Don't look if you're doing the New Year's Eve Mystery

Here's the block for the New Year's Eve Mystery quilt.  I got all 12 blocks finished today.  They just need to be sewn together to make the baby quilt.  You can't see it with just the one block pictured, but when the blocks are set together, a neat secondary pattern emerges, too.  I like the way the colors played well together, too.

Went to Lotawata Creek for lunch today.  Had to go to Barnes and Noble to get a few things taken care of on my Nook.  Both places were fun to go to.  Had a good time.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve Day

Been up since 6 a.m. waiting for clues to the mystery quilt to be posted!  I'm such a nerd...  Started working on it and hoping to keep up, but may be leaving the house for a few hours soon.  Hubby and I might go out to eat and also stop at Barnes and Noble.  I have some questions on my Nook that I could not get satisfactory answers from their help line on.

So Happy New Year to everyone.  I hope and pray that this coming year will be a good one for you and your family.

Windy day

40+ mph winds today!  Wow!  At least the temp isn't too bad.  Hasn't been very cold but they are predicting that in a few days.

Not that anyone really wants to hear about my health, but I was having a real problem with nosebleeds a few months ago.  I decided to run my vaporizer every night, and it solved the problem.  Well, I think I finally killed the vaporizer, so today Ev and I went to Wal Mart and picked up a new one.  It's made by Vick's and it's billed as a warm mist humidifier.  This particular model is also labelled as one that is 90 some percent bacteria free, which was important to me.  It was almost twice the price of the vaporizer, but I think since it's a humidifier it will be made for continuous use.  I set it up right away and am hoping it works!

I did some sewing today.  I made a pair of slippers for Bethany from a felted wool sweater.  I found the pattern online a while ago, and it's about the easiest slipper pattern ever.  The slippers I made for her were from a green sweater and she is calling them her 'Zelda' slippers.  I'll take a pic of them soon.

Tonight I want to get the pieces cut for the New Year's Eve Mystery.  I ironed the material earlier today.

Pictures!

Here are pictures of the individual lap robes I made for the nursing homes.  The pics are a little after the fact here, but better late than never.

These two were made from Moda charm packs, plus a small amount of stash fabric:

 This was a panel I found in my stash:

 This was a double slice block pattern made in brown and greens for a man:

Purple blocks I won in a block lotto years ago that were aging nicely in my stash:

 Pink double slice blocks:

Three lap quilts made from 6" squares and neutral fabric from my stash:

Log cabin squares and miscellaneous pieces rescued from the thrift store:

 And two more of the same panel I found in my stash:

It sure was a lot of fun making these!

Feels like Monday

Pretty tired today.  Feels like a Monday since it was my first day back to work.  ugh.

Picked out some material to do the New Year's Eve mystery on one of my groups.  I'm going to do the baby size and make it in girl colors.  A friend of mine is going to have a new grandbaby and they know it's a girl.  She is due in March.  I also have a couple other friends who are expecting grandbabies soon, so I'll be making a couple more baby quilts soon.

Finished another quilt today

Can you believe that I finished Bethany's quilt before she got here?  haha.  Yup, I got 'er done.  Spent 5 hours in the sewing room, loved every minute of it, and machine quilted and bound her quilt.  She will be here tomorrow (Nick can't wait) and we will give it to her then.  Hope she likes it!

Raining here tonight.  Might turn to snow, but I doubt it.  Seems too warm.

Not sure what my next sewing project will be.  There's a New Year's Eve mystery on one of the groups that I'm thinking of participating in.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my friends around the world!  May you have a joyful and blessed day today.

I had both my kids home yesterday and over night.  We had a wonderful dinner of Cornish hens and all the trimmings.  Baked a lot of goodies, too.

This morning I baked a pan of cinnamon rolls.  Made the dough in the bread machine after dinner last night and rolled them up.  They rose in the fridge overnight and all I had to do was put them in the oven this morning.  Oh, the house smells so good!  Not going to put icing on them because half my crew doesn't like it and I don't need it!  :)

Busy day of shopping, baking, and wrapping

My feet hurt.  I've been going nonstop since 7 a.m.  Hit Wal Mart, then the grocery store, with a few little stops in between.  Got home around noon and started cooking and baking.  Made a big plate of deviled eggs, two lemon meringue pies, and a cheesecake.  Yes, a cheesecake.  sigh.

Started wrapping presents.  Got about half of them wrapped.  Will take care of the rest in the morning.  Johanna is coming tomorrow around noon and is bringing her presents to wrap.  Plan to make a couple batches of easy cookies.  Also going to put together some cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning.  Want to go to Church Saturday night.  The choir usually sings a lot on Christmas Eve Mass.

But right now my feet hurt.  I'm going to bed.

Ivy strikes again...

I forgot to mention in the last post that yesterday, when my darling husband came up to have lunch with me, he let our mouth with a dog attached stay inside.  Ev said it was drizzling and Nick was home (upstairs asleep) so he THOUGHT she would be okay.  right.  not.

Remember a few posts ago I mentioned I won something?  Well, what I won was a new television.  Our old console television threw in the towel about 9 months ago.  We then drug one of the kids' old 19" t.v.'s down to the front room and had been using it.  There was a contest where if you brought in a canned good, you got an entry into the drawing for a new t.v.  It was at our local Ford dealership, and I was very fortunate to win.  Of course, I think I brought enough canned goods in to feed a small army (they were donated to the local food shelter), but still came out ahead.

I digress.  Yesterday, while Darling Hubby and I were enjoying lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Ivy was dining on the remote control for the new television!   Oh, that dog!  She ate the remote for the satellite receiver not too long ago and we had to get a new one.  This brings her tally up to 2 remotes, 1 couch, 2 chairs, umpteen shoes, hats, and goodness knows what I've forgotten already.  It's a real good thing we love that dog....

Long story short, I called the manufacturer of the t.v. and it will be over $40 to replace the remote.  I called our satellite provider, DishNetwork, and they said our Dish remote should do everything the t.v. remote did.  After attempting to do some of the things it was supposed to do, Dish informed me that I need a new remote from them, which will be free, and they are sending one out.  Good ending to an aggravating start.

Oh, and I got a speeding ticket on the way home from work last night, but not telling my husband...  He will read about it in the local police report in the newspaper and then we can laugh about it...hopefully...  :)

Holiday is coming up fast

Christmas is almost here!  It's been stretched out before and after the holiday for us this year.  Last weekend we went up to Mom's, this weekend we will have Christmas at home, then next week Nick's girlfriend will be here and we will have a mini Christmas with her. 

