Thursday, January 29, 2009

Big Sigh of Relief

That blast of air you felt was probably us breathing a big, huge sigh of relief. We've dodged the layoff bullet. And, the news from Sis in Denver is also good. My heart goes out to those families that are facing layoffs. These are some incredible times. And now, back to your regularly scheduled program.......

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Fingers are Crossed


Our fingers are crossed that we make it through the next two days without any bad news. On Friday Boeing will be passing out layoff notices. This could potentially affect our family. Both The Bearded One and my Dear Sis work for the big "B".
Meanwhile, the cold is still hanging on and I simply have zero energy or desire to quilt. I did go downstairs and look at my partially completed heart blocks. I thought maybe they'd start calling my name, make me feel guilty for leaving them half assembled. Alas, if they did call out to me, I couldn't hear it because my ears are too clogged. Oh well, I'll be like Scarlett and think about it tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Enough Already!


Day 4 of this stinkin' cold! I'm tired of blowing my nose. My butt & back are tired of the recliner/couch. I'm tired of "Sudafed Head". And, I'm tired of having to fight for my share of the quilt! Ok, my whining is over, for now!


P.S. Oh yeah, apparently I can't even take a decent, non-blurry photo in this state. This was 1 of 2 that weren't blurry -- that's out of about 6 that I took!
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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sharing



They say marriage is all about sharing. But really, did he HAVE to share his cold?!? The Bearded One has been a couch potato for the last 4 days. Yesterday I felt it coming on. I did managed to get the first half of the heart log cabin blocks done before I joined the "boys" on the couch. Don't think I'm going to get any quilting done today. Sudafed head is no fun.


Stay healthy, keep on quilting coz I'm certainly not.




Thursday, January 22, 2009

Then There were 4




I'd forgotten how tedious working with log cabin blocks can be. Working on these yesterday for 2 hours, this is all I have to show for myself. The pink background is from playing around in PhotoShop Elements in an effort to learn more about the program.


This is the actual quilt I'm making. It's from Evelyn Sloppy's book "Log Cabin Fever". It's a wonderful book with several variations of log cabin blocks. Evelyn has several other books out which are also part of my huge library of quilting books. Several of which contain quilts on my "must make" list. How come my list of "must make" quilts grows faster than my completed list? I know I certainly can't be the only quilter with this problem.


Ok, back to my PhotoShop Elements tutorials.......



Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Happy & Pink



It's nice to be able to post some progress for once. One set of Happy Blocks are completed and the top is ready to send off to Mary. I've got another set of center squares all cut out ready for framing...

Meanwhile, I was a little distracted this weekend. While Lynda was busy quilting a couple quilts on my HQ I spent today cutting pink strips. Lots and lots of 1.5" pink strips. I'll be seeing pink for quite awhile. A certain little niece likes pink. Pink rollerblades, pink ipod, pink backpack etc. Eventually these pink strips will be become two different blocks, here's the first:

I'll be seeing pink for quite awhile. I need 17 of these log cabin hearts and even more of the straight log cabin blocks. In between pink log cabins there is also the Sr. High double four-patch quilt. I guess I'd better get busy.




Friday, January 16, 2009

Fog


What is it about fog that I find so eerily bewitching? The last couple days have been pretty foggy, but today it is really heavy. I grabbed the camera on my way out to get dog food. Every road I turned down was just so mystical and ethereal.

Meanwhile, no quilting has been done. But, I'm ever so slowly getting closer to getting the old desktop ready to be flattened and rebuilt.....

Tonite we're off to an organ concert.



P.S. I'm still rebuilding my blog links.....

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Pardon my mess


...I'm playing around with a new format so things may look "unfinished" for awhile. I'm hoping I can find the "look" I want soon....meanwhile, not much quilting is going on. Too busy trying to figure out what I need to install on the new laptop. I'm also trying to get instructions written for the high school senior quilts....I need to learn to manage my time better.


Wednesday, January 07, 2009

The Big Soak

Every so often the Seattle area gets something called "The Pineapple Express" -- lots and lots of warm, moist air coming from literally, Hawaii or thereabouts. Well, we're in the middle of one. It's been stalled over the area for the past 30 hours or so. It has brought records amounts of rain, but, even worse, rain and warmer temps to the mountains. This means that all the rivers in Western Washington are flooding. Flooding at record levels. The news said one river was breaking a record set in 1917! And it's official, the only way out of this area right now is to fly! All three mountain passes are closed due to avalanches and landslides. And now, to top it off a major section of I-5, south of Olympia is closed. This is the same stretch that was closed due to floods last year. I've also heard that another stretch of I-5, north of Tacoma is also closed.



