Star BOM Block 4

This is the 4th block of the Star BOM that I am doing along with others through Patchwork Times

Judy is hosting this and, as usual, I am barely keeping up. I am not sure this one is going to go well with the frist 3, but will worry about it later.

Life at the Funny Farm

It is 10:30 or so Monday morning. I didn't go to bed until around 5 this morning, and I had to get up at 8:30 because the cleaning lady comes today. Life is good when you can have a cleaning lady.

So, she is cleaning up my bathroom and I go in there to brush my teeth and, lo and behold she is cleaning my hairbrush with a toothbrush, lol. I am not sure where that toothbrush has been because it is in her cleaning supplies. But she is so proud of herself that I thank her and quickly leave, chuckling.

Into the kitchen from which Aud is coming down the hall with an empty bottle of Windex. Will I please take this out and put it in the blue box because today is trash day and it hasn't been picked up yet. Ok.

I do that, come back into the kitchen and ask Aud if she has written this on the grocery list. Of course not. She starts to write it on there and giggles. What are you giggling at? Look what I have written on here....what...."Poot"....my dear sweet soon to be 92 year old mother has written POOT on the grocery list! I have to laugh. She has no idea when she wrote it on there, but she did.

Ok, a nice laugh and we are having some cereal and reading the paper and Aud says, do you think our grandkids know whether we are alive or dead? We haven't heard from them in quite a while. The story behind that comment is we moved up here for several reasons. The main one being so they can keep an eye on us and help us if we get ill or whatever. Hah! They are both so busy they don't have time to think, much less worry about two little old ladies. So we decide maybe I better email them and tell them we are going to give their phone numbers to our neighbors in case they smell something funny one of these days they will know who to get in touch with, lol.

I bought Aud a yard blower that runs on batteries because she is obsessed with keeping the back porch and front walk clear of leaves etc. As I am being lazy and drinking my coffee and boring anyone who reads this, she is outside blowing off the porch with the blower. Of course the battery is dead. I know how she does things, so when I bought this for her I got an extra battery. Sure enough, in she comes and I have to change the battery for her and off she goes again.

I can see her from the window. Now she has sprayed the whole porch with water and is brooming it off. Why aren't I out there helping her? Hah! I don't want to encourage her. She might end up wanting to wash the windows, and I have to conserve my strength because this evening a young man is coming to help me start getting the flower beds ready for winter. I want to get them cleaned up some. I need to take a picture of my impatiens and caladiums in the front yard. They are huge!

When she finishes this she will disappear into her bedroom because by then the cleaning lady will have finished her area, and I won't see her again until nightfall. She will be zonked out from working so hard.

Don't feel sorry for her, it is activity like this that keeps her young and gives her the strength of will to stay alive. She is a jewel and I love her dearly even if she does write "poot" on the grocery list!

Update: Aud informs me that "poot" means fart, like "old fart", lollol...see why I love her so much?

Quiltathon - part 2

Got a super late start Sunday on the Quiltathon that Judy hosted this weekend, so I finished super early on Monday.

These are blocks 3 and 4 of the Designer BOM I am doing through Fat Quarter Shop.

Block 3 from the Batik Stars quilt I am doing

Block 4 from the Batik Stars quilt...oops, I did something wrong, lol...hmmm, lol,

So, I watched old movies and started binding my Kaffe Fassett quilt that I got back from the quilter.

Thanks bunches Judy, I enjoyed sewing this weekend....I don't think my time schedule corresponds with anyone else's at the moment.

Everyone have a good week!

Quiltathon

JudyL is having another Quiltathon this weekend so I thought I would play along. Not getting a lot done, but at least I am doing some, lol.

These are the last 2 stars to a quilt I am calling Batik Stars. The quilt itself has 13 total.


Here are the ones I have finished today. I cut out all four of the remaining stars I needed yesterday so I could concentrate on just sewing today. By the time I have made all four blocks I will have made them each 3 times, lol. Right now triangles and I are not getting along too well.

