Sunday, January 27, 2013

I Got a Ribbon!

I went to the Jefferson Quilt Show today.  And I was pleasantly surprised.  I received a 2nd place ribbon on my quilt.

 
 
Jim and I enjoyed the day in Jefferson.  The temperature warmed up to 70.  That made it pleasant for walking thru town.  We went thru a few antique shops.  I got several ideas for decorating at the house.  I told Jim we needed to just completely empty a room and set it back up with what we really want from what we have and then go shopping.  So many things we find that we like, our response is always, we don't have any room to put it in the house.  I seriously need an interior design helper.
 
I don't think I ever put up a picture of one of the quilt kits I cut out for the cruise.  Here is my selection of fabrics for one of the quilts.  Everyone who purchased a  kit will be making their's blue.  I decided to go red and I also will be making larger quilt blocks.
 

 
I am almost through cutting the second quilt kit.  It is a scrap quilt.  I will have to post a picture of it after the cruise.  Speaking of the cuise, Jim and I have been trying to figure out what excursions to take.  He wants to go sknorkeling.  I told him I would go do that.  I also know I want to go shopping in Cozumel.  Now to get some rest to make it at work this week.  It should be very busy.  Many people will be in the tax office to pay their taxes.
 



Sunday, January 20, 2013

A Family Day

Today is my brothers twin girls 18th birthday.  It doesn't seem like 18 years has passed.  Looking on facebook, it seems that everyone's kids have grown up and are all becoming 18.  It was hard enough when my kids turned 18, but to see that all around me they are all growing up.  So many times we keep the "kids" as kids in our mind.  It will be a good day to get to see them and several other relatives today.  Almost like a family reunion.  I have a very estranged relationship with my brother.  I care for him and always hope that things get better for him, both spirtually and medically.  For whatever reason he has anger issues and it makes it difficult to be around him at times.  I hope that I get to see him today and that it will be a good day.



Jim and I spent some time yesterday to get the painting done outside.  The temp was to be above 50 so we painted the wood and across the front of the house where the gutters fell down due to rotted wood.  First part of next week the roofer is coming to install seamless gutters across the front of the house.  He says it will keep it from dripping on us like it used to.  It was not the best gutter system on the house when we bought it.  Now that our kids are older, we have a bit more income to use to fix up and repair things around the house that need it.

On the subject of kids.  Matthew says he is moving out.  He thinks he may move out by February 1st.  Although Jim and I are ready for him to move, we think he should strongly get a room mate.  He says he has one in mind, but does not know if it will work out.  It is not our choice...a female.  We will have to see how it goes.  I am going to sit down with him this week and go over a budget to make sure he has thougth of everything and if he can truely afford to be on his own.  We will continue to help provide car and medical insurance until he is 25.  Doing that helps the kids out tremendously.

I did not keep a close eye on my propane gas level.  It is down lower than I have ever seen it.  I am glad it is to be a warm day today, so I am leaving off the heater in my studio.  Tommorrow I have the day off and it is to be cold.  I will want the heat tommorrow.  I hope the gas people are working and didn't get the day off. 

I have been cutting out the second quilt for the cruise.  Oh my goodness!  Over 1500 pieces.  I am so bored of cutting this one. 516- 2" squares, 1032 - 2" x 5" rectangles.  I am so tired of cutting them.  The only thing that keeps changing is the fabric.  All the 2" squares are solid black.  The other pieces are a large variety of light and dark fabrics.  It is a lot of ironing, cutting and refolding many pieces of fabric to get the variety the quilt needs.  I do believe it will be awesome when it is done. 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Weigh-In Wednesday

Here we are at week two.  I was hoping that it would be different than what happens on Biggest Loser, but alas, week 2 got me!  I did not lose any weight.  I think the thing with week 2 is that you feel so good from week 1 you get a little lax.  I was not as strict on myself on what I ate the past week.  Yes, I did indulge in a few things.  Hopefully, food that I have not purchased will not show up to tempt me this week.  I did keep up the walking and therefore, I did lose some inches.  Measurements are:  Bust 44 3/4", waist 38, hips 45, thigh 24 7/8".  I lost 1 7/8" this past week.  I am not sure if I keep measuring in the same spot each week for the thighs.  I think after awhile it will be more of a habit and I will hit the same spot.  Since starting I have lost almost 4".  I feel good about that.  So I plan to do better this week.  If there is not a change in the weight, I need to find something else to add or do to make that happen.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

