Week of 2/25 thru 2/29

No photos with this post. I'm in Texas this week. I don't like this city. It's busy. It's dirty. It's crowded. And there is much here going on that I DON'T have to deal with in Alabama. Homeless people, pan-handlers...and other un-mentionable people. It's just not home. I am in a training class at the corporate for the company that I work for. It's downtown. I can officially state that I have seen more traffic in this week than I think I have seen all month at home! I am serious....the traffic is plain horrid. I rented a car & it's a small compact little model - I feel like a little teeny tiny ant on the interstate in it!
But the UP side of my week away has been that I get to visit with DD#1. she has been the best hostess. She has cooked nearly every night. I feel like I'm in a hotel. 'Course I don't have the nightly rate! Ha Ha !
2 more days of classes & I can go home. i am enjoying my visit with my daughter, but I'd like being home too. DH called & said that he has finished painting my side of the garage and that he has got the metal installed on the garage door openings. Whoo-Hoo! I am excited. Now all we need INSIDE is the crown molding & the floors painted & all the electrical outlets & covers installed & I can set up my quilting machine.....then we can finish installing the vinyl.

gotta go
DD#1 has dinner cooking!

Sam

Dolls for DN#7

Remember last month when i said I had to make/get a doll for DN#7? Well, the doll is porcelain. Not exactly a doll that a 5 year old can PLAY with. So i got this other vinyl doll for her that she CAN play with.

My projects this week (not including the bathroom tear out) is to get the porcelain doll all cleaned up & redressed in the little smocked outfit i found. I have to stuff & dress the other doll. That vinyl doll is one of those Apple Valley dolls. "Jordan", I think is this one. A very, very pretty doll. I actually found some old doll wigs from when I was making dolls , in storage, and one was red. I liked the red wig best, but when I spoke with DN#7 this evening she asked me to PLEASE make it blonde. So , blonde it will be. It's glued on now, the wig is...so that I don't change my mind.

The porcelain doll needs to be re-strung. I'm not sure what I'll use to do that, but I have to find something. I can not remember how I made the other one. It has been over 20 years, you know?

Wretched dolls.

I am SO going to punch my DB#2 when I see him.

It's late, and I'm tired. I made 3 posts this evening. All with photos! No plain Cheerios tonight.....

Sam

Blue Room

This is my sewing room. It's been pared down a LOT. We took a sample of the wall paper & had the blue bird color matched & painted the walls that blue. This photo is taken at 10 PM & the flash makes it look much brighter. DH was RIGHT - the 2nd coat DOES look better. That whole back wall had cabinets on it. I will be installing a "skirt" on my sewing table to hide the stuff (projects) under it.

I will be staging it as a "siting room". Can't say it's a bedroom because there is no built in closet. It's about 11 X 13. Pretty good sized. I have a bookshelf, a wing back recliner & small table that I'll put in there.

Since both DD's do not live at home, we painted the 2 other bedrooms. One is yellow, we call it the "YELLOW ROOM". The yellow room has dark furniture in it. Very masculine. The second is pink. We call it, you guessed it, the "PINK ROOM". The pink room is very girl-lee. White iron bed, white nightstands. I love it. I'm not making excuses, but it's a really, really light pink. During a bright day or even at night with the lights on , it's hard to tell that it's a pink at all..... Ha! Ihave 2 quilt racks in there too!

So what else would we be calling the sitting room , if not the "BLUE ROOM" ????

Sam

The Big Cat

This is our cat.

Y'all have seen all the dogs, this is the cat.

We call him Smelly Cat.

Not because he smells, but because when we got him there was a new & popular sitcom on TV. FRIENDS was the sitcom. I never particularly enjoyed the show , but one of the characters, Phoebe, sings a song called Smelly Cat. She actually can't sing worth beans & the song is awful, but, it was very comical to listen to it so we named the cat Smelly Cat. He's 13 and the only one we have. I can't leave clean laundry out, hel'll lay on it or in it. I can't leave a closet door open, he'll get in there & find SOMETHING clean to sleep on. I can't accidiently leave the underwear drawer open, he'll get in there & sleep & then everything has to be washed. And I don't DARE leave a quilt in progress on my sewing table, yep!, he'll be sleeping on it! Not pieces of quilts, just if it's a big piece - like if you're putting borders on it & leave it on the table over night....Oh yeah - the FUNNIEST thing he's resorted to doing is everytime DH comes home & brings in his suitcase, Smelly lays all over it. Like the cat missed DH or something. Funny little cat, he is....