I have my menu planned out for Christmas Eve, when everyone will be home.  Making Cornish Hens, pea casserole, green bean casserole, salad, stuffing, and whatever else we want to add to it between now and then!

Baked a lot of those jar breads and have them in the freezer, so won't be doing a lot of baking.  Maybe a batch of cookies or two.  Want to make some cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning breakfast.  yummmm.

Almost done with my shopping.  Tomorrow, after Ev gets paid, I'll go to Wal Mart and pick up a few things that I have to get yet.  Most of my grocery shopping is done.  Ev did bring home a coupon from work for a free ham or turkey, so I'll pick that up soon.

Haven't done any more sewing on Bethany's quilt, but not worrying about it.  As long as the machine cooperates, I shouldn't have any trouble getting it done.  I asked Santa for a new rolling chair to use when I'm machine quilting.  The chair I have at that machine is a reject from work I took home years ago.  It's an office chair on wheels with no arms.  It would be perfect except it's all broken.  The back keeps sliding down and the padding is all worn down so it's like sitting on a board.  And it doesn't roll well at all.  So hopefully Santa's UPS delivery will get here on time....

Quilting started

I've had this top done for a long time and decided it needed to be quilted and find a home.  Nick's girlfriend will be here next week and I plan to give it to her.  I got about a third of it machine quilted tonight.  Still just comfortable doing loopy loops, but hey, I'm doing something at least!  The top was made during one of the online mysteries I participated in.

Wiped out

Tired from all the traveling and having to work today.  Didn't do much of anything when I got home from work except cook dinner.

Measured a top I have to be quilted.  Going to get the batting for it this week so I can pin it and quilt it soon.

Back home again

We all went up north to visit my mom and family yesterday.  Came home today.  It was a good visit, but I'm wiped out now from the driving.  Took a hot bath and I'm relaxing.  This is a short week for me at work, with the holiday coming up.  Tomorrow I want to get a few more things taken care of on the present front.  Still have a few little things to get.  And I want to get some wrapping done.

Party day

Today was our Christmas party at work.  I brought sloppy joe.  We had so much food, I brought a lot of it home!  Everyone always goes a little overboard for this party.  A couple of people who used to work in this office came for the party.  It was nice to see old friends again and catch up.

It's a wrap

Tonight I wrapped most of the presents that will be going to my mom's side of the family and Ev's side.  I'm just not that into wrapping anymore.

Today was a lucky day for me.  I won a prize!  It sure felt good to win something.  Our family is really blessed. 

Hoscah Recipe

Here is the recipe for hoscah, or hoska - however it is spelled.  When I was little my great grandmother would make it all the time.  We also called it sweet bread, but I came to find out later in life that term also refers to some disgusting part of an animal that people eat, so now pretty much just refer to it as hoscah.

Mammy did not really measure much when she made hoscah.  She had made it so many times, she probably could do it in her sleep.  Grandpa would say "Who needs cake when we have hoscah!".  Some times she would just put raisins in it and some times, especially during the holidays, she would put the candied cherries in it.  I do think I remember it having nuts in it once or twice.

I tried to write the recipe down many years ago by watching Mammy make it and take notes, but I really couldn't get it just right.  Later on, while surfing the internte, I came across a recipe for Czechoslovakian Egg Braid on recipezaar.  It fit the bill perfectly for hoscah.  All I had to do was add the raisins and candied cherries.

This recipe make two very large loaves.  It is best eaten immediately because it gets stale quickly since it has no preservatives in it.  I usually cut a loaf in half and freeze the rest.  It freezes very well.  It's good plain, with butter, or even toasted.

So without further babble from me, here is the recipe for Czechoslovakian Egg Braid by Charmie777 on Recipiezaar with my additions.  I'm calling it the hoscah recipe!

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
7 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
3 eggs
1 cup raisins
1 cup candied fruit, chopped (red or green cherries)
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water

In a medium saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup water, margarine, sugar and salt to 120 (or very warm) stirring frequently.  Allow to cool enough so that to barely warm so that it does not kill the yeast.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and yeast.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture.  Beat for several minutes, then beat in the whole eggs.  Add enough flour to make a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl.  Add raisins and candied fruit.  Turn out onto lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes.

Grease a large bowl and place dough in it.  Turn to grease top, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes.  Punch dough down.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide dough in half.  Divide 1 piece of dough into three equal parts and roll each into a rope about 12 inches long.  ON a greased 15x10 inch baking sheet, braid the three parts, loosely fastening the ends.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Cover and let rise until light (braids will not double).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Make and egg wash with the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water.  Brush braids with the egg wash just before putting in the oven.  Bake until bread is a deep golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 40 minutes. 

Tonight was another marathon cooking/baking session

Cooking and baking update - I'm pooped!  Got home from work and hit the ground running.  Browned four pounds of ground beef for sloppy joe.  That will be Ev's dinner for tonight and the rest is going to my Christmas party at work Friday.  I added celery, onion, and green pepper to it, and then the sauce.

Ev texted me and asked if I could bring him a couple grilled cheese sandwiches to work because he was hungry and had eaten his lunch early.  Did that.

Put together a new recipe for potato soup in the crock pot.  That has to cook for 8 hours, so going to have Ev turn it off when he comes to bed tonight.

And I finally got the hoscah put together.  It's on the second rise and will be going into the oven soon.  I will post that recipe before the week is over, promise!  It's really good stuff.

Now, I'm going to sit down and watch Criminal Minds.

And tonight was a pumpkin apple bread kind of night

The last time I made pumpkin apple raisin bread I wasn't pleased with it.  I used storebought applesauce and it just didn't have the depth of flavor the batch did when I used the homemade applesauce.  Tonight I used chopped fresh apples instead of homemade applesauce and it was very good.  That bread in a jar recipe is so versatile.  I just love it!

Put up the rest of my village tonight.  I did not put all my houses and figures out this year.  I just didn't feel like it, so I didn't do it.  I picked my favorite ones and put them out.  I really hope Ivy leaves things alone.

No sewing tonight.  Don't know if I will get any done this week or not.  Tomorrow night I plan on wrapping some presents for family we are going to see this weekend.

It's a banana bread kind of night

Made some banana nut bread in jars tonight.  The house smells good! 

