Sunday..

I have a few tiny parts to sew on the new quilt and then the words to embroider, but I was taking a break to eat lunch and look at house prices in other areas of the country. I want a nice place... cooler, with 4 seasons preferably, and a decent housing market. I was looking in the area of Quilter's Station out near Lee's Summit, Missouri and couldn't help drooling over the BASEMENTS!! Oh to have a basement. I'd love an older small town with low housing costs too. Any suggestions?

You may not remember that I have been searching for the perfect duvet cover that doesn't cost $300 for several months. It's hindered by the fact that I have no idea what color I want the room to be painted. Small detail. So I had forgotten that I lent an old duvet cover to my niece about a year or so ago. She returned it the other day so I put the new duvet inside and on the bed it went. the comforter was seriously looking horrid, so it was time. The cats are having a field day with how puffy it is. Forgive the wrinkles. I swear I spent 20 minutes ironing that thing and after one night they were back! Noodle loves to jump from the cat tree and start running all over it chasing the color squares and "pouncing" on them. He's also discovered that it has a row of buttons just ripe for the tasting. I checked to make sure they are all sewn on tightly. It's more a summer cover, but it will work for now. I really would like to make a quilt for our bed but that's one big quilt to plan and quilt. Maybe one day. Until now, the cats have a new toy.

Off to finish and start quilting!

Embrace Each Day...

Not a bad title for a quilt pattern..or a slogan to live by. Embrace Each Day is a new pattern from Cheri Saffiote-Payne . I've been a fan of Cheri's patterns for about a year now and I keep ordering more! I'm impatiently waiting for 3 more to arrive soon!! It's her Christmas Quilt Sampler that I'm working right now. I even ordered the BOM sampler for her Sweet Land of Liberty pattern the other day from Homestead Hearth and can't wait for the first month to arrive.

The other day I found another source for her wonderful patterns and boy do they have tons! The Country Loft is the neatest looking quilt shop and I have it on good authority from Libby that it's every bit as great in person as it looks from the web! After going around the site and seeing all the wonderful shop samples I focused in on one pattern that caught my eye. Since I'd just ordered 3 new patterns from Cheri I thought I'd try this one without the pattern. Scraps are great that way! It was fairly easy to see how it was constructed, so I just figured out the sizes that worked for me and got to stitching right from my scrap bin.

I love that it has wool on it. I'm still new at working with wool, but it's so yummy. All the wool applique parts are cut and today I have to stitch down all the wool pieces, quilt it and write the words along the bottom edge. I just couldn't wait to show you how it looked so far!

Happy Quilting! and make sure to "embrace each day!"

Details...

Should have included this yesterday, so here you go. A better-ish picture of the quilt pattern and the hand quilting stitches. It was a mini quilt that I decided to size up so it was easier to work with, but I plan to make one some day in the mini version. The stitches go from the upper corner of the light x section and make a small V pattern. I actually laid down quarter inch tape and made one long line to make a very skinny long X pattern.

The pattern is by Kim Diehl and was free in the October 2005American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I love Kim's work and I seem to be making more and more things from AP&Q these days. Great magazine!! Hope that helps answer some questions.

UPDATE QUESTION> Kathie needs to know from any ladies who have the Oct. 2005 AP&Q issue...what appears on the cover? I kept just this pattern and tossed the rest so no help from me. Anyone keep all their issues and can leave that info? Thanks a bunch in advance!

Finally Pictures...

Remember back when I was immersed in a swap piece that I couldn't show? Well my swap partner finally got my little quilt and she posted a quick picture for the group, so I thought I share it here. It's not the most clear picture but since I totally spaced taking my own pictures, I am grateful for anything. I will try and get a close up from the magazine where the pattern came from and re-post later. The quilting pattern in the light X pattern is really neat, I'd love for you to see it up close.
When we took our trip this past June to Missouri for the Primitives of the Midwest retreat I walked into Quilter's Station and immediately fell in love with their huge room of homespuns. Not to mention the wonderful gals who work there! Ever since getting home I have been doing an order about once a month and letting them pick out several fabrics for me. Last month they sent me the backings for one of Lynda Halls quilts. This month I sent in my order for 6 orange FQ's, 6 purple FQ's, and 6 light FQ's. I was thrilled again to get such a great bunch of fabrics.