Sam

Another Week Passes

Another week passes us by.

You know? 25 years ago, I never thought I'd be where I am today. I have regrets, sure, but none that I feel I need pennance for. I just felt like the middle of February 2008 came quicker than I thought it should.

This week has been eventful - weather wise for sure. 70's one day & 30's the next. no wonder people are dropping like flies with the flu. I think I have escaped the worst of the flu...I take vitamins! Maybe that's what keeps me healthy? Ha ! That's what I tell myself anyway!

Last night I put a 2nd coat of blue paint on the sewing room walls. DH said it needed it, I disagreed and procrastinated. Now it's done, I have to admit that DH was right. It does look much more nice. The 2nd coat of paint took much less paint than the 1st & if I had done it 2 weeks ago - I'd have been happier. Now I am FREE to go onto other "inside" projects.

Notice I said "INSIDE". Those are projects which I prefer to take care of myself. Packing closets. Painting. Culling. Wondering why I ever keep some junk......Rearranging....ripping off wall paper. Stuff that just isn't done well by 2 or more people in cramped spaces.

My next inside project is to rip up carpet in the downstairs bathroom. Yes carpet in a bathroom. Must be a southern thing...I've seen it a lot & lived with it for 9.5 years. Now it's coming up. The carpet gets removed & the wallpaper is coming down. Painting the walls, the vanity & the doors. Replacing all hardware: faucets, paper holder, towel bar, drawer pulls , light fixtures, and maybe the shower faucet...I don't know how hard the shower faucet will be to replace....THAT might be a project for DH. But ! I have 2 bathrooms. I am only going to wreck one at a time. That's the plan , anyway....that and if I mess up too bad then we still have a spare!!!!

Sometime between now & the end of the month....a landscaper is coming. Going to freshen up the flower beds. I think "freshen up" is an understatement. He's going to rip out all the dead azeleas, replace them with holly, re-mulch & spread the dirt that we have had piled up (2 dump truck loads ) over the trenches that we made for the utility lines for the garage. i on't think he's doing any more than that. We'll put _ what's that stuff you buy in squares? You know grass - what's that ? OH SOD ! Can't imagine why that escaped me...we'll sod the area he covers in dirt.

Keeping the DOGS out of all this is going to be so fun for me. Right! So fun....SURE.....

I have been horribly lazy this week (maybe THAT's why it's aleady the middle of FEB?) if I ever turn on the TV - I never move. So? The game for me was to NOT turn it on. After I cleaned the kennels, I did something else. I finsihed the 2nd coat of paint & I have sewed 8 pinwheels. I call them Parker Pinwheels.....I have enough sub-units sewn together for another 12 blocks. Since I am working Saturday at the landfill - i am taking my sub-untis with me to iron, cut apart re-iron & match up pairs....20 blocks is a far cry from the # I need for 2 quilts, but it is sewing that I have not been able to do. I feel like it's sewing I have deprived myself! Sewing is therapy - I just need a lot of therapy....Ha Ha Ha

well - that' s my feather pillow that I hear calling for me.....

Good night all & on my next post I'll try to have some photos. A blog without photos is like the difference between Honey Nut Cheerios & the plain ole Cheerios....the plain ones are just a little bland.

Have a good evening!
Sam

My Weekend - no sewing!

This is what the DH & I did this weekend! We installed vinyl siding. We didn't get it all done because we have to get the soffits built & the vinyl on the soffits. So we put it up as high as we could go without getting into where the soffits will be. It looks so GOOD. These photos were taken at around 4:30 PM & it wasn't real bright on Saturday afternoon. The TOP photos is of the backside of the garage. We had put exterior outlets there because we had planned on cementing that area & roofing another 10-12 feet (after we pull the shed out) behind the garage for storage of lawnmowers, the air compressor & possibly a small boat. The center photo is of the end of the garage that faces the back of the house. I am standing on the rear deck to get this photo. And the last photo is of the end of the garage that you see when you come up to the house. The vinyl siding on the garage matches the vinyl siding on the house pretty good. We had the vinyl siding on the house installed nearly 6 years ago & the manufacturer doesn't make this SPECIFIC color or style any longer....it's CLOSE. And since the garage does not touch the house, it's barely noticible. matter of fact, it looks fabulous.