I had to stop at the store on my way home and get a couple things.  Nick used to work there and he drops in on the gals to chat now and then.  When I was in there one of the gals asked if I was baking any more breads.  I laughed and said yes I was baking tonight.  Then I asked how she knew about them.  Turns out Nick has been talking them up to people.  She told me his favorite was the apple pumpkin!  Cracked me up but really made me feel good.

It's that time of year again!

It's time to make goodie bags for Christmas!  Just made two this year.  One for Johanna and one for Nicholas.  Johanna doesn't have a steady boyfriend right now and Nicholas' girlfriend lives states away.  I don't have as much Christmas fabric as I thought I did and I was having a hard time picking out fabric.  I brought down several pieces and let Nick pick the material for his and for his sister's bag.  Nick's is the red one.  I like both fabrics and made a nice drawstring top this time, rather than just attaching a tie on one side.  That part changes from year to year, depending on my mood....

I started to put up my village today.  Didn't get too far, but that's okay.  I'll put it up through the week.  We have the tree done.  Didn't put too many ornaments or stuff on it this year, but we all like it and think it looks nice.

I am considering making us all new stockings this year.  Haven't hung the old ones up yet, either.

The church potluck was nice.  I got a kick out of seeing all the wrapped quilts sitting on with all the packages for the nursing home folks.  That was my little secret today and when one of the people went to pick up the stuff for their family member, it made me feel good.  Yeah, going to have to remember to start earlier next year on those so I can make them a little more special.

Done, done, and done!

A stack of a dozen lap quilts!  All done!  I did it! 

And they are all under wraps, now.  Tomorrow is the pot luck dinner at church and after which they will be distributed to their intended recipients at different nursing homes in our area. 

I've got a batch of pumpkin apple raisin bread in the oven.  Taking some of it to the pot luck tomorrow. 

So, this morning, when I was putting the binding on the last lap quilt, I only had two sides to go and I would be all finished, the Bernina decided to act up.  It started when a needle broke.  It ended up with me taking the needle plate off, then taking apart the bobbin area and cleaning out all the fuzz and lint and thread and wow, how did this tempermental machine ever function with all that stuff in there?  That Bernina is not my favorite machine to use, mainly because of it's lack of being a workhorse, but after pulling all that stuff out of there, I have a newfound respect for the machine!  I am certainly not one to allow my machines to get in that condition, but the Bernina has a drop in bobbin, and all my other machines are not.  I wasn't cleaning it out properly because I didn't know I was supposed to clean some of the areas. 

Anyway, I had to take a 45 minute detour to do all that, then finish the binding on the last lap quilt. The machine is in tip top shape now.  I have another project I want to get on right away before Christmas gets here.  I want to finish up the pine trees wall hanging.

Ev put the lights on the Christmas tree tonight.  I'm going to put the ornaments on it tomorrow and try and get the village up.  Started clearing the junk off the piano so I can set up some of it there.  Why do I accumulate so much junk?

Three done tonight, three left

Went upstairs tonight and put the binding on three of the remaining six lap quilts.  I was determined to get at least two done tonight and pushed myself to do a third.  I'm glad I did, because now I know that tomorrow I will be able to finish, no problem.

I made a small pork roast for dinner with some fried cabbage and noodles.  Yummy!  I know it's just simple food, but we like it.

Six done, six to go

Had a busy evening tonight.  Came home from work and just had time to check the mail and talk to Nick for a few minutes.  Then ran out to meet a friend for dinner then went to church.  Tomorrow is a Holy Day.  Our church didn't have a vigil Mass, but the church in the town over did.  I really like the church because it's very old fashioned.  Plus, my great grandfather on my dad's side helped to build it.

When I got home I had to fix Ev's supper, then throw clothes in the wash.  One of my shows is on from 8 til 9 so I watched it.  Then I went upstairs to sew.  I was able to bind two more lap quilts!  Six are done and six need to be bound still.  I would like to have had more done by now, but I think I can finish them up in the next day or two!

I almost forgot

Happy St. Nicholas' Day!

Three more done

I did not finish binding five lap quilts, but I did finish three.  When I was doing the last one I made a mistake and sewed the binding to the front side first, instead of the back.  I left it and machine sewed it as neatly as I could.  As much as I would have liked to have stayed up and sewed some more, I think sewing the binding incorrectly was my cue to stop at three!  Eight more to go!

Also tested out the pigma pens I have in a drawer.  Wanted to make sure they still work.  They do.  Just going to write their names on them.

I'd rather be quilting

When I am at work, all I can think about is getting home to do some quilting!  Tonight's dinner is going to be simple - just hamburger helper.  I'll get that going and then I will be free to quilt up a storm!  Going to cut the binding a little larger for the lap quilts than I did yesterday.  I cut it at 2" and that was just a little too narrow for my liking.  I have enough binding cut at the 2" for another lap quilt, but I think I'll just put it in the scrap bin and make 2.5" because it will work up faster.  I won't have to fight it so much.  Should I set the goal for myself to get 5 of them bound tonight?  Is that unrealistic?  Then I can shoot for 3 Wednesday and 3 Thursday?  We will see how ambitious I am when I get home!  haha.

Pictures!

 That poor dog.  Johanna insisted on picking her up for the picture!  This was Saturday when we went out to get our Christmas tree.  It was a beautiful day.  Today we had a bit of snow and sleet!  Guess Winter is trying to get here.

 Cranberry Nut Bread...yum!  I get conflicting opinions about the cranberries.  Some like them tart and some would like them to be sweeter.  Might make the next batch sweeter just to have a comparison.

Isn't this the cutest little ornament?  My friend, Mary, sent it to me.  Life really is good when I'm quilting!

And speaking of quilting I spent almost two hours upstairs tonight.  I cut binding and put it on one of the lap quilts.  I also trimmed up the remaining six that weren't trimmed.  Still not sure what, if any label is going to go on them.  And I promise to take a picture of the stack of them when they are all finished!

Almost there

I have quilted all twelve of the lap quilts for the nursing homes!  Trimmed six of them.  Hope to get started putting the binding on tomorrow after work.  I'm so excited!  There is such a sense of accomplishment, looking at them folded up on the table in a big stack, even if they aren't all the way done yet!  I am confident I can finish them this week.  They need to be done by next Sunday and I don't think that will be a problem at all.  I am so blessed to have this ability.  And very thankful for it!

