opps.  Didn't realize it was so long since my last post.  I have been busy working ont he Christmas Joy quilt, starting a Jo Morton pattern.  I don't have a picture of that one yet, but it is a kind of churn dash pattern.  While I was up in Auburn at the Mercy Retreat Center (see post in July), Natalie, one of my guild friends who was there too, had some leftover fabric.  She challenged one of us to do soemthing with it.  Well, it has been two months and I know she was expecting something sooner, like July.....I have slowly made my little squares and will be putting them togethere so I can show it at my next guild meeting in September.

I have joined the Starbucks 12 star dash.  I have to get 12 stars in 11 days and I get a Starbucks card.  My plan is to stop every day and get a tea, read for a while and then go home.  Since I go up and join Leah for coffee/tea a couple times a week, this shouldn't be so difficult.  I love my gold card.

Tomorrrow I am taking the day off to go hang out with my friend, Shirley.  We are going to commiserate over not being at Pismo Beach.  I have to go back and see if I blogged about that.  Funny story....

I am still working steadily on the Christmas Joy quilt.  I also got caught up on my block-of-the-month that I need for tomorrow morning.  I have choices whether to go at 7:30am or wait and go later.  After an inner debate, I decided I would stay with my usual time.  When I am done with the "class" and purchasing, I can zoom on over to the Denny's where my in-laws will be going for breakfast.  "Our" waitress is Katherine.  She is a family friend and always treats us the best.  Where else can you go and know that a cup of coffee will appear as you sit down?  No one asks because you always have coffee--if you are me that is.  Then at noon my husband and I are headed over to see our friends, Lisa and Noel, to eat  and play cards.   Round that off with an evening at home and I am sure it will be a wonderful day. 

I am really dragging this week.  Can hardly keep my eyes open, bored with having too little to do....All my little tricks are not working--stretching, walking around, popping mints.  Maybe I am getting too much sleep.

Have a lovely day...I will get back to my project.  I am looking at quilting blogs to see what is out there.  There are catagories--recipes, tutorials, pictures.  I am putting together profiles for my guild meeting in September for the Member Demonstration night.  About half of the guild seems interested.  We shall see.
If you have a favorite and would like me to give it a look (I already included Quilting for Hearth and Home by Elizabeth), send a comment.

Back to work

I am back to the daily grind.  Students, schedules, and a lot of fuss.  My husband came home and he is full of stories about how he hates bacon.   I can't even imagine hating bacon.

I have been busy.  On Saturday I took my daughter over to the farmer's market.  We bought peaches, tomatoes, mushrooms, corn and grapes.  We bought all the ingredients for salsa and then Amanda went home and made it.  I picked it up on Sunday.  We are having mexican food for dinner tonight.

I am so sad.  I had to tell my friends that I couldn't go to Pismo beach for the week.  I really wanted to go, but I literally do not have the money.  Four of them will be there having this great time and I will be here.  I should take a day off and go to Shirley's house to sew while they are gone so we feel like we got to do somthing.....Maybe Tuesday......

I have been spending all my time on my Christmas Joy Quilt.  (see blog post for Wednesday, July 25th)  I have to get the borders embroidered and then it will be ready for quilting.

Have a great evening......                                      

Frantic cleaning

Good thing for me that my husband doesn't read this blog.  He is in Montana--or could be on his way home somewhere in Idaho.  This prompted a quick cleaning on my part.  I don't know if I mentioned this or not--I have never been a fan of laundry.  I have been dumping the clean laundry on an extra bed and I was busy folding and folding--okay, I spent an hour watching Person of Interest and folding.  Then my son wanted to play Life with me.  I am so easily distracted.  BECAUSE I HATE LAUNDRY!!!  I have one night to get it all together. Wish me luck.

projects

It is still hot here--109*.  I broke down and turned on my air conditioner.  Every day, my friend, Leah, calls me and asks if I turned it on,  She turned hers on when it was only 85 degrees out there.  Day after day of 100+ degree weather really runs a person down.

I am working on a project for a group of friends.  As I complete the sample, I an figuring out how much of each item I need.  I can show mine off when it is completely done.  I have to have it to at least one of them by next Wednesday.

I am also going to be cutting fabric tonight for the block-of-the-month.  We are going to do a pattern called midnight garden.  In this heat it is the only time to be out gardening.  Last night Anna from next door called and asked if we still had some wasp spray.  She was doing some clean up in her back yard and bumped against this garden shelf attached to her shed and a swarm of wasps came pouting out.  Anna was stung twice by the swarm.  Probably lucky it wasn't more.  Really lucky she isn't allergic because no one would have know she was in the back yard alone.

Last night my son went over to the other side neighbors to play risk.  I am happy to report that the only girl playing won the game.  At one point, my son came back and reported that Trevor was moving to Texas in the morning,  Trevor is 18 years old and his father lives in Texas.  He found some job there for $4.00 more than he is making at Best Buy, so off he will be flying, until he has some issue with the dad and he comes flying back.  It is a pattern with them.

I am going to eat my breakfast now--quiche made by my very own daughter--spinach and mushroom.  Yum!  Have a great day--even if it is really hot......

I just thought of this story

I was just visiting Elizabeth S. at Quilting for Hearth and Home.  She had made a curtain for her bathroom, noting the need for privacy.  It reminded me of my dad.  Sometimes, when my parents and I were out like at the Fresno zoo, I would notice my dad was missing.  My mom would wave her hand and say he was just around the corner.  I didn't think anything of it and never said anything to him.  So, time passes and we go to my sister's college graduation.  I stayed with my sister at her apartment while my parents stayed in a hotel.  It was the morning after and my parents had shown up for brunch.  I went to brush my teeth in my sister's bathroom and as I was brushing I looked out the window.  I caught my dad smoking cigarettes.  He thought he was safely hiding from us.  Mary, my sister, didn't have a curtain on her bathroom window.  The thing is that my parents always made a huge deal about how my dad quit smoking years before when I was a baby, twenty-four years ago.  All those times he "disappeared" from view, he was sneaking a smoke! I grabbed my sister and dragged her into her bathroom so she could see!!!  We never said anything to my dad.  His secret was safe with us.  I guess Mary could have used a curtain on her window......



