THRIFTING

Today Jim and I went to a couple of shops here looking for bargains and whatever they may have that we want.  He loves Hawaiian shirts.  He picked up a couple and some plaid shirts.  Less than a $1 a piece.  I have Pfatgraff (not sure of the spelling) Yorktowne pattern.  I found a plant pot there that could be used for anything, .25.  I also picked up a cute painted wooden basket.  Don't know what I will put in it yet.  And my favorite from the Good Samaritans was a set of 5 glasses.  They have fall leaves around it. I love them!  Also .25 each.

Then we went to a new place in town.  Basically an antique or knick/knack mall.  People rent spaces and set up shop in the building.  I found two great buys.  One was a potpourri container.  It is much darker than the picture suggest.  I think it may have been copper or at least copper colored, $10.  I am going to get some of the great smelling potpourri that they sell in Canton and we will hang it in the living room where the previous owners left a hook in the ceiling.  And the other item I found there was a corduroy jacket trimmed in velveteen and lace. Gorgeous!  $3.00.

I love shopping at thrift stores.  Jim and I both had a good time.  I also found an old dresser there I may go back to get.  I need to look around and see where I am going to place it.  I think I will use for linen chest.

Pictures are back now!

I changed my browser to Firefox.  We used to use it a few years ago.  Looks like I will be going back to it.  Above you see what I received from Slice Crafts.  It was a bag to hold the cutter, and all your accessories.  I also got a tool kit.  It is open in the package, it zips closed and has the same fabric as on the bag.  Then there were several scrapbooking/card making embellishements.  Now that I have my pictures back, I am going start up loading a few different pics of things I have found thrifting and my quilt I have cut so far.

Blogger Problem

I looked at getting a different blog, but I really like blogger.  So I decided not to do that just yet.  I thought, there has to be a forum and I finally found what I was lookimg for.  (Now if I can remember how I got there so I can go back.)  I checked into known issues and my issue was listed.  On January 4, 2013 several people are experiencing problems with the photo upload.They are working on the problem.  Hopefully they will find a solution soon.

The weekend is finally here!  I have one quilt kit cut for the cruise adn I am going to mark the stitching/cutting lines on the squares so that I won't have to do it on the cruise.  That will speed up the stitching consideraby.  I should be able to get another kit cut this weekend.

I haven't heard from either Jefferson or Dallas if my quilt was accepted in the show.  If if was accepted in Jefferson, I will have to ship it soon, so I am waiting everyday by the mailbox for the notice (one way or the other).

I am still keeping up with the exercising.  I feel pretty good.  I can tell that my clothes are fitting better. I just feel good.  Strange thing about exercise.  You don't want to do it, but after you start and get a bit of a habit, you want to do it.  So I look for things to add to it...I use the crosswalk arms some, I have started working with my weights, and I am even working up to jogging.  I keep going faster and faster.  What I used to feel like was fast is super slow now.  I jog for short bursts, and they will probably get longer as I go along.  I also read while I am walking. There is a book shelf and put my Kindle on it and read while I walk.  It really helps the time to pass more quickly.

Jim and I got our passports in the mail yesterday.  Hurray!  We can now leave the country and get back in.  We are so getting ready for the cruise.  The cruise is paid for.  We are now saving money for everything else.  We have looked at the different excursions that are listed and picked a few that seem interesting.  He doesn't want to pay ahead of time, but rather put in a reservation.  That way if it is raining or whatever, we don't lose our money for something we would not be able to do.  I don't know if it works like that or not.  In any case, if we just go shopping and looking around at each port, we are okay with that.  I am sure that there will be plenty to do between land and ship.  Now to get busy with the day.  It just started pouring rain here.  Where did that come from?  It was like 60-65 when I got up at 5:30.  My sister said it is suppossed to drop like crazy today and possible freezing percipitation by Monday.  Crazy weather.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Weigh-In Wednesday