Lastly, I actually have been sewing lost of things here and there...swap blocks and new projects, but mostly still plugging away on the Christmas Sampler blocks. I finished the Holly berries block last night. The pieced holly is pretty primitive, but I think that's why I liked it so much.
I've got a new scrap quilt that I'm almost finished with and I'll promise to post more frequently in the future. It's just been hard to think of things to write about. Happy Quilting!

Puttering...

I seem to still be wandering from thing to thing, but I am getting little things accomplished so that's a good thing. I knocked out the Noel embroidery block for the Christmas Sampler one day and finally pressed it.

It will wait to be trimmed and the final outside outline done when it gets added to the section. I also made the pieced section for the holly blocks and will add the red berries after I get them pressed. They get added to the block with wording after it's finished. In all I have about 4 blocks in Section 2 prepped and ready for sewing...but I have some late swap blocks to finish for my swap partners tomorrow, so I'll start on those first thing.

Mom is still in the hospital which is the best place for her at the moment. She's much better than she's been in weeks, but still not eating hardly anything by mouth so after coming home it shouldn't take long before she's run down again, so we will have to see if she learned her lesson and starts working with us a bit. I appreciate all the helpful suggestions and warm wishes and hugs.

Well, I'm touched..

Thanks so much to everyone with all the helpful suggestions and prayers sent my way. Unfortunately we've tried everything. Cooked enough food for an army, bought everything. She folds her arms, sticks out her lip and refuses! My brother said yesterday that she's almost come full circle and gone back to being a toddler in a way because she's acting exactly like a 3 year old child having temper tantrums. She's determined not to eat anything she "thinks" might taste bad, although she can't taste anything anyway. She's developed thrush...a yeast infection in her mouth and although after trying the lozenges they gave her and realizing they really worked...she stopped using them. NO reason, just control issues. I really don't think it's an attempt to just go ahead and end her life because she has huge plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas...when she gets better. It's us kids who keep reminding her that unless she eats she WON'T get better.

SO yesterday after spending 4 hours getting her ready for my brother and sister to take her to the docs for blood work I finally went home. My sister called 25 minutes later. Her blood pressure was 70/50...almost no pressure. She went straight to the hospital. So I went and packed her bag and met them. She'll stay hopefully for a few days, at least until Monday. They can fill her with fluids and nutrition. Although I have doubts because the idiot doctor put her on a regular diet?? Hopefully after the nurses report she's eating nothing they will put her on the feeding tube.

Seriously thanks for all the support. I love the notes and will try to get back to all of you. I'm sewing today no matter what. It's saturday so all the working siblings are taking their turns, and I have holly blocks to make for my sampler. The windows are open and the breeze is a fabulous 73!!

Is there life out there?...

Just thought I'd pop in to say that I'm still here and swamped with Mom issues at the moment. A chemo appointment day that turn into a marathon 8 hour day that started with waiting 2 hours for the 15 minute doctor appt and then getting started for 4 hours of chemo. Plus having a sinus cold, and a UTI that decided I didn't have enough to do already that day! I was wiped out! and I didn't do anything but sit. I know you working gals do it valiantly every day, but I don't and it killed me! She's doing great with the chemo..2 sessions left. But the main issue now is that she refuses to eat. She can't taste anything, so therefore she refuses to eat. It's infuriating that she could survive the cancer and the chemo...but end up dying because she stubbornly won't eat. Not can't, but WON'T. Suffice it to say my mother is incredibly stubborn and no matter of cajoling, begging or threatening by all of us kids seems to work. Even doctor's warning. So no food makes for an increasingly frail and weak mother and requires an extraordinary amount of care from all of us...which I'm sad to say is probably the perk that keeps her doing it. My level of frustration is beyond massive at the moment...but that's enough about that.

So I've not touched the computer for any length of time in the last week nor have I picked up a needle since I finished the last little quilt! No pictures, no warm words or interesting subjects to talk about. Great blog huh?

Seriously, I am so touched at how many of you commented about the quilt. I don't really have any idea how I plan to quilt it, but very simply I think because of all the seams. I plan to do the next one much simpler so I can dive into some baptist fans. This isn't the quilt for that, but I'll find a nice design for it! I need to get back to sewing and as soon as I am done with this post I plan to do just that! I have pieces to cut and things to ready for the next Christmas Sampler section! I laid out a plan of attack and should get some things done quickly, I hope. So better get to it. It will take me some time to catch up on all the wonderful things you have going on in your lives. Please send some of that energy my way!