Made pork chops, mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner tonight.  My friend Lori gave me her seal a meal machine and I sealed up some leftover meatloaf and threw it in the freezer, along with some rice.  I need to get more bags for it, and also an attachment to seal mason jars.

Pretend there are pictures

I have a bunch of photos I wanted to put on the blog post tonight, but they are in my camera in the kitchen and I'm in bed, so they are going to have to wait.  Just pretend you are seeing them...  I have pics of the family at the tree farm today getting our Christmas tree, pictures of cranberry nut bread I made, and a picture of a beautiful ornament that a friend sent me.

The cranberry nut bread was a new twist on the bread in a jar recipe.  The cranberries were too tart just out of the bag, so next time I think I will sweeten them up in a syrup before adding them to the bread.

Machine quilted another lap quilt today and got about a third of the way through another one.  There are three left to quilt now.  Then it's on to the binding festival....lol

Ivy went with us to get our tree today.  She was a good pup and greeted everyone by politely licking any exposed body parts within her reach.

Johanna has a broken heart but is being a brave soldier and muddling through it.

Nick is a sick kid right now, but hopefully is on the tail end of it.

Nativity festival

Yesterday right after work I took my dad and step mother to a Nativity Festival in Springfield.  It was really nice.  The festival was held at a Franciscan retreat center. Part of the display was in a beautiful church.  The nativity scenes were from all over the world and very interesting.

Today I need to do a little housecleaning and get started putting up my village.  I also need to finish quilting those four lap quilts.  Shouldn't take long to get that done at least.

We are planning on getting our Christmas tree today.  I'm looking forward to that!  Both kids are going to be home and will go with.  I hope I can convince Ev to let us bring the dog, too!  There might not be room in the truck for her, though.

Same old same old

Not much going on today.  Same old same old.  Didn't do any sewing.  Still have those last four lap quilts to machine quilt. 

Two more quilted and last four ready to quilt

Tonight I quilted two more of the lap quilts and pin basted the remaining four.  I had to piece the batting for the last two, but that wasn't a big deal.  With any luck I will be able to get the four quilted tomorrow after work.  Then I can start on the bindings.  Just going to machine bind them all, that's the easiest and fastest for me.  If I had more time, I could have done more intricate designs and such, but maybe next year.

Still have a mess with that online retailer.  Today I got ahold of a Senior Executive Resolution Specialist at their corporate headquarters.  She is at least staying in communication with me, via email, and has attempted to resolve the issue.  She is not having much success at this time, but the thing that is helping me to sleep tonight is that she has mentioned making accommodations if any overdraft fees are incurred because of this issue.  That is one of my main worries, so it meant a lot.  The problem should not be happening.  I made purchases and the retailer is debiting my account for up to three times for each purchase.  The debits don't all stick around, because some are what they call 'memo posted', but while they are there, my account has to have the money to cover them or it will be overdrawn.  This is nerve racking, to say the least.  Let's hope tomorrow is a better day on that front.

There is a display of 140 Nativity Scenes from around the world on display in Springfield at the Franciscan Sisters Motherhouse this weekend.  I'm going to take my dad and stepmother.  Haven't told them where we are going, just that we are going someplace they will like.  Dad may or may not go, depending on if he gets a deer on Thursday.  I hope he gets one so he can go with.

Progress again

Here's my progress so far.  Six tops have been quilted and are waiting for binding.  In this picture the other six tops are just matched up with backings and I was ironing the backings.  I finished ironing and even had time to pin baste two more tops and wind bobbins for them.  They are ready to roll tomorrow.  I AM SO INTO THIS!!!!! 

Just a side note, do you see those scissors on the table?  Those are a very good pair of Wiss shears that I bought when my kids were babies and I was into making their clothes and shirts for my husband.  That pair of shears cost quite a bit of money back then, and probably still does today.  I actually think I paid about $50 for them 20 years ago.  And I still don't think I have ever told my husband how much they cost....  I don't use them for anything but fabric.  They have endured the years well.  Just a good example of if you buy quality, it lasts.  Wish I could always AFFORD to buy quality....

Made some Polish sausage and fried potatoes for dinner.  I had some leftover meatloaf and fried potatoes.  Made Nick a quesadilla.

Random thought:  Ev has often commented that he wished our walls were drywall instead of plaster because it would be easier to put some insulation in this house (which is desperately needs, by the way).  As I sit here writing this, I look over at the wall of my room, with it's plaster bumps and texture and drips and yes, even some tiny plaster cracks near the baseboard.  And I think that a plaster wall is 'warmer' than drywall.  It's got character.  Each plaster wall is different.  They just don't make them like they used to.  I also like it because it's more soundproof.  That's important when two people in the same house are on different shifts.

Cyber frustration and lap quilt progress

Oh, I should so learn not to crow...  I was telling everyone how I had made all these online purchases and that I was so tickled things would be delivered right to my door.  Just a few clicks of the mouse and my holiday shopping was well on it's way to being finished.  Than I looked at my online bank statement.

The major retailer that I had made four purchases online with in the last few days was showing not four but six debits from my bank account.  Sandwiched smack dab in the middle of the legitimate and authorized debits were two identical debits made two minutes apart.  This is so not good.  Called the retailer and spent 50, yes 50, minutes on the phone with them and really did not accomplish much other than getting extremely aggravated.  Called the bank and got even more aggravated when, after explaining my situation, the gal informs me that there isn't much they can do until they look at the video.  Huh?  What video?  The video of who used my card to make those purchases....  Uh, they were online purchases, I repeat.  She babbles on some more and in an exasperated voice again tells me they have to look at the video of who used my card.  Three times, I tell her there will be NO video because they were ONLINE purchases and ONLINE debits.  When she again mentions watching the video, I got a little bit (okay, I raised my voice) upset and she puts me through to her supervisor.  Long story short, my debit card is now on restricted use until we find out what's going on.  Not happy about it, but had to do it because if I didn't and more debits came through, I would be liable for them.

On a better subject, I machine quilted two more of the lap quilts tonight and ironed the remaining six tops.  This makes five of the lap quilts quilted, one basted, and six tops pressed.  Going to shoot for quilting the other one tomorrow and basting a few more tops.  Gotta keep going on them!  Time is getting short!

Raining and sleeting outside, and the wind is howling!  Guess Old Man Winter is making his entrance in a grand way.

