Time for another round of "Good News / Bad News"!

GOOD NEWS: Thyroid test came back "within acceptable range"
BAD NEWS: I have no health reason for gaining weight
GOOD NEWS: Doc attributes it to perimenopause
BAD NEWS: I need to move more
GOOD NEWS: I get to buy some new walking shoes!

Anyone have a favorite pair they love? One that will be good for someone that just got over a year long battle with plantar fascitis? My little brother says I need to get a pair of good running shoes, even though I have no intention of actually running! Please let me know if you have suggestions!

GOOD NEWS: The civil war log rail fence is moving along!
BAD NEWS: No pics tonight

But I am striving for top completion BEFORE the weekend! So I'll have pics very very soon!

GOOD NEWS: Oooh La La! French General pincushions and sewing books are arriving!
BAD NEWS: French General pincushions and sewing books are arriving!




GOOD NEWS: They are wonderfully vintage French-y looking!
BAD NEWS: I LOVE them and need them both! Resistance is futile for me!
GOOD NEWS: That's a BIG pincushion! 10" x 4"!!

I am seriously in LOVE with tons of stuff that French General is doing with Moda! This is but a tip of the iceberg! I'll have bundles and kits coming later. So excited these have arrived! Special price just for my blog readers...$17.99 each, which includes shipping! As always, you can let me know if you need these too and I'm happy to enable, er, uh, I mean accommodate you!

GOOD NEWS: It's a short work-week for me due to the holiday! Tomorrow is TGIF!!!
BAD NEWS: How can there possibly be bad news attached to that!!!

Hope your week's going swell!

*Peace!

Quite The Week....Dontcha Think?

I'm glad it's Friday....I was saddened by the passing of Farrah Fawcett, even though it was expected...and I am still just stunned about the death of Michael Jackson. I was a fan from an early age....and I can easily liken this to what Elvis's passing must have been to another generation. I'm sure he's found peace now, though.

I've been sewing strips here and there...and this morning at the buttcrack of dawn, I was cutting more! I'll continue piecing this weekend and hopefully will have some blocks to show you by the end of the weekend!

Tomorrow I'm going to a quilt lecture and trunk show on reproduction quilts! My fav'!!! I haven't been to a quilt function in a very very very long time, having phased out guild meetings etc. So this will be great fun!

I'm glad the hectic work week is over! And...as suspected..without any suggestion from me, the doc immediately said she wanted to order blood work to check the ol' thyroid. So we'll see what that shows next week. Either I'll be stopping off at the pharmacy for an Rx...or it's off to Foot Locker for some walkin' shoes!!!

In searching online for one of my very favorite songs by Michael Jackson...I found this! I LOVE it! My fav' song...by one of my absolute FAVORITE artists---James Morrison! This guy's voice just SENDS me! Hope you enjoy it!



*Peace!

The Shirtings Are Coming! The Shirtings Are Coming!

YAY! I'm going to be stalking the UPS dude waiting impatiently for THIS shipment! WOOOHOOO!!! The new shirtings are coming!

I'm "announcing" only because I received several emails from readers asking if I would be getting in this or that line from Moda, and the shirtings were on the list! I can say that I received notice today that they are shipping!!

And oh my goodness if you like repro fabrics and quilts...these are fanTABULOUS!

I'll have just 4 of these...

GORGEOUS fat quarter bundles ($87) and also will have a couple jelly rolls ($30). So if you're interested in 'pre-ordering', give me a shout and I'll reserve one for you! They should be here on Monday! Prices include priority shipping!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming....

I've had a few stolen moments to work on strip sets for the log fence! I think I may have to cut a few more strips.....I haven't decided just how big I want this one to be....for the bed? for the sofa? I'll know more once I get some blocks done and laid out, but I love the colors!!

It's been a hectic week and I'm ready for it to be over, but have two more days left.....it's gonna get ugly! LOL Stressful time at the office. I just figure the stress will expedite the change I'm craving. Suppose I'm having a mid-life crisis? or a-third-life-crisis...since I expect to live longer than 86! ;o) I am craving change! CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE! Gotta make it happen!

I have that lovely yearly appointment tomorrow....I plan to finally speak to the doc again about weight gain issues.....thyroid vs perimenopause etc...all that good stuff!

So with that in mind, I better get movin' and give myself that pedicure tonight I've been putting off! ;o) Then I'm going to put my newly painted toesies up and stitch on Ann!

Hope you've been enjoying your week!!!

*Peace!

*

I Heart 3 Day Weekends....and Dads

Aaaaah....this has been the most pleasant three day weekend!!! And Father's Day weekend to boot! I seriously love 3 day weekends!! They are the best! Not sure what can top them...except maybe part-time jobs! LOL

We've had the most relaxing and yet productive weekend. I'm thankful for that, too, because there were multiple times I wanted to just break down and cry because I miss my dear dad so much. But...I didn't. It's all good.

The hubs and I ran errands together....took naps....sat around our fire pit and made s'mores....lounged outside on Saturday in the sun....watched a few movies....we had lots of together time and it was great! :o)

I even finished a book I was reading----Swim To Me. It was okay....it just ENDED though and I hate when they just END. I want things all wrapped up pretty much when I get to that last punctuation mark. But it was an okay read. I was going to start the Twilight series....since I'm sure I MUST be missing out on something fabulous...but decided instead to pick up The Jane Austen Book Club, since my friend, Paulette, was going to watch the movie the other night! I've had this book by my chair for...well...let's just say too long. So that's next on the reading list! THEN I'll dive in to the Twilight saga.