(www.quiltingforhearthandhome.blogspot.com)

HOT--HOT--HOTTER

It has been so hot here that I think I am melting occasionally.  Today, Monday, was day number five of over 100* heat.  The record was six days in July of 2009.  If I am melting, am I a wicked witch like in the Wizard of Oz???

Friday evening I was at Fabric Garden to take the Christmas Joy quilt class.  I met Tracy Souza, the designer, colored and embroidered until 8:45pm.  There were nine quilters in the class.  I knew five of them very well.  We had a lovely social time, but really, as my friend, Sandy, pointed out to me, this could have all been done at home.   I was curious about meeting Tracy.  She showed us upcoming patterns for the next year.  Very fun stuff.

Mostly I have been watching television--the Olympics--and playing games with my son.   I am happy about one thing this time around.  In years past the athletes would win that gold medal and then our national anthem would play.  When did we stop educating our children, teaching them to stand with their hand over their heart as the anthem plays?  This year it was done correctly over and over.  These are good kids!

Keep cool!  Drink iced tea!

While the mouse is away......

I know it is supposed to be the cat is away, but I have spent years telling my daughter that we are cats.  Even now, I will ask how my kitty is and she always gets mad and tells me she isn't a cat! 

So, my husband is in Montana.  "We" have property there.  Really the property belongs to cousin Shannon and my father-in-law.  When he dies (God forbid that be soon--I mean in about 20+ years), my husband will inherit one third of his half.  So we will own 1/6th of the place.  My husband and his friend, Paul, go up there every year for two weeks.  They play and fix up whatever has broken over the winter.  The house sits about 100 feet from the banks of the Yellowstone River.  It is really indescribable how beautiful it is in the summer.  I have never seen it in the winter.

This year, Paul, left his dog with me to watch.  Jack/Dog (a mix of dog) is turning out to be very alternatingly good and annoying.  He sleeps nicely, eats well and plays well with our dog, Hunter (a yellow lab).  When I sew, use my sewing machine, Jack cries--loudly.  I don't think I can stop sewing for two weeks to accommodate this dog.  Unlike Hunter, who came to us directly from his mom as a puppy, Jack came from the pound which makes it impossible to know what has gone on before that would make him whine and cry like that.  I have resorted to exiling him to the backyard when I sew, but he still comes to the door and cries--probably wondering why he is outside.  It is better when Hunter is out there with him, but then Jack has a tendency to bark.  I know my neighbor, Anna, goes to bed at 9pm and wouldn't appreciate barking at 11pm.

Speaking of Anna--funny story,  She was in the restroom at work and when she went to flush the toilet, her phone fell out of her pocket into the toilet, flushed away.  Amazing that a phone can be flushed.  There doesn't seem like there is enough room, but there is.  Anna is happy now though.  She bought an I-phone and has all sorts of new things to play with.  I am thinking I am the last person on the earth whose phone only takes and makes calls.  No camera.  No texting.  Just calls.  Word to the wise--check the toilet before you flush.

Have a great day.  If you go to Starbucks remember your treat receipt.

Treat Reciept at Starbucks

It is treat receipt time again--until the end of August.  Love those grande mocha frappachinos....

Catching up......

 I looked out my window and saw these roses.  It was if they were faeries dancing in the breeze.  I just had to run out and take a picture.  We are so grateful for the breezes here to help drive out the heat--although a dry heat is better than a humid heat like on the east coast...

I have been trying to get a good picture of this mining cart.  My dear husband makes them and he is going to try and market them to people as planters.  It may be hard to tell,. but they are very authentic looking.  One guy has already bought one.  Hopefully we can put them in some of the nurseries in the area with business cards to take. 

I am so pleased with this picture.  This was the block of the month for my guild.  I didn't want to do anything too involved because it was out community service night and that is not always well attended.  There did seem to be a lot of people there this time.  That is always a good thing.

I think last year the guild made 600+ quilts for charity.  A lot of people do their part, but there are some who have never made a quilt for community service.  

But, back to the block-of-the-month....I did a scrappy pinwheel block.  I didn't have to buy very much fabric for this--I used a bunch of my scraps.  I only sold seven of the 20 I prepared.  I just don't know what else to do about this.  It takes hours to make up the kits.  I am not having fun.....Whine, whine, whine.

Enough of that.  This is the beginning of August.  This month's quote is

               A lady is one who never shows her underwear unintentionally.
                                                     --Lillian Day

Lillian Day was a novelist, biographer and playwright.  She wrote a book, The Youngest Profession, in 1938 which was turned into a movie starring Edward G Robinson.  She spent the last 30+ years of her life living in France. 

Back to my blocks.........

BOM

If you are a quilter, you will immediately recognize BOM to be Block-of-the-month.  I am the BOM committee this year for my guild.  I have done it before with success, but this time I am not happy.  I seem to spend huge amounts of time prepping for it, making the kits and then only selling a few.  I bring the unsold ones home and sew them up myself so I have blocks to showcase when they are brought back.  I don't want the nine I sold to look lonely up there by themselves.  Consequently, I have done very little of my own sewing and quilting and I an darn tired of that.  I think I am done with this.  I am going to try small wallhangings and see what happens--after I finish up with the pieces I have already cut.