Very productive day

I got a lot done on the lap quilts today.  I managed to machine quilt three of the twelve and pin baste three more.  I also wound the bobbins for the three that are basted, so all I need to do is just sit down and sew!  I like that a lot!

I have a list of the names of the people they will be going to.  Thinking that I might put their names on the backs of the quilts, since they are nursing home residents, and all.  Don't know if I will have time to do a sewn label, but maybe just putting their name in permanent pen on the binding might be enough.  I'm thinking that all of the lap quilts might be bound with white muslin, just so that I can do it all quickly.  Starting to get tight on time with them.

Still not feeling up to par.  Hoping this doesn't go into my chest.  Entire family has it now.  Yuck.

Baked a turkey today.  Used it to make those good sandwiches.  Johanna was here for a while and ate a couple, too.  She's getting over a broken heart right now, poor baby. 

My first quilt

Bonnie Hunter at quiltville has asked us to reminisce about our first quilts.  I didn't have to go far to take a picture of my very first quilt.  It is still in use, under two more recent quilts, on my bed.

It looks white in this picture, but that's because of repeated washings over its 30 year lifespan.  I made this when I was 17, between my senior year of high school and first year of college.  My grandmother on my dad's side helped me to make it.  It was very simple in design, just squares put together in a fairly random pattern.  I remember I drew a grid of squares and colored them in with different markers to represent four different fabrics.  I bought the material at Zayre (anyone remember that store?).  There were two fabrics that were printed with blue flowers, one with red flowers, and one with yellow flowers.  They were tiny flowers and even had a speck of green in with them.  When I got the fabrics home, I remember my step dad saying they looked like underwear fabrics!  Haha.  I bet he don't remember saying that, though!

The year was 1982 and the rotary cutter hadn't been invented yet, so like so many others, I used a pencil and a yardstick to draw on the back of the material, then cut each square out with scissors.  What a painstaking job that was!  I used a polyester batting and a light blue sheet for the backing.  Thinking I was really cool, I used two different colors of quilting thread.  I used blue in the squares that had blue flowers in them and white in the other squares.  And to be different, I quilted a diamond in the squares and along either side of the seam line of each block.  A LOT of the stitching has come out, but it's held together pretty good for the most part.  My grandmother actually finished the quilting for me when I had to start college and didn't have a lot of time, but when I got it back, it didn't get a binding on it.  I let it sit on my cedar chest and age nicely for a couple years.  Then I decided it would look really nice with lace, of all things, around the edges.  I bought some eyelet lace and proceeded to put it on the quilt.  Called it done and started using it on my bed!

After that first quilt, which by the way I decided to do on a pure whim, there would be more. I had just said, I'm going to make a quilt, and then did it.  Marriage and babies came a few years down the road and I didn't get back to quilting until 1994.  Then, I made 19 'quilts' one fall to give to family members.  I used different things, from flannel sheets, to purchased flannel, to make tied quilts, again with polyester batting, that I didn't bind, but did 'envelope' style.  With the scraps of flannel I made a backing for a top that I made from 29 pairs of my husbands old jeans, along with some thrift store jeans.  That quilt was also tied.  My son used that one until the backing completely shredded.  I have the top still, and think about making another back for him someday, since he loved that quilt to death.  It was soooo heavy, I had to take it to the laudromat to the industrial size machines to wash it!

I took a break again for a short time, maybe a year, but then got into quilting full swing.  By then rotary cutters had come onto the scene and I remember getting my first one and how totally thrilled I was with it!  Many years and many quilts later, I'm still loving it and hope to continue quilting until I can't do it anymore.  I still use the 1980 model Kenmore I got for Christmas that year from my maternal grandparents.  I also use a variety of other machines, that I have collected over the years.  That machine, and the Kenmore my grandmother had that I inherited are my two favorites  I hope to one day have a longarm machine.

So, that's my story!  Check out the other stories on Bonnie's blog:   http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-quilts.html

Donna's frogs

My friend, Donna, has been working on this top off and on for quite a while now.  The frogs are pieced and the dragonflies are appliqued.  She brought it over today to baste.  Donna is going to hand quilt it for a special little boy in her life.  I hope he knows how lucky he is!

I pressed four more of the lap quilt tops and backs.   Cut them to size.  Need to get moving on them, but I have been roadblocked with another sinus infection or cold, not sure which it is.  It's really working on me good, though.  Ugh.  I hate that, I have four days off and two are spent traveling and the other two that I had planned on using to quilt like a mad woman, I can barely crawl up the steps.

So call me crazy, but I'm going to bake a turkey tomorrow.  When you don't have thanksgiving at home, there aren't any leftovers.  When there aren't any leftovers, there aren't any grilled turkey, blue cheese, and grilled red onion sandwiches.  I intend to cook the bird early in the morning and make the sandwiches for lunch AND dinner.  If anyone complains, tough patootie.  I seriously doubt there will be any complaints....

Bought the cat a scratching post yesterday.  Hope this will curb her desire to scratch my furniture.

Back home

Just got home from Mom's.  Had a real nice Thanksgiving visit.  Ate lots of turkey and pumpkin pie.  But, I don't have any turkey leftovers....  I'm thinking I might bake a turkey bird tomorrow or Sunday.  Maybe.

Going to try and get more of the lap quilts pinned today.

Happy turkey day

I'm up early and getting everyone moving here.  Going to see family today and have to start moving early!  Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

Just in case I don't get online tomorrow, I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday.  What are you thankful for?  You don't need to tell me, just remind yourself every now and then how lucky you are to have the things you are thankful for on this day.  Happy Thanksgiving!

So cute!

How can you not just love these little bottles?  I'm not a Coca Cola drinker, Diet Pepsi is my soda choice when I drink soda, but these bottles get me every time.

Ironed two tops and two backs, then pin basted two of the lap quilts.  I'm going to start with the preprinted panels.

Rainy day

I would so much rather be home sewing than at work....  It's a rainy day here and the perfect weather for sewing in my pajamas.  Sigh.  Instead, I'm at work, which isn't a bad thing because I'm grateful to have a job.  I am going to go to Wal Mart at lunch to pick up some more batting.  Tonight I would like to get at least two lap quilts basted, maybe more.  I'm thinking I'll bring them down to the kitchen and baste them on top of the deep freeze. 

Getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I'm not cooking at my house, but I am going to take some of my quick breads to dinner.