In other news....I caved in late Friday evening....the A/C is now on.....I couldn't take the unbearable humidity Friday night...it was BAD.....couple that with the occasional hot flash while I'm TRYING to sleep thru the night..and...well....yeah....the A/C is great! :o)

Today I did get some time in the sewing room.....I pulled these


and spent time with my iron and Best Press and ended up with these


and then cut and cut and cut


and ended up with these


Now...I have absolutely no idea if I have way too many strips or not enough...I just cut...I'm winging it on the log fence quilt....so we'll see how many blocks I get with what I've got cut and we'll take it from there! I'm excited to get started on the piecing!!

Also making me excited is the progress I'm slowly making on Ann Rayner! I'm laying a pic of the finished sampler beside my progress, for those inquiring minds who didn't think they had seen this one...


I'm working on some of the motifs now....so I think it will hold my interest enough to continue with her for a bit!

We grilled out steaks tonight, sat around the fire pit, and just continued the relaxed mode. A fitting end to a perfect Father's Day weekend!

I hope you all had an equally wonderful weekend!

*Peace!

Maybe tomorrow!!

Yes...I know...procrastination is a horrid habit.....but it's just too darn hot to pick up a needle...so maybe tomorrow I'll work a little more on The Chosen One........I've decided to spend a little time, again, with Ann Rayner. This is the state I left her in....



It's time...she's due for some attention--don't you think? I'm thinking of working on her until I get the first page done...which would be equal to a quadrant of the sampler. We'll see. I don't like to put deadlines and such on my stitching. Kinda takes the fun out of it for me!

I have a pile of Jo Morton fabrics and other miscellaneous civil war repros out on the cutting table. After seeing this post from Be*Mused I fell in love with that log rail fence and think I need to make one! Heck...I loved most ALL of those quilts she posted about and have them saved in a folder for future projects! The color...OOOH the color!!!

Yes....it's been a hot one today...but I still am winning the war against the A/C! They're saying 70s still this week..and nights in the 50s...I just can't do it yet! Once the house is closed up and the A/C is running...it's over...until September....so I'm holding out as long as I can!

I may have to sit with a fan in front of me tomorrow just so I can stitch! :o)

*Peace!

Whew! Made It Just In Time!!!!!

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of a week and weekend, but I did it! Accomplished the two goals for the week!

Yesterday I finished the summer ric-rac quilt! A great Kaffe print for the back and binding....simple cross hatch quilting.....


and then jumbo ric-rac applied for an inner border effect....


I think it's just enough! And it's ready for the hand work!

Granted, now I have approximately 63 yards of jumbo chestnut ric-rac....anyone interested? I'll pass it on at my cost of .70/yd...so shoot me an email if you want the spool shipped to you next! :o)

I caught lots of stitching time through the evenings this week while watching the Stanley Cup playoffs....and finally...FINALLY shortly after 10:00PM this evening...I finished the Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler That's Not!









I'm excited to think about what I'll start next in the stitching category AND the quilting category!!!

And the Random Number Generator has said that Comment #11 is the winner of the April Cornell Plaids!

#11 was ROBIN HILL QUILTS....Those pretty plaids would be perfect for my "bunny tales" quilt I am making ...
i have your blog posted as one of my favs...

Thanks SO MUCH for taking time to leave your comments and stay tuned for even more giveaways!!!

Robin Hill Quilts....send me your address and I'll ship off the lovely plaids for your 'bunny tales' quilt project!

Hope everyone had a fun and productive week and weekend! We will now resume our regularly scheduled blogging!

*Peace!

I Come Bearing Gifts.....

Bad blogger! Bad, Bad, Blogger, am I. So sorry!!! This has just been a weird week and I didn't feel like I had much to really blog about! So I apologize if you've been checking in.

Earlier in the week it was actually hot. And I still refused to turn on the AC...so there was no stitching to be done....the thread stuck to my fingers! So there wasn't much progress...but I did get quite a bit in this weekend on the Blackbird Designs Loose Feather Mystery-that's-not.....I think I can get it done this week if I really put some time in!


I'm on to Part V now! So the end is near! I do really like the vintage look of this one a LOT. Am already dreaming of the molding for this one, and I love how it's horizontal.

I had a three day weekend this weekend, which explains the stitching progress. On Friday, I went with Miss Twyla to a country open house in an old school house out in the middle of nowhere and found some lovely little treasures...then we went to a good old-fashioned estate tag sale...where you have to take a number to gain entry in to the house. We got there in good time though...no need for a number. And I again found some goodies. From there we went to a local G-Willy's and found a few more things that needed to come home. Sorry---no pics...but I'm sure you get sick of seeing pics of knick-knacks and orphaned pottery! :o)

You may remember this from my last post...


and LAST weekend I whipped the quilt top right out....


Hubs said it looked like I was laying out our dish towels and sewing them together. LOL That one turquoise blob looks out of place, but trust me...there are a few pieces in there that have that same turquoise, so it melds together nicely. Just doesn't photograph so hot!

I had big plans...BIG plans....to get that sucker basted and quilted and the jumbo chestnut ric-rac applied all by the end of this weekend. Well...what do they say about the best laid plans? The quilt is still in the state you see up there, except it's not out on the grass! :o) But I do hope to get it all done in the next few days! So if you don't 'hear' from me, I'm toiling away in the sewing room!!

To make up for what's certain to be a little silence (again)...let's have a giveaway! Wooohoo! A Moda Fabrics giveaway!! I wanna give someone their OWN fat quarter pack of these...


April Cornell plaids! Do you want them? If so, just leave a comment and tell me what YOU would do with them! And...if you post a link to this on YOUR blog...leave me ANOTHER comment telling me you've done that, and you'll get two entries! I'll use Random Number Generator to pull a winner next Sunday! So there's lots of time to tell your friends and get your entry in! Moda Fabrics sunny summery April Cornell fat pack could be yours!!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I do appreciate all of your comments! Have a great week!

*Peace!