May 2012

Never economize on luxuries.
          -Angela Thirkell




Angela was born in 1890 and she had a very good life. She married twice, lived in England and abroad.  Her family are all big deal kind of people (prime ministers, artists, writers, etc)
and she is related to Rudyard Kipling (Rikki-tikki-tavi and the Jungle Book).  She wrote books that were set in the English countryside.  Her first novel was Three Houses--a memoir of her happy childhood.  You can find out more at www.angelathirkell.org from the Angela Thirkell Society (a fan club).  Have a happy day.

Just in case you are over in this direction....The school I work at is having a fund raiser at McDonald's located at Madison and San Juan in Carmichael.  The school gets 20% and the staff will be there tripping over the shoes of the real workers!!! It is possibly the nicest McDonald's ever!!!!  Come on by--Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 4pm-8pm.  I'll be working there 4pm to 6pm and then I am taking dinner home to the family!

Goodnight.

How Does She Know Everything?

I am sure you all know about Kim of Kim's Big Quilting Adventure.  Well, I am here to tell you--she knows everything!  And I do mean everything.  I spent Saturday with my friend, Sandy.  It was the last Saturday of the month and we meet at her house to sew together.  First, we drive over to Quilter's Corner to take a short "class" and pick up a Saturday Square--Block-of-the-month.  Then we normally go back to her house and spend the day sewing.

This last Saturday, we went to Quilter's Corner.  We saw some very beautiful quilts (show and tell).  I bought a piece of fabric for my guild BOM.  We went to the credit union because Sandy was out of money.  Then we drove over to Fabric Garden to pick up these towels Sandy ordered for embroidery.    Then, because it was going to be so convenient, we stopped at Boudin's to get sandwiches for lunch.  All this was for Sandy.

When we finally made it back to Sandy's, I remembered Auntie Em was having her once-yearly sale.  Auntie Em is three women who have a ton of vintage things and they go to quilt shows.  Once a year they have a sale at one of the homes and we know where it is.  Hurrah.  I know that Sandy loves going there, so I said something to her and off we went.  I bought some more vintage handkechiefs because I love to use them for labels on my quilts.  So poetic I think.

We got back and finally sat down to sew our blocks.  The BOM this time is really adorable.  I love the baskets and haven't tired of them yet.  I even used one (a basket pattern not the BOM pattern) for my guild block of the month.  By this time I have no idea what time it is and Sandy doesn't have a clock in every corner of her house like I do.  We did eat lunch.  It was yummy, but they screwed up my sandwich.  Thank God, Sandy has mayonnaise and dijon mustard.  What I have not mentioned is that Sandy is two pieces short ina nother quilt and we asked our fellow quilters if anyone had some.  Linda Singer said she might.  As we were finishing lunch, Linda calls. She has a nice chunck (Sandy only needs two pieces 12.5 by 1.5).  We rush off to Quilter's Corner to meet with Linda because Linda is goingto Hawaii and will be gone.  We get there, have to chat for a few minutes and then go back to Sandy's. 

I have bad news.  The yellow that Linda had was the wrong fabric.  It was used in another block-of-the-month (black white and bright), but not the Shabby Chic one Sandy is currently doing.  Time is now spent looking the fabric up o the internet.  I know I didn't have it cause I looked.  I know she has a piece. It is in the star kit we both bought from Planted Seeds Designs.  I know it was hard for Sandy to part with the tiniest peices she needed.  I offered to trade my piece for hers and I would make do, but no.  She is going to suck it up and deal with it.

I left at 6:20pm.  We got almost nothing done.  We ran all over town.   Here is the thing.

                                              HOW DID KIM KNOW????

This is one of my many projects.  I saw the picture of the quilt and the quilt folded up in a quilt shop.  I loved it so much just in the picture that I had to have it.  You can see in the pattern there are red and blue squares.  I got the pattern and got my fabrics together.  It took me a while because I couldn't find anything that was a cream with a small red and blue flower for my background.  Once I found what was close to what was in my head, I began the piecing.  I am staying in the dark reds and blues of the 1800 reproduction prints.  This was going to be such an easy project.  I began the 3rd Saturday in January.  The plan was to take it each month to this group attached to my guild (Golden Valley Quilters) and work on it.  We meet 10am to 3pm.  I figured it would go fast.  Not at all like I thought.

First, I spent the entire time in January cutting the darn thing out.  There are a lot of pieces.   All went well in February.  I got a lot done!  Then in March I went to the Yuba City Quilt show.  This month my daughter needed me to drive her around on errands and then there was some family business.  I never made it.  In May there is a party that I really need to attend in Herald.  A hours drive.   When will I ever get back to it????

Eyes

This morning was really disgusting.  In science the kids dissected a cow's eye.  It is really similar to a human eye.

Did you know that the only part of your body that is the same size the day you are born and the day you die, never gets biggger, is your eye?

Cow eyes are covered in fat.  Is that the white part of our eye?????  Yuck!  They are also very difficult to cut--almost like we shouldn't be doing this.  I have washed my hands twice already and I think I will go wash them again.....

Taking the class....

I gave in!  I am taking the Tracy Souza class at Fabric Garden.  I know I will have a great time.  As I said last night, I am taking it with friends.  Here is the story behind it.