On a personal note, I have to say that making these lap quilts is really a good thing for me right now.  Things have been in quite an upheaval with one of the kids and having a way to get away from that by working on this project has been a Godsend.  There have been times in the past when things at home, with the kids, or other 'just life' stuff have gotten me down and I have turned inward and not done any quilting.  Maybe it is a form of depression, but not so bad that it ever was debilitating, thankfully.  This time, I saw it coming and decided I was NOT going to let it go in that direction, instead I was going to use the quilting as my therapy.  And do you know what?  It worked.  It worked very well, in fact.  I accomplished more than I thought I could (even just to this point, I know that I have more to do yet!), and as I sewed, I was able to put things into perspective and work through them, then move forward.  I am truly blessed.

11 and 12

Whew!  Okay, all 12 lap quilt tops are complete.  Going to take a deep breath and then jump into the quilting!  I think I'm going to start with the pre-printed panels.  I have some pink material that will make a nice backing for the panels.  I do need to get to Wal Mart and pick up more batting.

I think on the tops made with the six inch squares I might just quilt a wavy line in about the middle of the squares from end to end.  That will be a nice quick way to get them done.  I am also considering just doing a loopy loop all over them.  I need the practice on that kind of quilting and this is a good opportunity to get it.

Number ten

It looks a lot like number 7, because it's from the same charm pack selection.  The border is a darker green.

I have 11 and 12 assembled into rows, ready to be sewn together.  Just ran out of umpf.  They are both like the one in the previous post that was six inch squares alternating with miscellaneous six inch squares.  Sure feel like I accomplished a lot this weekend in the sewing room.  I could have finished more, but had some other things going on.

Number eight and number nine

Here are two more lap quilt tops I finished.  The top one is half solid cream and half mix and match six inch squares I had in my stash.  I do like the way it turned out and may make another top like it.  The other top is the second double slice I did, this time using the browns and greens.  I like it a lot, too.  My friend Donna likes it and says she is going to have to make one in pinks. 

Five miles, no more mouse

Walked five miles again today.  Again, not all at once, but at least I'm moving.  It's not my favorite thing to do, but after I do it, I feel good.

The mouse went belly up today.  Guess he found some poison.  They were teasing me at work with him.  Ugh.  He's probably not the only rodent in that building.  And some of them even walk upright...

Back to quilting.  My friend Donna came over tonight.  I showed her how to make the Double Slice block.  I also had it written down with little pictures to help her visualize in case she forgets.  Donna makes one quilt at a time, so she won't be making this block any time real soon because she is working on a quilt right now.

I did rough cut pieces for the green and brown Double Slice lap quilt.  Plan to work on that tomorrow morning if I can.  We have photos tomorrow at the church for the church directory.  The appointment for my happy little hive is at 10:30, then my dad wants a big group photo for the directory also.  That pic is at 2.  Ugh.

I really wanted to go up to Springfield today for the gran opening sale at the new Joann's store.  I didn't do it, though.  Talked myself out of 1. spending the gas money, 2. taking the time (takes an hour one way to get there), 3. buying fabric I don't need, and 4. driving home in the dark.  But I really really wanted to go....

So as plagued with nosebleeds as I was, ever since I started using the vaporizer every night, along with the saline nasal spray, I have not had a nosebleed.  What a pleasant change.  I hope this continues to help and that they leave for good eventually.

Five miles, one mouse, and one fox

Here's what I accomplished today.  I put together 64 of the charm pack squares into a top 8 squares by 8 squares.  I ran out of steam before I put the border on, but you can see the material I'm going to use for a border next to the top in the second pic.

I feel pretty good about the fact that I walked 5 miles today.  Not all at once, but 5 miles, nonetheless. 

We have a mouse at work.  Have I ever mentioned that I. Hate. Mice?

On one of my walks today, during my break at work, I saw a fox out in one of the fields.  I don't think I have ever really seen a fox like that out in the open before.  Barb was walking with me and she said it looked like it might have been a momma fox by the way she was acting.  She was trying to get our attention and lead us away from an area that quite possibly could have been her den with pups in it.  She was a very pretty animal, a gorgeous copper red with a dark tail.  I thought she was quite big for a fox and really had to watch her closely to be convinced she wasn't a cat.  She was in the middle of a field and when she moved, you could really tell that she was not a cat, just by the way she flitted about.  It was certainly a gift to see such a beautiful animal today.

I haven't cut the material for the Double Slice in brown and green yet, but it's ready for me.  I wanted to do something quick tonight, and since the charm pack squares were all ready cut, they fit the bill.  I found out that the deadline is December 11th for me to get these lap quilts done.  I'm certainly challenging myself here!

More ideas

So I have three charm packs of 5" squares that are in spring-y colors.  I just bought them through the mail, with the intention of participating in a challenge, but I've changed my mind about doing that.  What I thought I would do now is just put the squares together in rows of 8 to make a lap quilt.  I'm not quite sure how many squares are in the charm packs.  Each one will take 64 squares.  If I don't have enough squares to make two, which is what I would like to do, I think it would look nice alternating print squares and a constant, some pretty solid or even muslin.

I also have quite a few 6" squares cut, all miscellaneous fabrics, that would work out nicely for another lap quilt or two.  Those could be done in rows of 7, so I would only need 49 for each lap quilt.  Hoping that I have enough to do two that way, and again, I could always use half miscellaneous prints and half of a constant, such as a muslin, square.

As of now, I'm feeling pretty confident that I will be able to get 12 tops completed.  Getting them basted and quilted and bound - well, let's just see how things progress!  I have been wanting to make these using mostly stash materials and batting.  My stockpile of batting has decreased quite a bit, so that is an area that I'm sure I'll have to purchase things.  Normally I work with all cotton batting, making all my scraps all cotton, and pretty much a no brainer that they are all the same fiber content.  Well, it has become increasingly difficult to find the all cotton batting at a reasonable price, so yesterday I broke down and purchased an 80/20 bagged batt in a crib size.  With a little piecing, I MIGHT be able to get enough from one bag for two lap quilts.  It will be close, but even if I don't have quite enough, I think I will be able to get three from two bags at least.

6 tops done

I finished the pink Double Slice top tonight and picked out fabric for a double slice done in brown and green for a man.  I'm really challenging myself to get these 12 lap quilts done.  And I think I can do it!  If I just get 2 more tops made and then slice up that back I will be satisfied, but I'm shooting for making 6 more tops and not slicing up that back.