I have worked out everyday since the first of the year on the treadmill.  I have also cut back on what I am eating.  Today is the first weigh-in since I started.  Today I weigh 192...I lost 4 lbs!  Not a lot, but it is a start.  I was not strict with myself on eating and I ate and drank some I should not have.  But I did walk a mile each day except Sunday.  My buns hurt so bad I decided I needed one break.  But I have noticed that I can walk the mile faster.  I have increased the speed I am able to walk and I have been increasing the time/distance that I walk.  Now for the measurements.  I really want to see the difference here.  Bust,  45; waist 39.5; hips, 45.75; thigh 24.25. No change on the top half.  I did lose 1/4" in the hips, and 1 3/4" in the thighs!  So I see I need to add some activiy for the top half.

I had hoped that changing the look of the blog would add the picture link back.  It didn't.

Have a great day.

Monday, January 7, 2013

My Weekend

I think I had a great weekend.  It was nice.  I did not have to take care of the neighbor's horses.  I got to spend a lot of time in my studio.  I got the sleeve sewn on Magical Fall Flowers so that it is ready to head out to quilt shows.  I feel like I did good on eating and I am determined to lose weight.  I am excited about the cruise coming up later this year.  I managed to to get one quilt kit cut out for the cruise.  It went a whole lot faster than I thought it would. I am going to be making my block bigger than what everyone else who bought the kit will be.  It is a bear paw block and it finishes at 8".  I think theirs will be 6".  When I saw the quilt teacher at Houston, she thought that the Star Singles the pattern called for was 2", but it is actually 1 1/2".  I bought mine from her so I have the larger size.  I have the fabric to be able to cut it out and I will be happeir with a larger finished quilt.   My quilt will be red/tan, their's will be blue/tan. 

I got the final payment for the cruise in the mail.  So now Jim and I have to decide what excursions we are going to purchase.  There are so many to choose from.  I will probably spend hours searching online for the different packages, etc for the trip.  And when I lose the weight, I will need to get clothes that properly fit so I will be comfortable and look great.  I clearred out my stack of magazines this weekend and in one of them I found an article on alterring your clothes during weight loss.  Stuck that aside.  Hope to be using it soon!

I just sent some feedback to Google so maybe they can help me with the image problem,  Have a great day.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

I am having Blogger Trouble

For some reason, Blogger has lost the ability for me to upload pictures.  I am going to be researching and doing some trial/error stuff to see if I can get everything back up.  If not, then I will decide if I am going to possible start a new blog.  I have been getting error message when posting and then all of of sudden the button to add pictures from my computer disappeared. 

Friday, January 4, 2013

Not What I Expected

I have been looking at getting a Slice cutter since I first saw one at the Houston Quilt Show.  I have been trying to decide if I would use it often enough to pay for itself.  I do applique, but I haven't that much in the past.  This year I am going to concentrate on needle turn applique.  So I have been searching the web to get ideas for what all I could do with the Slice.  After I saw some paper projects on Pinterest I was pretty much sold.  But I didn't find out enough before the Black Friday sale ended, so I have been on the lookout for a good deal.  In the meantime, I started following their blog so I could stay up to date on info about the Slice and if they have another special.  I left a comment when they were giving away some fabric scraps.  I like to make miniature quilts at times and the fabric looked really cute (especially if that was what they would be sending) because it was something that I didn't usually buy.  Jenn contacted me and said she would send a care package.  I got it yesterday.  Boy, was I surprised!  I did not receive fabric scraps, I got a bag, tool kit and some crafting items.  I was very happy and surprised.  I had been looking at purchasing the bag and tool kit, but backed out at the last minute.  Now I am glad I exercised a little patience.  Now to go ahead and get my machine so I can start slicing.  I also have to have the hands free kit.  I will be checking at Amazon and the Slice website.  I was going to add a picture, but for some reason blogger is not giving me that option.  Maybe later.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Weigh-In Wednesday