I saw a quilt displayed at the Fabric Garden.  There was a pattern.  It was really simple--a middle of 30 pinwheels with a border that had some (just a little) applique.  The colors were red and green--it was a Christmas quilt on the inside, but the border was this lovely barely pink fabric with tiny dots of cream.  I ususally just accept that I won't be able to duplicate the fabrics in quilts done by designers.  They tend to make the quilt at least a year before and then use their stash.  That fabric could very well be something they bought ten years ago, shich means it will never be found.  I had to have that pink.  Could not live without it. I have driven myself and a lot of other people  crazy looking for just that fabric.  I begged Jill of the Fabric Garden to look for it at quilt market, etc.  Well, she found some.  I guess there were only two bolts of it left in the whole world.  I don't know who got the other, but Jill got one of them.  Wouldn't you think that after badgering Jill and asking everytime they displayed the quilt, that I would be able to buy some???  Not on your life.  Oh, no.  Now we have to fork over a class fee to get the honor of the two yards of fabric we will need for the borders.  I have already made one middle piece (using a light blue from another Christmas line), but will make another with my other Christmas fabrics.  I am really disappointed in how this has gone.  The bright spot is that I will get to meet Tracy of Plumcute designs.  I hear she is wonderful and I will really like her.  I love her designs......  http://www.plumcutedesigns.com/  The class is in August, but I have my fabric now!!!

hello again

I have just been running ragged.  First, I wanted to get a picture of that applique quilt I spoke of and I forgot to take my camera to take the pic.  I called to ask if Imelda wanted to go to lunch and then I figured I could get a picture, but she was on her way to Fresno.  After years of driving back and forth to Fresno, I really feel for her.
So, no picture.  I was at a Writer's Showcase on Thursday.  It was great.  Kids entered their writing in a contest and then three students from each school were awarded a prize.  This was all done by SARA--Sacramento Area Reading Association.  Patricia Newman, children's author, came and spoke.  Each winner was given a copy of her book, Nugget on the Flight Deck.  It was so wonderful.  I missed the open house for Fabric Garden, but my friend signed us up for a class with my other friends.  Hurrah.  A day spent with Sandy, Irene, Imelda and Emma.  I did make it to hang out with my friends, Gina, Jayma, Valerie and Jill.

I made 30 kits for my guild meeting this Thursday.  Golden Valley Guild meeting this Thursday, April 26 at 7:00pm.  We meet at St. Mark's Lutheran Church at Kingswood and Sunrise Blvd in Citrus Heights. Because I abhor waste, especially fabric waste, I actually sewed part of the basket pattern for each member.  I'm not sure how many will actually purchase, so I used a bunch of small pieces with a white on white.  It is a 30's fabric basket.  Next month will be easier.  I already have it planned.  Lots of flower fabric for May.

I have just spent five minutes frantically looking for this post.  I have no clue why it left me, but I am really tired and God only knows it was probably me!

Have a great day tomorrow.

I am beginning to wonder if it is really gone.  I have one call left to make.  Then I think I will sit down and cry.  I love that little suitcase.  The scissors are my favorite pair.  The list goes on!

Last night I went over to sew with a friend's friend.  My friend, Imelda, has a friend, Doreen who also quilts.  Doreen invited us over to her house to see what she has done.  We had a delicious chicken dinner and then she showed off her quilts while we chatted.  So much fun.  Doreen is making an applique quilt from Quilt Soup.  She saw it done at Imelda's house and loved it so much she bought the pattern and the kit from the Stitching Station (closed when the owner retired a couple of years ago).  I am hoping to get a picture of Imelda's when I am at her house on Saturday of her completed quilt.  While we were sitting there talking about this, Irene, who was with us, mentioned that she had bought a quilt kit from the Stitching Station too.  She bought the kit at Imelda's urging and it was still sitting at her house in the very same bag that she brought home from the quilt shop.  She hadn't touched it.  We asked which pattern it was and Irene had no idea--just some quilt pattern.  All this time, Imelda was off in the bathroom.  She came back at the tail end of the conversation.  She knew exactly what quilt kit Irene was talking about and we discovered it is the same quilt!  All three of them--Imelda, Doreen and Irene--have the same quilt.  Imelda's is done.  Doreen's is begun and Irene's is still in the bag.  I think we should make her take it out of the bag and get started making the quilt.

Coincidentally, the kiddies were studying African art and it turns out there was applique.  The children don't really know what it is, so I am going to bring in a sample of my applique to show on Monday.....

It is really gone!

What am I going to do???  My embroidery is gone.  Really gone.  I am beginning to get frantic. 

Tax Time

I finally finished the taxes. Whew!  I'm not going to be rich, but I don't have to pay either. 

One year I did my own taxes and I accidentally put the SSI number in the wrong box and it showed that we owed $3000.00+ in taxes.  I was so sick over it.  It was 1986 and we didn't have even  a prayer of coming up with that kind of money.  I did go to work, but they sent me home.  I wasn't getting anything done.  I took my taxes to H&R Block where they showed me the error of my ways and I stopped crying (we got money back) and used H&R Block for years.  One year I took our taxes to a friend and he did a great job. Then Uncle Henry got Turbo Tax and he did my taxes.  The next year I did them with Aunt Jane (Henry's wife of course) and then on my own when the in-laws got their own turbo tax.  I have become adept at doing my own taxes.  I wish it was easier and not so upsetting to me.  If things go wrong I just cry. 

Speaking of crying, I have lost my embroidery.  I keep it in a little black suitcase and it is gone.  Where could it go off to??????  I am looking all over.  Tonight I must clean my bedroom to see if it is underneath the pile of sweaters.  I am to interested in family things to care about the laundry.......So tonight I do the big search.  I finished binding two quilts and I have made a bunch of community service quilt tops.  I am going to try quilting them on my own next week.

If you want to see the new year long embroidery project from Clover and Violet, go on over and find the button for Garden Steps.  www.cloverandviolet.com

It's April

Treat your friends like you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.
                      --Jennie Jerome Churchill