Almost good as new...

Well this really has been above and beyond the easiest time I have ever had or ever thought having surgery would be...hands down! Of course it hasn't been all peaches and cream. My face is sorta broken out from the rubber around the mask they had over my face to keep me knocked out. I'm allergic to latex, rubber type stuff. I got up Saturday morning feeling good, took my regular meds, which includes a pain pill I take every day for a muscle condition, and felt like a million bucks. Heck, I can go to Walmart for a couple groceries, sure...I feel great. I big butted my stupid self all around Walmart. I did laundry. I piddled all around.

Then about 3:00 that afternoon a big brick wall jumped up and slapped me right in the face! I don't feel so hot and everything sorta hurts. Hey honey, I feel like crap. Uh D'uh, you had surgery 24 hours ago babe! Okay, so I'm an idiot! So I took 2 Advil and crawled under the sheets for a nice 3 hour nap. I've smartly curtailed my gallivanting back, no matter how good I feel, for a few more days. Meanwhile I've been sewing up a storm between naps.

I sewed the binding on this little baby and sewed it down. It's all finished and waiting for July to come out and play. I don't think I'm even gonna add any quilting stitches because it's only 12 inches square and the batting was sewn through when I did the embroidery. I'm working on more embroidery at the moment for several quilts but nothing done enough to show.

Thanks and more thanks!!! for all the lovely support and good wishes. I can't believe I dreaded this for over a year and put it off. I'll say they have made some really good improvements in surgery stuff since the last time. A definite thumbs up from me!

I'm home...

Very pleasant experience really. Not bad at all. I'm pooped and gonna hit the sack for a few hours to wear off some of the anesthesia. I did just fine. Thanks for all the good wishes.

Anyone else having issues with the spell check button?

12 hours till D-Day...

Last thing you thought you would ever see on my site huh? The day before Judy admits herself, voluntarily, to the hospital and gets put to sleep?? Maybe I should have opened with a death mask or something! *s* But that's not what the happy dance is for folks! It's for the 6AM "gotta be at the hospital time slot"! Y-e-s, you heard me right! Be here at 6 am...I'M FIRST people. 7:30 time to start. First in line for surgery, no waiting all day while I pass out from lack of food or water, no waiting all day while I pass out from a-n-x-i-e-t-y!! I'll still be asleep when I get there. I won't even be hungry! Thank you! Thank you! Now if only my heart would stop beating through my chest I'd be an even happier gal!

I have tons to share and stuff to show. I won't be on for a few days so this will have to keep you all entertained for the time being. I'm sure all my fellow crazy bloggers will have more than enough posts for you to read and keep you busy. I have 3 stitcheries ready to be worked up that should keep me busy for a while. A new project that I showed last, 2 months from Four Seasons, and a stitchery center for the SLOL BOM. Plus I have scads to do on the machine.

First up on the completed list...TaDA! My first Patriotic 4th project! All done and ready to be trimmed and have the backing and a red check binding put on. I don't even think I have to quilt this one since it's only 12 inches square. I might take a few stitches inside the star, or around the teapot or outside binding. Thanks to Sharon for this little beauty. She showed the picture from Country Loft and I drew it up. The pattern it came from is made by Donna Yackey and it's a whole quilt.

Yesterday morning I finished the last section on my 30's string quilt top! God I love these bright little cheery fabrics! If you like string quilts you really ought to try one. I didn't use any backing and it turned out super. I could see this in all sorts of colors, even lovely solids. Shouldn't take but a half hour to quilt and then add the binding.

I've gotten mail all week at my house too! Today they UPS man dropped off this little bundle of sunshine. Aren't they fabulous? Just like a little drop of sunshine! These are the new Little Darlings 6 collection of FQ's. Just yummy!OH, I need to answer some questions. First someone asked before if I had a long arm. Nope very short arms! LOL! No, I just use my trusty Bernina. I'd kill for a real longarm but I live in a condo and we like sleeping in a bed.

Second this arrived today, the fabric for my new 1800's quilt and sorry to neglect you and not share the name of it. Bad Judy. It's made by Andover and in the Jo Morton Necessities line. Now it's an old line so you will have to scrounge around for it. I had to hit 2 places. That's generally how my luck runs, a day late and a dollar short. Here it is ready for me to get my rump moving on some of the blocks.Another package brought Carol's swap 9 patches and P9P's. So sweet and pretty. I think I have about 65 -9 patches now and over 100 P9P's.Then of course, the last package...which arrived first actually, early in the week, was a guilty pleasure. Okay, so I know I'm supposed to save money, but it's not really my fault when they keep popping up over there on the site and begging to be bought. Honest...it says BUY ME right under their names! Besides, I'm done for a bit now......right after my special order Easter Annie arrives. I'll see you all in a few days. I'll pop open the Mac and check up on you all from time to time, so behave. OH...one last thing. Thanks so much for all the answers about the fabric round-up. I think I do the same thing mostly but I need a super clean up. Mostly I think I need to do something with all the fabric that I bought years ago that I no longer would ever use. Stuff that's fine, but so far from my taste now. I'll have to do some sorting and searching and I'll make sure to share all the results right here!

