The mindless job, well done!

Today was a good day.  Maybe it was the two phone calls and one visitor that I got, or maybe it was a combination of things.  But, I did not need a nap!!  I did a disagreeable job here that no one would want to do.   Only someone who had been watching woodpeckers on the porch for two and a half months would find it interesting!!!  I took the random spare pieces of batting and sewed them together.

Sliced the edges to even them, butted the edges together and did a loose zig-zag stitch...voila....new batting. 

 The extras were cut into 8 inch squares for potholders.

 I even organized:)

 The wonderful achievement:  6 new pieces of batting big enough for a cuddle quilt. And, a tidy batting corner:)

Seeking tradition....

 It is baby quilt time...I finished this Single Irish Chain top tonight.  I have not done this kind of work in forever..I even had to use spray starch.  Blocks finish at 3".  Why so small?? .. I do not know...

Speaking on the silly word verification thing...I thought that I had disconnected that months ago..I am so sorry.  Hopefully it is gone now...I am no computer guru...

Some of my favorite things..

Baby quilt with doggies...Done

My husband went to Mass this morning, from there off to see the Irish hurling match downtown with his buddies.  I decided that it was the perfect time for me to go to Michael's Arts and Crafts store...5 min away.  On a Sunday morning it would not be crowded like Walmart or the grocery store. It would be nice to get out, really nice.  I had my 50% coupon and wanted another rotary cutter which retracted itself, since I keep forgetting to do that...not a good thing.  Of course everyone knows what happened the minute I got out of the car.  But, I forged on..I made a mistake on the price as the world turned...and looked at the sweet young man trying to help this difficult old woman...I knew he was right. He was so nice.   Maybe I am loosing it.  I was glad to have gone and glad to be back home sitting in the sun on the deck on a glorious Carolina blue fall morning.  Maybe I will make a pink Irish chain....later...much later....

Saturday's piecing

Some baby quilts need making and  I do not want to do it(:  Working under pressure is not my thing, fun is my thing!!  Last night, cleaning my sewing room was on the agenda.  I did not get too far before finding a baggie with some leftover doggie scraps given to me by my sister.  Top done, sewing room still messy.

 Two zigzags ready for piecing on my small design wall.

The below picture is re-posted for Mary Pat's benefit.

Micro-managed.....

Working under constant supervision, I finished this today!  

Other news, Mr. O'Quilts took me to see my mother.  I was so excited.  But, when we got there, she was in bed and confused.  So disappointing and frustrating.

I was able to play a game of computer Free Cell for the first time in 9 weeks.  I tried for a second game, but I could not do it. After my good feeling at the PT yesterday, of course, I wanted to be all fixed today...ha ha...I do have a vivid imagination!!  I am doing my eye exercises and neck exercises and disposition exercises:)

Life Snips or is it snits??

Starting with the best...I am going to quilt this and use my cool and awesome Aurifil thread!!  So pretty...so fun!

Last night at Guild in my sunglasses, Jane Garrison, YLI expert suggested that we try to quilt with our decorative stitches...Pushing self to try new things..I started on this one.....

I thought that this nice curved stitch would  go up one side and down the next, connecting in the middle to make a nice scallop.  Wrong...the connections were off.  They connected for short while only, then missing and messing. not too pretty and not what I had in mind.... I tried some of the other stitches...very slow and not too pretty here.  Sigh...trying is no guarantee...a straight stitch would have been better.  At least I found some different uses that I will try another time.

My beautiful lovable bottle tree...

Found dead on the ground this morning...

Guess a little storm just blew the rotted base up and out...sorry beautiful bottle tree, very sorry...

My husband got home at 3:30 am last night.  He had been playing with his Irish band at a fundraiser for the DNC downtown.  He had a great time.  The phone rang bright and early with a cancellation for my first PT for vestibular therapy.  Good news, it was helpful....other news..she confirmed  unnatural eye movements and neck rigidity and ear disturbances.  Supposedly, the Lexipro, PT treatments and exercises will all work to re-set my brain.  Week ten begins with a little more hope:)

Notes from the concussion guru...

Today was the day of all days.  I was at the door pacing, all ready for this appointment and her supply of magic...way before the appointment time.  Mr. O'Quilts is a saint to put up with  me. 

The concussion guru...head of the department was well appointed and wonderful, pretty  and totally looking 15...She sized me up in short order...giving me an antidepressant to calm me down...WHAT...she seemed to think that I was agitated, and anxious and needed to calm down...whatever, I mean whatever....and then off I go to Vestibular Therapy.  Evidently the shaking up of the brain disturbed the ears, neck, eyes and head enough to make me dizzy.  She said that it would be at least another month...

My husband found a poster in the office.."Did you have a concussion?  Are you crabby, irritable, moody, agitated, annoyed, displeased, angry and out of sorts???"  He told the doctor his version of the truth(:

 After putting up with all this, when we got home, I found that I had left my reading glasses at the office, downtown at CMC rehab....My man is leaving now to go in the rain, in convention traffic to retrieve them..I do not know what else to say.  I think that he would prefer that I say nothing. 

 And today is a day with no sewing.

The American X.....number 3

Celebration!!  Because there are politics whether or not we like it....This block is to celebrate that Charlotte was chosen to host the Democratic Convention!  Celebration!  Because I have waited ONE month for my appt at the Concussion Clinic and TOMORROW is the day, I am celebrating!

Now, my appt is at 3:20.  I am insisting that Mr. O'Quilts leave this house with me in tow at 2...you never know about convention traffic.  If I get there and the concussion guru is out of the magic pills....well, then I will definitely need lots and lots of support from my friends.

