I Am Quilting...I Swear!

I need to get to ''done'' on a project. A few of these projects are nowhere close to being completed. Not anytime in the next few years. Others are projects that are impressive and will get done soon, but I am not allowed to show you pictures of them; such as the block that I am making for the Austin Area Quilt Guild's raffle quilt. There is supposed to be an unveiling of it a long time from today, so sometime the future you will all be wondering how I get all of these fabulous things done.

Here is my secret:

1) stockpile finished projects and only use your camera once a year to take pictures of them.
2) sign up for tons of small projects. ''Hey, look at this kick-ass seam ripper case that I made!''
3) give your stuff to other people to finish, then take credit for getting it done . (well, I did put the binding on...)
4) start giving yourself credit for pulling fabric off of the shelf for a project. Sometimes, it takes me an 8 hour day to pull a stack of fabric for a project. 7 hours of it is spent cleaning, cooking, washing kids, and putting out small fires. 1 hour spent hiding behind my sewing desk with chocolate and a quilting book.
5) Pull out projects that you finished years ago, then ''re-post'' them. No one remembers (or cares?) about the quilt you finished in 1992. Go ahead, technically, it's almost vintage.
6) and now, I am going to start posting blocks that I finished, even if they are a nine patch. Like I said a few posts back, a nine patch is quite an accomplishment to me these days.

It is now 12:30 in the morning. I have a fresh pot of coffee. I am going into my sewing room.

Wordless Wednesday

Let Me Tell You (x3)

I think that it is time for a new post; would you not agree? I have a few tidbits of information to share today. First, I have become totally spoiled by my ''secret'' mug rug swap giver. Christine provided me with a stack of fat quarters (a big huge stack! \0/), a beautiful card and note, and two very wonderful mug rugs. She hand quilted one of them (love it!). I love so much about these. The colors on the one under my mug is colorful and matches my sewing room perfectly; so that one will have a new home next to my machine. The other one, with the tiny, tiny paper pieced tea cup shall sit next to my green laptop on my desk; again, matching perfectly. I think that she came to Texas and snooped in my windows to make sure that she coordinated them exactly. (just kidding Christine, we all know you are way more normal than I am.)

The next bit of news is that I got another shop sample done, but the picture didn't turn out very well, and I am way too lazy at this point to drive to the quilt store to take a better picture of it. Never look back, I say...unless there is a cute butt involved. The pattern is called Snapshot, and the Fabric is from Moda's Sandy Gervais called Lovely. I used a panel, cutting the circles in half, then using those as the focus print in the pattern. Here it is:


Last, I have my new replacement 2011 Chevy Equinox. I sure did miss my car. I did not realize how much I loved that car until she was totaled. My friends are telling me that I need to give her a name so that she will stick around longer. So she is now called ''Natasha''. A beautiful but mean babushka with a protective and durable outer shell. She needs a good ol' North Dakota car quilt in the back though, as a Christianing. I wouldn't dare bust a bottle of champagne on her butt when it could go well in my cup, on my mug rug.

I love IKEA!

This is how the corner of my sewing room looked before I replaced the bookshelf.

And this is how it looks now:

I am a firm believer in utilizing wall space for storage, and visual impact, especially when you are trying to store things in a sewing room. I have so many more books on my shelves now, with plenty of space above those to stow other sewing supplies away. The key is to get narrower shelves so that the weight of the books will not bow the individual shelves over time. It also helps to keep your books together in groups such as: applique, scrap quilting, how-to, quilting designs, etc, etc. remember to keep the books low and lighter things up high. As you can see, you don't have to be afraid to build those shelves almost up to the ceiling. I promise it won't look terrible.

So that is my before/after for the day...now I just have to go ''fix'' the other 3 corners of the room...see y'all tomorrow!

