CHA CHA CHANGES

Youy know life always has a way of  making sure to keep you on your toes. Changes, I never thought I was a stodgy ole fool that couldn't go with the flow but in the last couple years I've struggled. It started with Digital camerra! I loved the one with the floppy disc, remember those yu just took the pic plugged the floppy in and transfered the pics. Then that camera broke and I had to 'upgrade' Life has never been the same. I don't know how manycameras I have went through it seems I'm rough on them and the wires!Oh My Desktop gets old and outdated  cameras break laptop sucks it has a cursor that is from the devil itself. The darn cursor flies all over the page and I could be typing away and then all the sudden the cursor jumps up into previous paragraph middle of sentences and takes up there. Some say its "I'm hovering over the cursor pad so I got wireess mouse and that didn't solve the problem.Now look at the mess. I'm not even sure which goes to which anymore. So to cut this story short I got a new tablet and this cute wireless keyboard to go with thi it. so now I can take the pics witht the tablet and nowmore wires in the drawer they go.

Cha Change the Hubby is without work and only being in late fifties we are not ready for retirement. Ok so maybe we are but finiancially we are not. Far far from it. But for a man that has only been a dairyman working with cows what can he do? Weelll I convinced him that I haad a long arm just sitting there all day long doing nothing. Most complaints from quilters about long armers is the wait! So if he learned to do pantos and gave a quick turn around he could contribute to our finiances. But you have to practice practice practice. So now months later he is building up a client base, yay him, and anytime he does a new pantograph he has to do it on one of my quilts first. Look at this pile waiting for binding now. And last year I had a record amount of finishes. 18! 

Right now with his client list it is taking hime within a week to get his quilts out. Thats one thing I can say about him, he's not lazy and when it comes in he wants it out the door. 

The next change in the form of our new puppy. Dixie. And what a change it has been. Lil Miss Dixie Marie DeLight has been an eye opening experience. 

We got her when she was 4 mos old and now at 9 mos we have found that being a Great Dane mommy and daddy is more trying than a human baby. I never baby proofed a house but I am Dixie proofing this one. Well it's time to get to bindiing some quilts. I have a few 

OOPS I've been lax

I really really try to post but it seems things just get away from me. Last post I was getting ready for retreat. Travelling 650 miles to go to a retreat maybe crazy but I had fun and got to spend time with family. I made new friends and hope to see them again and again. I didn't short sheet anyone and kept my snoring to a mild level.  So all was good.

My goal was to get my newest grandson his quilt made. He's 8 and his mommy married my son last July 4th. He has autism so his mommy wanted the puzzle quilt.

Ask and you shall get. And now it's quilted too. Binding will be fine during football!

I also was commissioned to make a baby quilt. You know everybody wants a handmade till they find out how much it will cost. Since it was a co worker/friend of my hubby I gave her a break. I also told her the prices of fabric at quilt shops verses department store. If course she like something at the department store and I said hold it up if you can see through it like tissue paper, stay away from it. Well she bought it and i was pleasantly surprised at the quality. Yes better than I thought. 

Several years ago I met a wonderful lady, so talented and nice. Never met a nicer woman. She came to a retreat that I host. We became good friends. She was a member of a local quilt club but I'm not. BUT I do attend their retreats. If course I love retreats. Well this sweet woman had a severe stroke after one of these retreats and is in nursing home. She's unmarried and no children. Her family had an estate auction to help pay for her nursing care. I purchased a small tub with fabric and a quilt started in it. So I took this also so I could finally finish it.

 So this it it. 

Add you can tell I'm trying to clean up some UFO's so the next one is a peacock panel I've had for a couple years. Out collecting those  row by row experience rows I saw a package of fabrics I thought would work with this panel. It had a plain blue and a piece with the peacock feathers and some floral and a stripe. So I bought it.  I didn't use the floral and I had to bum a bit of jade, but here it is

Hmm just not sure what I'm going to do with this one.

Then last but not least, I got one of  Quilts  Valor finished.

See I have been doing something. So till next time.

Sew on

Yay, it's blog time.

This week has been full of trying to get things ready for a retreat Oct 13. I've decided I'm going to cut my pieces out so I can spend time sewing not standing at a cutting table.  So

Here's the bag starting to fill up. Have to have the back scratcher. Three projects ready and cutting another one.

This one is for m my newest grandson. He's 8 but just came into our family last year. So when it's completely cut it will be added to the bag. Then I'll just need to get the memory quilts cut up. That should be enough for a weekend of sewing.

Turning over a new leaf, Maybe

I'm going to try and I mean really try to blog at least one day of the week. So here's to trying to catch up. My dear hubby is taking over my edge to edge quilting. Since I work outside the home and he is now on limited days at work he's been learning. No learning is over and he's taken it over. With him being here 80/90 % of the time he can offer an edge to edge at a reasonable price in just a couple week turn around. This gives me more time to piece, sew, cut or blog.  So here's what I've been doing.

These shoes,I couldn't resist. I had gotten a high heel shoe pantograph for the long arm and I knew I wanted some fancy high heels to go with it. Lo and behold I was on a shop hop and there they were. This will go to my step daughter when it's all said and done.

 These cute Sun Bonnet Sues were from a swap in 2006. I finally set them  January 2014 at a retreat. I wish I could show the swappers m my quilt but I haven't been on my Yahoo  in years. When they changed their format I got lost.

Then I'm working on this applique project. The outer blocks were made 4 years ago add a buck a  (I think) at the local quilt shop. I had enough of the purples to make a couple extra blocks. I also on a shop hop found a bolt of the black on sale. Oh not the whole bolt but enough. So now I'm dabbling in designing the center motif. I'll leave it add a surprise se as to what the finish product may look like.

 Then I'm working on cutting strips for a swap at a retreat.

That's my today!

SO WHERE DO I BEGIN

Oh it's been so long just where do I start? Life has been so full of ups and downs and has kept me busy. First my  91 yr old father  diagnosed with dementia just became to much for my mom to manage and after much turmoil is now settled into a nursing facility.

I know it was rough for the siblings living there but it was rough being hundreds of miles away too. I took serveral trips back in hopes if relieving stress on those there. Don't know if it worked but with those trips it did give me chance to do some quilt shop hoping.

Fabric Merchant, Joplin, MO

Sew Natural, hmm I was out by Wichita, KS was this in Newton?

Lane 154,Webb City, Mo

And now one of my most favorite shops, this little place hides away off the Hiway of Exter MO. The owner is one of the nicest ladies ever. First time I went in we talked and she found out I was from Indiana, but originally from close to there. So the next year I walk in and she looks then exclaims "indiana". Ok now that is something to remember my face and where from. It says something of her personality. Stop in to PDubs if your ever in the Cassville/ Exter MO area.

So I finally got my Christmas present. The hubster got it special made to match the new kitchen cabinets. Wait I haven't told you about my new kitchen. Oh my I am so behind. We lived for months without a kitchen. Living in a home thats 150 yrs old, it needed some up grades.  After checking prices, I decided to design it myself. Custom cabinets. We love how it turned out. Thanks to Hilty Cabinets and James Baumgartner for all the work.The ladder is out of the hickory as the cabinets and is wider than a normal ladder. This way I can show off more of the quilts.