Oh yeah, remember that pesky mole, well, he's BACK! But he's so totally undermined the back yard that it's beyond soggy. It's in swamp territory now. Maybe he will get flooded out and head uphill and out of my yard!


Not much sewing is going on but lots of playing with the new laptop. Really must get those Happy Blocks done -- I'll think about them tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

2008 in Pictures

While browsing through blogs the past couple days I've seen a lot of recaps of 2008 in pictures. What you see here is a collage of my 2008 projects. I'm sure I've missed a couple due to the fact that my pictures are still a bit scattered on my computer. But, I'm working on that -- I don't have much choice, this computer is telling me "things are not well."

A nice shiny new laptop is due to arrive tomorrow. Once it gets here, I'll start backing things up to the external hard drive, moving other things to the laptop and then, I'll have no choice, I'll have bite that bullet and wipe this poor beast clean and start over. I HATE that job. But, such is the nature of Windows based computers.........At least with a backup computer, I can take my time and switch off with some quilting. I really want to get the Heartstrings Happy Blocks finished.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

A New Year




Simply doesn't seem possible that it's 2009 already. It seems like just yesterday that we were worrying about Y2K. How come, when we were kids time just seemed to drag along and now that we are adults, it seems to just fly by? If you have an answer for that, would you let me know.

Meanwhile, here's the long awaited reveal of the secret wall hanging for The Bearded One. He liked it. He decided to hang it on the wall by his side of the bed, right above where her bed used to be. I tried to get creative and quilted in all the little nicknames we used to call her, Tomato Thief, Paper Shredder, Sweet Girl etc. She may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.



I ended 2008 in a proper manner, adding to my stash! Four of us decided to hit the After Christmas sale at our favorite quilt shop, The Quilt Barn. I needed to get a few more pieces for the High School seniors quilts. But I was a bad, bad girl. I also bought a bunch of tone on tone brights for the Heartstrings "Happy Blocks" along with a couple pinks for a certain niece who must have everything pink. Then there were some Christmas fq's and a couple pieces that I just "liked".

I've started cutting out the center squares for the Happy Blocks and will work some more on those today and tomorrow at quilting.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd leave you with this lovely ditty I received in my e-mail the other day. I think it sums up how Seattle and the whole area doesn't deal with snow very well. It's a good thing we don't get it very often, unlike the other side of the state. Poor Spokane has hd 68" so far and more expected today.


"Twas the week before Christmas, and next to the Sound,
Not a creature was stirring, for all were snowbound.
Greyhound busses quit running, no matter the fare,
And the mail men and garbage said they just couldn't get there!
The children were sliding Queen Anne Hill on their sleds.
While roofs were collapsing on old people's heads.
And mamma in her boots and I in my cap,
Were stuck in the snow and ice and such crap.
When at the Home Depot there arose such a clatter,
I trudged from my car to see what was the matter.
A group of sad souls were waving their cash,
They couldn't buy shovels, they'd sold in a flash.
Tires were spinning and just wouldn't go,
And chains lay broken in the dirty old snow.
Then, what to my surprise did my eyes look over and see?
Eight representatives of SDOT,
With a fat politician so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was Mayor "Salt Nick".
More rapid than gun bans, his excuses they came,
"To save our environment the roads stay the same!
On Broadway ! On Boren! On Yesler and Denny!,
To clear off these roads would cost such a penny!
Sliding down Thomas and onto a wall!
The busses hung over I-5, ready to fall!
Still, he insisted it wasn't his fault,
As the world's greenest mayor he wouldn't use SALT!
That stuff's corrosive, could hurt the fish.
(But the Puget Sound's SALT WATER you ignorant kish!)
So snowy Seattle continued to stew,
But Mayor "Salt Nick" just hadn't a clue.
While I stood there astonished, on nearby TV sets,
I saw the airport was packed, no de-icer for jets.
Since others couldn't get down the roads to the ferry,
The city decided to close Denny and Cherry.

Police cars and firetrucks were highly impaired,
Citizens got no impression that Mayor Salt Nick cared.
A house that caught fire, or a rape in progress,
Was less important than "going green" in Seattle - I guess!

An accident closed the I-90 bridge,
And people couldn't drive down Finney Ridge.
Shovels , and salt had just flown off the shelf,
And I laughed when I heard him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He tried to convey we had nothing to dread;
He spoke many words, but did little work,
Yet Seattle knew they should never have elected this jerk.
Then thumbing his nose at his citizens' plight,
He turned to the crowd and exclaimed "We've done right!",
And then to his limo refusing to yield,
He left to get solar panels installed on Qwest Field.
But I heard him exclaim, as he skidded past me
"Happy Christmas to all, heck, I give myself a 'B' ".