Here are the other stars in this pattern. You can see a hint of the setting stars in this picture. It is kind of one of those quilts I am deciding what to do as I go.

Thanks Judy for providing me a reason to sew all weekend, lol.

Observation

I have lots of things I want to share with you, but this one thing is kind of a quicky. I can't seem to be still long enough this week to blog, because as we all know, it does take some quality time.

Ok, on with my story. I shop a lot online because I do not like to shop. I also buy a lot of quilting stuff online more out of habit than anything else probably. When I first moved to OKC there was only one quilt store here and it didn't carry the type of fabric I really liked. Moving from the Houston area as I was you can understand that.

Anyway, over the years there are several shops that I visit each week. When The Fat Quarter Shop came online I thought I had found heaven because by then I had decided that fat quarter bundles were the way I wanted to go with fabric. That way I could get some of each piece of a collection and build around it.

As the years have gone by I have watched Kimberly build her shop little by little to one of the best and most efficient places to shop I have ever seen. And as she has made innovations I have noticed other online shops following her lead. Rather interesting to say the least.

What has prompted me to write this it the following. I ordered a book from an online web site that I could not find any place else as it is a specialty book. It came today. I was so surprised at the way it was wrapped but I didn't take a picture, which was a mistake. This book was wrapped in paper and tied with a fabric bow. It was like a present. A year ago this would not have happened.

Kimberly has set the standard for packaging I think, and other shops seem to be following her lead. At least most other shops; there are a few out there that could take some lessons, that's for sure.

The other thing I want to talk about is BOMs. I have joined a lot of BOMs over the year from online stores. Always, with no exceptions, there have been shortages of fabric. One store in particular I do not order from period because they screw everything they do up. However, that's another story. I always buy extra fabric if possible when I start a new BOM because somewhere along the way I am going to miscut a piece. It is one of my wonderful habits, lol

I want to thank Kimberly for her BOMs. I always have so much leftover fabric that I don't have that inner worry about miscutting because I know I am going to have some left over from one block or another. They are a pleasure to work with, that's for sure. Other shops need to take notice.

The last thing I want to talk about is the Piece and Plenty BOM. I am behind on it because of my eyes but it has been a wonderful experience for me. I did not do hand applique until this piece and I stretched myself and have handled it, maybe not well, but it was something I wanted to do. This quilt is going to be an heirloom when I finish. I think my girls will probably fight over it. I have incorporated my own style into parts of it and changed some things that I thought would reflect me. I hope those of you who have worked on this quilt appreciate what you are building. It is just wonderful. And I have enough fabric left over to do a small project I think, which has been an added bonus.

You'll know Kimberly is a friend of mine, but she did not influence me to write this. Sometimes it is easier to complain about the things a store doesn't do than it is to praise a store for the things they do.

So, Kimberly, this is a thank you for the things you do. I appreciate them more than you will ever know! You make my midnight shopping more fun.

Star BOM Block 2 and 3

I got caught up on the Star BOM that JudyL is doing online. Didn't do a real good job on these, but I have decided to call this quilt "It Stays as it Lays" in honor of Vicky, who conned this phrase when we started this madness, lol.

This is block 3 of the Star BOM

This is Block 2 of the Star BOM

Unbelievable!!

Remember my sweet little granddaughter that has Cystic Fibrosis that broke her arm about what, 2 months or so ago? Welllllllll.............she did it again!!! Last Sunday. Sundays are not good for this child.

Here is the email I got from her mother Saturday and the pictures she sent me.

After the initial pain and disappointment of breaking her arm, Katy's mind turned to the fact that she would get ice cream in the hospital and that this time she might choose a different color for her cast. She decided on red, and this was while we were still in the emergency room.

She was in a splint wrapped with an ace bandage until yesterday (they didn't want to cast too soon because of swelling). Friday we went to get the cast on. Katy was a little uncomfortable during the casting process, so the casting technician (yes, when you go to a large orthopedic practice, they have such a thing!). Anyway, the casting tech tried to distract her by offering to put a "stripe" of a different color on the cast, and Katy chose blue.