I decided to start a Weigh-In Wednesday, although the first post is Thursday.  I did weigh in on Wednesday.  I am just going to put it out there, this is my record of my weight loss and will help me to keep on track for the goal...196 lbs.  I need to also measure up because although I want to lose weight, I really want to lose inches.  I walked on the treadmill for 1 mile yesterday.  Already I am getting better at lasting longer.  I also did pretty good on eating (or rather not eating).  Off to a good start.  Here are the measurements:  Hips:46  ; Thighs 26:  ; Waist:39.5  , Bust: 45.  We will see where it goes from here.  Lucky I can sew, so I can make new clothes as neccessary.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Applique is now moving along

I finally got one side of the applique on teh Log Cabin Baskets stitched down.  I did a machine blanket stitch around the edge of fused applique.  If I had the time, I would have done it by hand.  It is quite a chore stitching down and working/manuvering the queen-size quilt top.   I need to prepare a few more pieces and the bias vines so that I can lay out the left side.   Here is what it looks like so far.


Went to the fabric store in Canton and bought some fabric for one of the quilts I will make on the cruise.  I will start cuttng the kits this weekend.  I put on a big pot of beans so I will have my black-eyed peas today.  It is one of the 15 bean soups and I added salt pork and sausage.  It smells so good.  It will be great with cornbread.  It is hard to remember that this is Tuesday...it feels like a Sunday afternoon.  Now to get busy and put a sleeve on my quilt for the Jefferson quilt show and check and see about entering Dallas.

Happy New Year!

It is the beginning of a new year.  May your year be greater than last year.  May you accomplish more and receive more and prosper well.  I hope all have a healthy year and if you have medical issues that they are relieved.  I had a great Christmas.  I spent time with family in Waco and Dallas.  Here we are at Chuy's in Waco with his mom and sister.


We had snow on Christmas Day!  I can only remember that one other time growing up in  Texas.  We drove to Irving when it was raining and before we got there, it turned to snow.  We basically ate and left.  We did exchange gifts.  Here is the quilt I made for my sister.  She is holding it up.  I wanted her in the picture, but she hid from view.  I made a fleece throw for my nephews and one girlfriend.  He just purchased a house.  Both boys moved out from mom's and live together.


The gift that Jim and I gave each other was a treadmill.  We purchased it from his mother.  I has hardly been used and is like new.  We plan to exercise in the evenings, get back on a more healthy diet, and hopefully lose lots of weight.  I personally would like to lose 30 pounds by April.  At the end of the day, we are cleaning out the kitchen.  Any cookies, candy, etc will be taken to work for others to eat or throw away. 

I need to get back to planning meals and shopping lists.  It worked much better when I did that.  Not only on time and money, but we ate better.  Once again, I am planning on putting some changes in the routine and hope they stick.  I know it is important to spend time in God's word each day.  My mother-in-law gave me a devotional book, Jesus Calling that she really loves.  I am going to spend morning reading and meditating on God's word.  Jim and I plan to exercise in the evenings after we eat.  We don't watch a lot of TV, and what we do watch we like to record and then watch without commercials.  I have an applique quilt that I want to work on this year.  Hopefully I can do a block a month.  If possible, I would like to finish a UFO each month.  I like the idea of making a list of 12 and then draw a number and that is what you work on that month.

I entered a quilt in a quilt show.  I hope that they get the form in time and it is accepted.  I entered Magical Fall Flowers in the Jefferson Quilt Show.  It is in January.  I need to sew the sleeve on the back and get it ready to ship out if it is accepted so that they will have it in time.  Last year Jim said he wanted to go to a quilt show to see one of my quilts not everyone else's.  So this year it will happen.  I also plan to put in the Dallas Quilt Show.  I have been working on the Log Cabin Baskets.  I am not totally pleased with the applique, but it is getting done.  I find it hard to manuver the quilt top in the machine to do the machine stitching.  Doing by hand would have taken too long, so I decided to do the blanket stitch by machine.  At least it will be done.

I hope you all have a blesseed New Year's Day.