Sunday, August 28, 2011

stitching completed

Yesterday was busy but I managed to get the stitching complete for my fall small set. They are setting atop the lining fabric that I found last week at LQS. I also plan to make some sort of tote case for them from the fabric. I am not sure if it is coming thru but it is a lovely orange with golden brown swirly gigs in it. So fun. 

The pace today is much kinder to me. We got up and went to church and now are lazying around the house.I have a sour cream pound cake in the oven for dessert tonight and need to pull threads for an exchange piece I need to start. Feel like a lady of leisure today! 

Hope all are keeping safe from the storm on the East Coast.
Pam

Thursday, August 25, 2011

you could have warned me

So all of you quilters out there in blog land and none of you bothered to tell me that it was a crazy idea to stitch around the paisleys on my quilt. Really what was I thinking. The excitement of being close to a finish and the creative jolt I had that it would set off the piece to outline them. After all it has really only been about 30 years since I have sewn on a regular basis, how hard could it be to do all those curves on those lovely paisleys? Well, about 5 hours later and an infinite amount of disgust about how bad my circular stitching is and the quilting section of this learning objective is complete. Really a warning would have been nice. Pam, not to burst your creative bubble but, curves are going to be a pain. All that is left is the binding at this point. I was planing to use the navy poke-a-dotish print for the binding but the lady at the quilt shop said to use the border fabric. Care to cast a vote?
This will soon become a scissor keep for the great fall stitching and general escape from life planned for October. 47 days from the departure. I don't think my husband remembers telling me I could go. I will have to remind him soon. He has some short term memory issues that can really work in a girls favor. :) Josh beings cross country meets this weekend. I think I will be able to stitch while he run. Surely I'm not expected to interact with the other parents and coaches rather than stitch. There all my selfishness is out as it relates to stitching. (Or at least most of it)


thanks for stopping by and reading,
Pam

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Progress, even if small

This will soon be a needlebook for my fall small set. I am on my way in just 7 and a half weeks (or 52 short days) to the New England Stitcher's Retreat.http://stitchingretreats.blogspot.com/ Of course I cannot show up without a fresh small set for the fall to hold all my stitching tools. I also stitched a pumpkin scissor keep and plan to do a leaf pincushion from the same chart series. Not sure about the lettering. The Heart In Hand lettering is large and wonky on this piece and I think I may need it to be smaller to fit on all three pieces. (Oh that this were life's greatest delima now)

Yesterday was 3 glorious hours getting my step-daughter fitted for contacts so she can legally drive herself to work and school. Maybe this will free up some time for stitching. She can also help cart Josh. He is in the learners permit stage and I am a bit nervous thinking of him loose on the roads. Not to mention sadden by him growing up a bit more. All a part of life and I am sure he is more than ready to be independent in this way.

I think I have actually gained 3 lbs on this exercise and diet plan. About to resign myself to be a big girl til the end. Loosing weight as you approach 50 stinks. Maybe I should find a weight loss retreat rather than a stitching retreat. NOT!

Have a great Sunday,
Pam






Tuesday, August 16, 2011

4 AM

What to do when it is 4AM and you cannot sleep? Why blog of course. I wish it would not wake the world for me to quilt, then I could complete the outer border of the quilt. I did get the center blocks quilted late Saturday night. I was waiting on my son to get in from the movie invite he got earlier that day and did mange to get all of the center blocks quilted. I did a simple zig-zag pattern across them rather than the recommended stitch in the ditch. It was not a bad as I thought it would be to stitch. I can definitely see the need for a quilting machine. The fabric gets quite bulky in the traditional machine. I don't think I could do much more than a throw on a traditional machine. The outer boarder will have small paisleys to mimic the fabric print. I just love paisleys and they will give a nice accent to the piece. I can smell a finish on this piece and cannot wait to start the next quilt! 
This is a picture of the pomegranate growing on a tree in our back yard. Who know you could grow them in Alabama. It just never occurred to me they would grow here. We bough the house in May and have several lovely surprises in the yard. There are also 3 fig trees growing a small harvest of figs. The previous owners had just landscaped the yard a few months before so the fruit trees are all young. There is another tree I am not sure about but hopefully we will know soon. An insect stripped the leaves off it in July but they are returning and I hope to tell what it is then. 

My poor mailman has been stalked lately. My step-daughter has been stalking him for her drivers license, we were all relieved it came yesterday. Long story of typical young adult these days I will not bore you with but she is doing much better theses days. Today I will start stalking him for an exchange piece. I sent my piece off last Thursday and have been not so patiently waiting on the postman  for mine to arrive. Good thing I am at work when he delivers the mail or I would be waiting at the door for him each day. Maybe I could set up a nanny cam ....


have a good day all and hope you got more sleep than me last night,
Pam

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Big Girl Pants

I have been busy avoiding pulling up my big girl pants and quilting my completed top. I spend last night sorting my needlework stash. Matching fabric to charts, pulling threads for kits and such. BTW, is anyone else madly in love with the large mesh zipper totes? I got a small one in an exchange earlier this year( Thanks again Chris) and I fell immediately head over heals with them. The small one is perfect for the a smaller chart, fabric and fibers. The larger ones fit a full size chart and all the works for it as well. I have 7 kitted right now but after last nights fondle I need about 8 more. Hobby Lobby only seems to stock 4 at a time and they are cheapest there. Guess I could order on line but it is (as I am sure you girls know) more difficult to mask an online purchase from the occasional spending audit. This morning I started a the above fall chart. It needs to be completed before the Oct stitching retreat. Plan to turn the needle roll into a needle book and make a fob to match.Heart in Hand Fall Fobs. This is another chart I have had a while and never quite made it to the top of the heap. Teresa told me she is going to have a full fall decor at the retreat so I had to stitch a fall set or be totally out of fashion. I am sure you all understand. Next on the list was taking my step-daughter to get uniforms for her new job. She moved back in with us a couple of weeks ago and is starting a job Monday. Then I actually resorted to cleaning. I know- desperate at this point.Clean verses quilt. This should show you the deep fear I am wrestling over starting into the unknown of a quilt sandwich. I have ironed and pinned the pieces together. I am sure the dread of the process will be much worse than the event. It is just that there is so much time and money tied up in this piece. I love the way the top looks pre-quilting and am fearful I will not do it justice in the quilting. Off now to say one last prayer before I start the quilting. 


Thanks for stopping by,
Pam

Thursday, August 4, 2011

mail treat

Yesterday was action packed. A little family drama, work,interview for step-daughter who is now living with us again, school registration for new district,and youth service at church. The mail man brought just the right thing to provide a little stress relief. A little mini-pamper package I won from April Mechelle. wonderful smelling soap, frig magnets in a shabby chic design, travel hand sanitizer, a journal, nail files and a lovely hand made whale necklace. The card she sent said Celebrate each day. Perfect reminder for yesterdays busy pace. The package had a beach feel to it. Perfect for the 115 heat index yesterday. I could at least think about cooling off in the water even if I had no hope of reaching the shore. We also got a free diner last night for the 40 minute delay in service. Got to buy school clothes for my son this weekend so I'll take free any place I can find it right now! It was a great meal just a little slow.

Pam