Fabric sorting Poll...

Hey everyone...I have a question. I need to re-organize my fabric and I just wondered a few things...

Do you organize your fabrics by type? Homespuns, cottons, 30's, etc. THEN color?
Do you organize them by color no matter what type?

I seem to end up with piles and now I'm all jumbled around with colors mixed here and there, my homespuns separate from the cottons, backings in a separate pile, etc. Thanks for any answers you give, it will help me figure out how I want to re-do these messy shelves!

Lots - O - everything...

UPDATE: I re-did the pics so I hope you can see them now!

Well the weekend went by and I never felt it. Hubs worked the whole time straight through..14.5 hours Sat! Luckily he got home early Sunday. I watched the tail end of the game, just enough to see poor Tom Brady hit the ground many times. Poor tom...NOT! LOL!!! Loved the ending!

Again I dabbled in loads of everything. Finished some swap blocks and mailed them this morning to Miss Carol. I got a new patriotic embroidery piece in the hoop and started doing the outlining. All of it is backstitch and just one place where a wool letter goes and it's done. It'll be ready months before July 4th. I'll show it when it farther along. I did get the first of my Christmas ones traced from Cinderberry Stitches.

How does everybody else mark your Lazy Daisy stitches for leaves? The first time I marked them I drew the loop, then after a few stitches failed to follow the lines perfectly I got smart. Control freak people...remember? Now I mark only the beginning and the spot where I will come out and anchor the loop. That's what makes it look like I have tons of random dots in the pattern. Some are satin stitched dots, but most are lazy daisy leaves. I just love the curly mouse tails!

A while back I emailed Libby when she was busily working on her Queen size whole cloth and I wanted her to point me in the direction of the place she bought her smaller versions of the same thing. I need to work on my consistency and evenness of my stitches and thought this would be the perfect thing to use for just that purpose. It's hard to do that with tons of seams from little quilts. Being such a nice friend she did just that! Well 40 inches was still a bit big for me, so I hesitated. Days later, I get another email and she's hunted down an even smaller version. True friend that girl! Here they are!

If you want to find them, just type in mini wholecloth in the search engione of eBay and they will pop up! I ordered 2 of them and they were reasonable and really great for my practice works. They aren't masterpieces or anything so don't get your hopes up. but I can get my stitches more even and have something great at the end. I figure by the time I get them done and washed they will end up about 15 x 15. Just perfect for sitting on the table under a bowl or something.

I was about to iron this when it dawned on me I think that sets the blue stuff? Doesn't it? That would be just like me. Lastly, I'll leave you with a nice picture of my quilting buddy this morning. He still won't get that he's too fat for the top bunk. Keep stuffing it in the hammock fat boy. Demand the top bunk! Momma loves that sweet face!

Shear inspiration....

On several of the blogs that I visit, I've seen a few quilters go gaga over a quilt pictured in a magazine and immediately fall in love. Lucy started this quilt along with several other bloggers who I can't remember at the moment, so sorry...plus Kathie! Poor Lucky Kathie has had this happen twice in quick succession with quilts and is still working on her masterpiece quilts but almost has them finished! While I loved each of them, they weren't quite *me* enough to make my heart sing. Then my new AP&Q magazine arrived and while looking through the pages....much to my delight...I FOUND IT! The spectacular, take your breath away quilt that sings only to you. The one that begs to be made!

Here it is! I might add, like the other gals I have all the fabrics for this in my stash but the cool grey blue. I knew the perfect choice and ordered that tonight. I had a 1/2 yard but needed a nice large 4 yard piece. I love these simpler square in square blocks and they are so easy to make with the help of the faux paper piecing technique I learned a while ago.

I don't normally do blue, but this is more blue gray and just wonderful. I can't wait to get started on the blocks! A few here and there and it will be done in no time! Thanks to Kathie for the inspiration.

UPDATE: Lucy wondered what I was going to use so I grabbed a snapshot of the fabric. It looks more grey here but it has the touch of a blue cast to it also. Enlarge to see the detail.

I may have a slight problem...

Look what arrived today...

Strawberry Chrissy Annie...

They say the first step is admitting the problem. Yes, I looked at these Annie's for over a year before getting started with them, but once the first one arrived, oh my how easily I got hooked. Can't help it. I jumped when the buzzer rang today because I knew what had arrived. All tucked away in her little tissue paper cacoon with a Valentine ribbon.

She's on the computer desk for the moment with the hubs lava lamps, but I already have plans for a 4 foot shelf over my magnetic bulletin board for them to sit on and look down on the sewing room.

You gotta love the strawberry in her hand! Hubby said the thing he likes the most about them is that they aren't perfect. You see the knotted string in her hand, the ties on her dress, and the ties for her curly locks, but it looks great! Best of all they smell of vanilla.

Yes, I think I have very big problem.