Saturday we got the biggest majority of it done, Sunday we worked on framing the soffit on the front of the garage. we didn't get it completed because we ran out of 2 X 4 's. SO? We started another list for our next trip to Home Depot next week.

After we ran out of lumber, DH started wiring the breaker box and I spent 2 hours scraping drywall mud up off the cement floor with a metal spatula. Cement is cold on your knees! DH got all the breakers wired & we hooked up ONE electrical outlet so that we don't have to use extension cords anymore!

( Yes, I know that my flag is tattered! That bell pole is being moved & I HAVE a new flag to replace that one, bt I want to wait until we move the pole!)

I am so proud of DH & me! We woke up so sore on Sunday & still we got out there & did what we could until we couldn't go any further or ran out of materials.

I feel like we're getting somewhere now! I can hardly wait for the day when I can put up my long arm! I know, I know! We're moving! So what? I hope that when Iput it up - that it won't be up for long, that we'll be moving soon.

It was SO nice to have DH home for 2 consecutive days. 2 days to be together...I WON'T say that having him gone all week is worth the 2 solid days, but it was sure nice to have someone besides the dogs to talk too. Granted, the dogs aren't as communicative, but at least they listen. DH does too! Besides, I even made a REAL dinner. Ate until we couldn't eat anymore.

My friend, Joan, posted a recipe for Apple Pan Dowdy that looks scrumptious. i think that's on the "make / bake / take" list for this week while I'm home. If I make too much when I bake, I take it to work & pass it out to the dirvers'!

Speaking of Joan, I read where she wasn't feeling well recently. I hope that you are better Joan! Watch that sore throat, I hope it's not streph. Get well soon!

I have been pinning strips together for pinwheel blocks too!

Sam

Trunk Show

I attended a "Trunk Show" this evening. It was held at "A Time 2 Sew" in Collinsville, AL. Cindy Blackberg was the presenter. (shown in the attached photo obtained from her website) A Time 2 Sew is also conducting a retreat with Cindy this weekend, but my time & my funds are committed elsewhere. Attending the trunk show was nearly a last minute decision. I only decided yesterday! Cindy Blackberg is a well known hand piecer & hand quilter. I do neither. She brought all sorts of samples & I was selected to help display the quilts / samples that she brought with her.

Her work is awesome! Little teeney tiny pieces, little teeney tiny stitches. Oh what a challenge she has presented. It would have been nice to take the classes, but it just isn't possible...darn it!

Cindy promotes & sells quilt stamps. Her hand piecing is so precise due , in a large part, to the stamps. the stamps have the cutting line & the stitching line. They can be used for machine piecing too, but they are little. I bought the Kaleidoscope stamp & want several more, but again, not in the budget.

I like quilts withlots of pieces, I can't tell you why, I just do. i find sewing relaxing, and maybe hand piecing will be relaxing too. We shall see, because I sure want to try it.

Most of the quilts that Cindy brought were small sized. i want to make one BED sized, with all the teeney tiny peices that she has. I want to make the "Railroad Crossing", the "Mariner's Compass" and the "Kaleidoscope". And maybe, just maybe the "Scrap Baskets". (If I live long enough to make them all........) I have always had a desire to make a Mariner's Compass Quilt & actually have more than one pattern for them, all paper-pieced. but the blocks Cindy made with her templates looked so nice.....I have to TRY, at least!

I have to laugh at myself, because if I don't, I'll surely cry - but about 6 years ago I bought a hand quilting frame. No little jobbie, not for me.....I bought the Hinterberg folding frame.....not a cheap jobbie either. That baby was several (more than 3) hundred dollars. Three rails, no basting. You know how many times I've used it to quilt a quilt? Exactly ZERO. The entire time I have had it, it has held a lamp over my cutting table, strips for quilts, and many , many UFO's. I don't think that was the intention of the designer & it certainly wasn't my intention to let it sit. do i want to sell it? NO! I want to use is (obviously ...one day....) to hand quilt! And I believe that I shall! Just not tonight. ( that & it's in strorage until we move.....)

You can see Cindy's stamps, patterns, books on her website : www.cindyblackberg.com A very charming woman. One of her designs is in the latest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting - last project in the magazine. it only touches the tip of her talent. Beautiful work!

Good night!
Sam