Block bonanza

The top photo is one of the panels that I found late last night to use for the lap quilts.  The bottom photo is the layout of 16 Double Slice blocks to make another top.  I picked out the fabrics and cut and sewed the blocks tonight.  I still need to sew the blocks together, but this was enough for one night.  If I feel like doing something in the morning before work, I might sew the rows together.  If not, it will be ready tomorrow night to quickly sew together.

This Double Slice block was mentioned on Stashbusters.  I found a video on YouTube from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  It was a real easy block and I'll probably make more than one top from it.

10 p.m. ideas

Last night, after putting those two tops together I was already in bed and remembered something.  I had made a back for my daughter's signature quilt that she didn't like.  It was pieced with all different Amish style solids.  I got to thinking that I could cut that into four different pieces to make lap quilts.  Well, when I went digging for it, I found something even better!  I found a piece of material that had three panels on it, each about the right size for a lap quilt.  They are springy type colors with flowers on them and will make nice lap quilts for three ladies.  So now I have five that are for sure ready to be basted and quilted, which is quite a big jump into this adventure.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to put 12 together now.

I have not decided if I want to cut that pieced back up or not.  Going to see how things progress.  There's been a lot of talk on Stashbusters about the Double slice pattern.  I might give that a shot for a couple quickie tops.  It would only take 16 squares to make a lap quilt.

I stopped at the thrift shop on my lunch hour and found some material that will work well for backings.  Not that I needed any more material, but this called out to me.  And it was only a buck for each piece, so that didn't hurt....  One piece is a narrow maroon stripe that will work well as a back for the man's quilt pictured in the previous post.

It's a start

I know these aren't the best pics, but here are two quick tops I put together from blocks and partially put together pieces.  The purple and white was from a block lotto that I participated in many years ago and won 9 blocks from.  This was enough to make the top just shy of 36 inches square, so I added a 2" border all the way around.  The second was a partially assembled group of blocks I rescued at the thrift store.  They really didn't make any sense, the way they had begun to be assembled, so I really didn't try to make any sense of it and just put them together in a way that was pleasing to my eye.  The blocks were around 10 inches square, so this top finished around 40x40.  Because of the colors, I think this could be one of the men's quilts.

Now, I am still not saying that I will get 12 lap quilts finished before the deadline, which is the second weekend in December.  However, I feel that I can at least work on the tops with pieces I may have around here that could use a good home.  And if I happen to get the tops finished, what fun I will have machine quilting them!  Going to give the old Kenmore a good oiling here in the next day or two!

Trees one or trees two?

Okay, one line of trees or two?  I'm making a wall hanging and it's kind of hard to see because I put the piece on top of my white ironing surface, but the trunks have a white background between them.  Nick suggested making the top row with blue triangles to look like stars, but make the triangles in between the trees on the bottom row white like the snow on the ground.  Going to make a strip of trees like that and lay it out and see what I like.

So, like many parents of just barely adult children, I now have both of my kids back living at home.  This is a good thing for all concerned, but will take a little getting used to again.

Took Ivy for a walk tonight.  No one was up for going with me, so we just took a short walk.  It's been unseasonably warm today, so taking advantage of the warmer weather as long as we can.

Made a nice big dinner tonight.  Cooked a beef roast in the dutch oven on top of the stove, baked some scalloped potatoes, had salad and applesauce, oh and sauerkraut!  It was a pretty good meal.  I baked a batch of bread in jars again today.  This was an experimental batch.  It has peaches in it.  Half is just plain peaches and the other also has nuts in it.  I think it's a keeper.  I'm starting to wonder about some kind of savory bread in jars that might be good.  I should look for a good base recipe to work with.  Just not tonight.  Didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm about ready to drop.

Finished!

Well, as finished as it's going to get from me right now, anyway!  I quilted this top for my step mother to give to my nephew, her grandson.  I think it might be a little too feminine, but I'm not telling her that!  She said at the time she asked me to quilt it that she wanted to put points on it.  I have made it very clear that I am not going to do points, but if she wants binding on it, I'll do that.  So there's a chance the quilt is going to come back to me for binding, and that's okay, but for now, it's out of my sewing room and that's a good thing.

Something not so good....the dog with a mouth attached, aka Ivy, had a snack tonight when I went to church.  She got ahold of my Nook and ate the cover off of it!  Luckily, the Nook was not damaged and the cover was just one that I had made, but she came pretty close to being on my naughty list. 

Call me crazy, but I'm actually considering making 12 lap robes within the next 4 weeks.  Not committed to anything (although maybe I should be committed...) but our church gives care packages to church members in the nursing home.  This year, that number is 12, 10 women and 2 men.  I don't know if I'm going to attempt this or not.  Just tossing it around right now, but if I'm going to do it I need to start, like tomorrow....

Almost done

Yesterday was a very productive day.  I have almost completed the quilting on the baby quilt top I've been working on that my step mother asked me to quilt for my nephew.  I will get a picture of it up soon. 

I'll be glad when it's done, because I have a few of my own projects in mind that I want to work on.  I haven't decided if I'm going to start the new Bonnie Hunter mystery or not, but that's coming up this next week, I think.

Besides quilting, yesterday I baked another batch of banana nut bread in the jars and froze it.  Got almost all of my laundry done.  The cat had to go to the vet, just for shots.  And for dinner I made a big pot of beef stew.  It was a very productive day.

Oh, speaking of that bread in a jar, since I know I'll be making more batches of it, I took five large ziploc bags, the one gallon size, and put the dry ingredients in them, all measured out.  Now, when I want to bake a batch of the bread, I just need to mix up the wet ingredients and I have everything all measured out and ready to go.

A bit of progress

I'm making some progress on the baby quilt.  Yesterday I worked on it for an hour and got a good bit of quilting done.  Looking forward to a three day weekend to get even more done.

Three by me

I'm just thinking about the quilts on my bed and they are three by me.  My first quilt I ever made with my grandmother is on the bed, along with the quilt I made for my husband and now the most recent one I finished, the 36 patch.  love it!

20 minutes

It took 20 minutes to hide the rest of the thread tails in the quilt I'm quilting now.  I am ready to begin more quilting on it, this time without the tedious work of hiding thread tails.  I'm overlapping or backstitching the rest.

Still running the vaporizer and all that good stuff.  The nasal spray is just saline, so no worries about using it.  Last night I slept like a rock.  Went to bed at 8:30 and didn't get up until 6:30.  I think that really helped. 