Peach season gone, Apple season here

Every year tradition has it in the O'Quilts' household, that we go for apples.  Recently we have discovered, Windy Hill Orchard, in York, South Carolina.  It is a nice 45 minute drive from Charlotte.  Sometimes we bring the grandchildren to see the chickens and pigs....last year there were baby piglets, but more often my husband and I go for the annual outing ourselves.  After the apple selection, we go for a nice lunch at The Garden Cafe, right there in York...love those fried green beans!  Today, Himself went alone, since I cannot ride in a car more than 20 minutes.  With his back, I was grateful that even he could go.

This year the Gusmer family said that there was a 50% increase in price due to terrible drought conditions across apple country.  They said that the Michigan apples did not harvest and other places too.  They had received calls to bring tractor trailers to NC to get our apples, but there were having harvesting problems here as well.  Budget minded Mr. O"Quilts said that with $30 a half bushel instead of $20, he almost did not get them.  He did though and got these: Rustic Gold, Winesap and Gala.  We will be freezing his awesome homemade applesauce for the winter.  In middle October, we will go back for the Pink Lady brought in from NY which will last in the garage refrigerator until spring.

Loosing no time at all the Mr. has the applesauce already in the pot...Mom's 60 year old Revere ware...does a fine job.

Role modeling the resting thing

My Milito is 14.  I am older than that.  He has it right. I evidently do not.  There is role modeling all around me, but I do not take heed of it until life forces me to.  Quilting Yellow Bird was too much for me..getting all excited about learning the IPAD was too much for me and putting some of my antique quilts on Flickr was too much for me.  And, I did it all.   So now, it is my Milito and me...chillin..

I love my sweet, smart cat.  He has mouth ulcers, thyroid condition and now a large, growing osteosarcoma on his right hip.  He limps, but never whines.  He also knows the best room in the house.  We are sharing the peace.

Japanese X number 2

After yesterday's excess, I told myself that I was not going into the sewing room today.  Tonight I did not listen to myself.  Here is my number 2 Japanese X block.

Sunday is a day of rest...

Rest is for someone who way over did it yesterday.  And, I mean way...Zoey knows exactly who we are talking about!  Right Zoey??

Yellow Bird and the lazy sewist...

When I first got the new medallion book by Gwen Marston, I just had to make another medallion quilt.  Being me, I started two at the same time.  Yellow Bird, here,  is one of them and is all done.  Yesterday when I discovered that I could free-motion quilt, I was unstoppable!  I quilted so much, that both feet were alternately used on the pedal!!  Alas, there is a problem and that is my fault for being so very lazy.  When I was supposed to be resting, I was piecing this quilt.  When a quilt has so many borders like this one, each border has to be measured from the center in order to lie flat.....I did not do this because I was a whiz...whizzing along without thinking being oh, so lazy in the process..Now, my dear Yellow Bird has very wavy edges...I mean very wavy edges and I am afraid that no little baby will ever want it(:  That is what I get for taking the easy way out.

Now, to someone who is NOT lazy...that being Mr. O'Quilts.  He is a peach nut.  He drove to the farmer's market yesterday, as he does each year, to buy huge baskets of peaches.  The peaches he buys have spots on them which he removes in order to wash and freeze peaches for the winter.  It is the end of peach season here in the Carolinas.  My man gets his $25 peach baskets for $5.  It is the farmer in him, having grown up in the country.  Peach milkshakes, peach fruit pizza, peaches on his cerael...all winter long....Way to go honey.

Scrambled, my concussion quilt..done

Excitement!!!

1.  I figured out Flickr...a lot of it and I have uploaded some more of my Antique/Vintage quilts from my collection...so exciting.  My daughter set it up for me 3 years ago and I have not touched it since..

2.  While my husband was at his doctor's appts, I drove to see my mother, stayed 30 min and only had to rest a bit when I got home.  Tonight I figure that I am 50% better...took 2 months..but I am hopeful...hopeful..AND, I was able to free-motion quilt a bit!!

3.  My husband did the shopping at Aldi..was gone forever...when he got home, I found a brand new Ipad 3 for me on the table for my December birthday early...so we can sit in our recliners in our old age and email each other:)  So excited.  Now, I need to know Apps for above.

Not good news, my husband went to the spine doc today and now has to have a MRI on Wed..one day at a time again.....

Good night...

Japanese X block

I just could not stand it...I had to do it...I just had to in order to get a good night's sleep:)  So, it is fun.  It only took about an hour, a quick hour.  But, remember that I had not done it before.  It is a bit like the Zigzag, each block has to be prepared individually for the scrappy look...worth it though.  Of course, my block is off and so I cannot turn it in to Guild...Why do you think I go so quickly...not much measuring needed around this house...Guess I had better stop now in spite of the adrenaline still going...

Zigzag again...

Tonight I was able to go to the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild meeting...yes!  I took a 2 hour nap, my husband drove me and I sat in the back with my sunglasses on.  I had a wonderful hour seeing friends and being inspired to sew...more.and even more....keep sewing.  So I did.  I came right home and after dinner, I made three more of the Zigzag blocks!!

I am not going to mess around with the placement now because that part makes me crabby, I am just making some blocks.  I have 15 done:)  Now I am on to the next thing.....Amy at Badskirt has a tutorial for the Japanese X block.  I have wanted to try that for awhile, but I have been busy...ha ha...Now, the CMQG is doing this block, for block of the month of September.  I am excited and want to try it tonight.  OK, maybe tomorrow night.

My Concussion quilt ...top done

 Now, two months...evidently post-concussion syndrome..will see next week...the good news is that I can work it all out with my needle and thread!!!!  Just like other women throughout the years...Lucky me:)

 As, usual, I could not decide on which picture..with or without the flash...so you get both!

My concussion quilt... process, process, that's for sure

Just sayin.......