One Stinkin' Block

Well, I got a block done. So normally, I wouldn't make a blog post after doing one stinking block...(who am I kidding...if I get a 9 patch done these days it's a flippin' miracle!) but this one got done without having to rip seams once. No, no one helped me! This block is something to blog about, because I am NEVER doing it again. It wasn't that it was that difficult, it is just that, if you have small children...

Today, I tried to give the one-year old a nap. Any time that she is sleeping, my time is spent cleaning and maybe I can get 15 minutes or so of stitching in, if I am lucky. Unfortunately, she has a 4-year-old brother who cannot keep quiet during that time so I struggle with sanity on a regular basis. Not 30 minutes into her nap I hear her crying, so I go to investigate and find the bigger kid, in the crib, dumping milk on the shorter kid's head, and all over the bedding; bedding that I just took fresh out of the dryer. (...and have you ever changed sheets on a mattress inside it's own miniature prison?) No nap today.

Throw shorter kid in the tub. Try to prevent her from drinking her own God-awful bathwater, while explaining to the bigger kid that he cannot go in the backyard to pee since I am blocking the toilet. After this is done, I go to change clothes since they are now covered in God-awful bath water and sweat. While changing clothes, two small children find a brand new Kleenex box and pull each and every one out, shred, then disperse throughout the entire house. Some of those pieces of Kleenex were dry, so I was lucky.

The television was not working because the shorter kid pushed a button that sent the whole entertainment system to the black hole of death, so no Sesame Street or The Cat in the Hat to distract them while I pulled wet Kleenex off of the walls.

Out of chaotic exhaustion, I decide to throw the kids in the truck so that I can run a quick errand. This errand was supposed to be simple. Run to pick up a gift that I already had picked out, then return home. On the way, I go through the drive through and buy the bigger kid a kid meal with a chocolate milk that he is not to open until we get home. The next stop was to a car wash to spray off the interior door, panels, and floor to clean up the ''unopened'' bottle of chocolate milk. I cannot wait until August to find out what that is going to smell like.

So I may have only completed one block, but the block is 6 1/2 inches square....and it has 229 pieces.

Chef Connor in the Kitchen

Chef Connor's Personal Pizzas

1 tube large refrigerated flaky biscuits
1 jar pizza sauce
2 cups pepperoni (and or olives, mushrooms, green pepper, etc.), quartered
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. line cookie pan with aluminum foil. Lightly coat foil with cooking spray; set aside. Roll each biscuit to a 5'' diameter circle; transfer to oil squares. Spoon pizza sauce over dough to within 1/4 inch of the edges. Sprinkle with desired toppings and cheeses. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Connor's instructions: First dough, then sauce, then meat, then cheese. Cook until it looks yummy.

If you have kids or grandkids, they love making these. Plus, it doesn't make a huge mess of your kitchen when you are done...really.

Just Half a Pot, Please.

My coffee maker died a few days ago. I have been using a french press (which I am not complaining about...love my french press), but it is nice to just have a pot ready to go for a super industrious day. Since I have not had a drop of coffee yet today, I called my neighbor to beg for a pot of coffee in clamoring desperation. Actually, I said ''I have a desperate and unusual request of you.'' He says ''That is exactly how I like my women: desperate and unusual!''...such a comedian. So I run over there with my carafe and coffee like a heroin addict needing a fix. I am currently enjoying my first satisfying sip of flavorful, aromatic, french roast with a touch of amaretto. Thank you, thank you, thank you, God for supplying the earth with such wonderful neighbors.

My husband was having a hard time trying to figure out what to do for Valentine's day this year, and I said ''Are you kidding? We are getting a Bunn! that will be the best v-day gift ever!'' He is incredulous time and time again about his luck marrying a girl who could care less about jewelery, flowers, expensive shoes, etc. Instead, he got me, who is just fine with a bag of coffee, box of chocolate, bundle(s) of fabric...now, if cotton prices keep rising like they are, my taste may just have to rise with it.

My agenda for today is to put a border on one of Connor's scrap quilts. The backing needs to be prepared. Then I guess I will have to do some dishes...or something domestic.