A vaporizor, lip balm, and nasal spray

Yeah, those things are my three best friends right now.  ugh.  I'm desperate to keep from getting more nosebleeds and two of those things help. 

I did get upstairs before work and made two more tissue holders.  Mine is now the same material as my Nook cover and the other one I made for a coworker.

I've named the three squirrels.  They are Joe Walsh, Don Henley, and Glen Frey, although I'm not sure I should be naming a squirrel "frey" because it's pronounced the same as "fry" but I'll take my chances...  haha.  The way I figure it, Joe was the instigator with the pumpkin, kinda the ringleader of the group.  Don was right there with him, waiting his turn, and Glen was more laid back, keeping lookout.

Here's the damage, day one, and then day two:

I've been told I need a hobby...hahaha.  All my quilty friends know I have one, thank you, but now I've added squirrel watching to my resume.  The three amigo's cleaned up that mess of seeds, by the way.  And they knocked the pumpkin down onto the porch floor, where they have more privacy in the corner to dive in and out of the pumpkin!

If you didn't guess by now, one of my favorite groups is the Eagles...

Crazy squirrels

Over the warm months this year there have been quite a few squirrels in our neighborhood.  I have watched three in particular that looked to be from the same litter grow.  They were scrawny little things earlier in the Summer, but they have developed nicely into mostly grown animals.  I have begun putting corn on the porch for them. 

During Halloween, we had a pumpkin up on the porch.  It didn't get carved, but looked nice sitting there.  Well, I guess those three squirrels got a notion that there might be something interesting in that pumpkin, or maybe I wasn't putting out enough corn and they thought they needed to send a message.  The first day I noticed that there were gouges in the pumpkin.  They grew steadily deeper over the course of a few days until those squirrels chewed a hole the size of a baseball in that pumpkin!  It was hilarious to see just a tail sticking out and one of them inside it. 

So this winter I think I'm going to have to keep adding to the squirrel's diet, maybe putting a few apples or something else out when the snow flies, just to keep those three little stinkers around. 

Lazy day

I am totally being lazy this weekend.  It's not that I don't have things to do, I just don't feel like doing them!  I am sure it's because I've got this lousy cold, and I'll be back to normal soon.  Just taking it easy, sleeping a lot and vegging out on the couch.  I haven't even cooked dinner for the last two nights!  And that, my friends, is extremely unusual for me.  Tomorrow I will have to go to the grocery store at some point, though, because the cupboard is bare.

Tissue holder instructions

Any questions, just ask! :)

Wakey wakey in the wee hours

Ugh.  Three a.m. and I was awake.  Again.  Drank some tea and took some meds to help my sore throat and sinus, but then couldn't fall back asleep.  So here it is, not even 9 and I'm ready to go to bed.  And that's just what I'm going to do.  zzzzzzz

Yucky

That's how I felt most of the day.  Woke up with an earache early in the morning hours and it didn't go away for a while.  Hope I'm not getting the flu or something, but I think it was probably just sinus.  At least I hope that's all it is.

Sewed a tissue holder for a friend at work this morning.  Last night I made another batch of banana nut bread. 

Hot chocolate

My darling son took a trip to the gas station tonight and brought me back a hot chocolate.  It's the season for it, I guess.  Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas.  Went to church tonight for All Saint's Day.  Tomorrow is All Soul's Day.

Didn't sew tonight, but I did stop at the dollar store and pick up some more of the tissue packs so I can make more of the little covers for them.  I gave all of them away that I made, even the one I had in my own purse, so I have to whip up a few more.

I need to get back to that baby quilt and get all those thread tails hid so I can move forward with the quilting.

Happy Halloween!

Another year of trick or treating has come and gone.  We had about 20 ghosts and goblins tonight.  Less than yesterday.  I have a few leftover caramel apples and some other goodies, but that's not a problem...  lol

Went upstairs and worked on hiding some of the thread tails on that baby blanket.  I haven't even started in earnest to machine quilt it, this was just from the foundation quilting.  ugh.

So many times I have started to complain on this blog about my job.  And an equal number of times I have stopped myself.  I'm going to stop myself again, and I AM extremely thankful that I have a job in today's economy.  My hours were restored, so I'm back to getting a full paycheck starting next month.  It's just a dead end street, where I'm at, and since I have twenty more years to work in my life, I don't want to stay somewhere where I'm stagnant.  So that's about all I'm going to say, even though it is a drop in the bucket compared to what I'm feeling now and have been feeling for a long time.

What I really want is to be able to do something quilty as my paying job.  And someday I may be able to make that dream come true.  In the meantime, I'll continue to smile and go to work every day and thank God for my job.

Halloween Eve

We had some trick or treater's tonight.  I had gotten some caramel apples to hand out.  We had about 35 kids come by.  Maybe tomorrow we will have more.  Last year we hardly had any kids at all.

Ivy was pretty good about the whole thing.  Here's what she did most of the day:

I sewed a little on the baby quilt, but not as much as I would have liked to.

Made a good dinner tonight.  Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a veggie casserole. yum.

Started on the baby quilt

I started on the quilting for the baby quilt for my nephew.  The way this top is constructed I'm going to have a lot of starts and stops, with lots of thread tails to be buried.  That is not one of my favorite things to do, but it will get done.

Made a good dinner tonight.  It was a recipe from the internet that I found.  It was a package of tortellini cooked in chicken broth and water, then add some cream cheese and frozen peas to make a pretty good meal.  Cooked some sausage links, garlic bread, and salad to go with it.

Ah Choo!

My latest little venture was to make these cute little pocket tissue holders.  They were really quick and easy, so I made up a bunch of them with scraps.

I just kind of winged it on the pattern.  I used three pieces of scraps, each 4"x6".  I put two of them right sides together and folded them longways, to crease, then opened them up again.  I sewed an inch and a half in from the edge on each side, then folded each piece back so they were wrong sides together.  This formed the top of the tissue holder with a three inch opening.  Place this on top of the third rectangle, with the right side of the material facing the just formed top piece.  Sew around the edges, with a quarter inch seam.  Trim the corners and turn right side out.  Put a pocket pack of tissues in the holder and you are good to go!

Went to see Puss in Boots tonight with my friend Barb.  It was a cute cartoon and I really enjoyed it.  It was my first movie in 3D, which was really cool.