeks.  I liked trying something new and, it went together so quickly.  After the first two rows sewn, I think it was done in like 20 min...wow...My mind is already thinking on what I could do with it cut up and restructured...I will get my friends to help me baste it and then wiggle stitch it for a hosptial donation.  By the way, my mother goes home tomorrow..a huge miracle.

Update on good ol' Ma......

At the end of the day, life is good. My mother has risen from the dead and is now sitting up in bed, signing copies of her books for her attending medical staff. She is eating and joking. It is unbelivable. The pneumonia in one lung is completely gone and going in the other one. And the IV antibiotics are curing the inflammation of her gall bladder. She is now, once again, charming the nurses, joking and living. TBTG!! Hopefully she is going back to Sunrise on Monday. Thank you all for your support, prayers and love. It is so wonderful to be able to give good news for today.  Queen Alice, age 90 lives and loves on.....just for today:)  Thank you for all your support and prayers and hugs...

A mother update

The x rays of mother's lungs today show a worsening of the pneumonia.  The doctor said that this is not a result of a cold or not taking antibiotics.  This is aspiration pneumonia which is disease progression from Parkinsons.  I hate Parkinsons.

Things to comfort me..

My bracelet that my daughter Emily made me with lavender scent.

My new Crocs.  Teresa from http://stitchinfriends.blogspot.com/ told me that she fell down and hurt herself wearing her Crocs.  She said to look on the bottom to see if the treads had worn thin...Sure enough, the treads on  mine were gone. Believe me, the last thing I need is a fall...so I got online and ordered these!!!!  So happy am I with my feet so cozy:)  Thank you Teresa. 

Biggest Stress buster of them all

My wonderful Irish husband of 31 years.

I could not get through the stress of my mother's decline without him.  I love you honey. xxoo

Stress Busters!

What to do about the stress of sitting in the hospital while my mother's body works on pneumonia, gall bladder, confusion from the Morphine and MERSA issues???  Well first of all, once home I need a no-brainer to sew on.  Thanks to Wanda, http://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2011/07/getting-some-practice.html, I have strips for the Jelly Roll Race.  I had never heard of it before. I had strips impulsively bought from Michaels with a 50% off coupon.  I cut a few more to go and they were ready to sew after the hospital without thinking.  Thank you Wanda.

In the hospital, I had my hand sewing...big stitching work on a UFO.  TBTG for hand work.

And always, my Milito...helping out with the stress where ever he can:)

My mother....again, my mother....always my mother

She sits now in the hospital room eating ice cream, making jokes, charming the nurses and reading her own poetry from her Kindle.  But, inside she is fading away.  She has pneumonia, an infected gallbladder, old age and Parkinsons.  To look at her fake it all....I get hope.  Then the doctor tells me that it is touch and go with her.  The doctor says that all pneumonia cases have only about 30% chance of success and age and disease make that even less.  She is on three kinds of IV antibiotics, oxygen, catheter, Morphine and Oxyc..for pain.

I am on disbelief.  The doctor tells me that we are not meant to live forever.  I hate the doctor.

Scary...My mother will live forever....right????

Yesterday my mother called me to say that the folks at assisted living said that she should go to the hospital but she didnt want to.  She asked me to turn around from my route to the pool...bathing suit or not...and take her to urgent care.  Now, I have arthritis and she is 90 years old with Parkinson's..albeit a very clear mind.   No way Jose....so I told her she had to behave and do what she was told to do and go to the hospital.  I was there in 10 minutes and while I was changing from my suit in her bathroom, the ambulance folks had already arrived, putting her on the stretcher...She was screaming in pain and I was telling myself to be brave, very brave...Come on Diane...you are 63...Grow up.  She was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia...I never knew that could be painful.  So scared was I...but friends abound and one who works in that hospital came down and was angel of the day...Thank you Drenna!!!  Today, my mother is sitting up, eating ice cream and writing a poem...but not out of the woods...on 3 IV antibiotics...I spend the days and my sister is spending the nights....It is soooo scary. I know that I have had more than most with my grandmother living till 99 and my mother now at 90.......but...I so want forever....

Postcards and Booklet covers

Today's lazy day and the need for a thank you note, led me to work on these this morning.  I have three postcards and two booklet folders finished. For the booklet covers, I removed the staples to have the cover.  I took "made fabric" from scrap strips and glued them to fit the cover with a plain fabric glued on the inside.  I free motioned quilted it and did a double blanket stitch on the edge.  Then I re-stapled the insides of the booklet.

 For the postcards, I cut an iron on stiffener to size and ironed on scraps.  I then free motion quilted it or used my walking foot with decorative stitches to secure the edges of the patches.  I then glued the postcard backing and did the double blanket stitch to hold it all together.  I so love the variegated threads for this.  And see the little red and blue corners cut from triangles glued on the card stock. Glossy polyester thread is fun in free motion to make it shine.

This postcard stamp from Hobby Lobby with my coupon is used here on card stock and glued to the back before the edge quilting.  I have another post on this but of course I cannot find it because I just now learned about the label thing on the bottom...totally slow learner.

New motto...

Thank you to Color Order blogspot!  http://incolororder.blogspot.com/

Mystery quilt top finished

I do not like mystery workshops...oh, I take it back.  I do!  Just did it to be with my friends and guess who had a good time..me.  I bought no fabric for this.  My husband says that it is way too yellow...but, the yellow flowered fabric was the only one on hand that had enough yardage and I got it on Fabric.com http://fabric.com/ last year for $3 something a yard.  I still didn't finish it up.  And once I see it online, it does not look too yellow at all.  I do not want to quilt this as it is too big and I want to spend my time making other projects, so I think, just think, I may, just may.. check out a longarmer, Ruth's http://ruthsloan.blogspot.com/ lady in Asheville.  I will think about it.  Cause I would have to drive to Asheville from Charlotte.  The longarmers here are too pricey for me.  Anyway, I do not know what this pattern is.  I never would have guessed how it would look in the end.  As much as I like to control my quilts..I did like this.

Billie's Quilt

Billie has been an inspiration for me for several years now.  She has come to my water aerobic's class regularly with her oxygen bottle in tow. In the dressing room after the pool, she would often gasp for breath.  While I whine about my arthritis pain and how it affects my walking, Billie never whined, she just carried on.  We laughed and gossiped and enjoyed.  She told me about her life working in a factory in NC and I chatted about my life. About 6 months ago her COPD got worse and she couldn't come to the pool any more, but I saw her at lunches, chatting with friends and enjoying her life.  Last week she told me that she had lung cancer.  Now, I tell you that Billie does not deserve all that.  She has already had enough.  But, I am not in charge in the world.  So yesterday I gave Billie this quilt with the inscription....Billie's "No whining " quilt...Billie, my inspiration.
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