So it was only natural that it evolved to what you see here. Just a quick stop by Hobby Lobby and some hot glue, and voila!

Ashamed!!!

I am so ashamed that I haven't blogged in a while. It has just been very busy and frustrating these past 2 weeks or so.

My birthday was in August and I thought I had managed to not let anyone know, but while Sharon was here we were talking about it being Dennis's BD and I mentioned that mine had been the day after his. Ooops, that let the cat out of the bag, lol.

So, a few days later what should arrive in the mail but this wonderful package from my sweet friend, aka DDD aka The Papparazzi Princess. I was going to title this post

"Purple Package from the Papparazzi Princess for the Purple Haired Old Lady"

but it has been so long since I got it that I am just too ashamed to do so. However, I loved this package when it arrived, and I love everything in it!
Notice the purple card and wrapping paper!!!!
And, look, a very pretty and feminine box with purple flowers, some purple notecards....I think this is a hint that I should send cards out, lol.... They are just too pretty to use, that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!

A new Rotary Cutter with purple flowers all over it....it works like a dream, and see the cute picture of the dog, looks a lot like Madeleine doesn't it?

Lace Post It Notes in their own little packet that I can carry in my purse!!! That's so I don't have to rely on my memory. Thank you so much Sharon!!! Can I have another birthday this month? LOL!!!

Since the truth is out about my birthday, and I'm not telling my age, I will also show you a picture of the flowers my oldest daughter sent me. They lasted for almost 2 weeks and were just gorgeous.

Now, on to other things, no sewing has occurred around this house. I tried to do some but have had to rip out most of it. I am behind on all projects at the moment. My eyes have been so blurry for close work I could not see well enough to do anything that looked right. So, I just stopped trying.

Had a doctor's appt today and my eyes are healed. They are not perfect like the doc and I both wanted them to be, but they are in pretty good shape considering the Floppy Irises that I have. I got a prescription for glasses that will be ready in a week and then I should be good to go. I still don't have to wear glasses all the time, but what I chose to do was get Transition lenses with bifocals in the bottom so I can use them for sunglasses and to see close. I am hoping this will work, if not, we will try something else. The astigmatisms have come back a little bit in my left eye, but not enough to cause problems, (hah)

I have to think that all of the eye problems I am having will gradually go away. She is going to check them again in 3 months and see where they are, but I am going to just assume this is what I am going to be left with and adjust my thinking and live in a myopic state sometimes, lol.

The thing that has consumed my time lately and what little sense I have anymore is cars. Aud has decided she doesn't want to drive anymore. Ok, that's fine. We will give her car to one of my grandchildren and keep mine. I get mine tuned up, and of course it needs a new battery, and checked out and ready to go. That takes a couple of my days.

Then I take hers, which is a 1992 white Buick Reviera (a true classic) with white leather seats and maroon dash and floorboards, etc.....to have the fluids checked. Aud is looking longingly at the Buick and "it is so much more comfortable than your car", and it is in great shape, we should keep it instead". Hmmm, ok, let me think about this....

Meanwhile, the window washers squeak to high heaven and it is rainy, so I go to AutoZone and get new windshield washers.....and now they don't squeak. I think they had been on the car since she bought it.

She is right about keeping the car, it has a wonderful quiet ride, except the radio squeals a high pitched squeal that drives me crazy. Ok, I don't care, we can give him the Ford, and keep the Buick , but I am going to put a decent radio in it. That takes a day at Best Buy because of course it involves a lot of work. Then I want to get the tires balanced and rotated. That takes a couple of hours and, oh, by the way, some of the lug nuts have been broken off, and that is dangerous, you really need to have them replaced. Oh, and the tires are in great shape.

Ok, fine, so I take it to a mechanic that has worked on this car previously because we have discovered some oil that has leaked out of the car on the floor of the garage. Two days and a nice sum of money later we have all 20 lug nuts replaced on the wheels and I won't have any problems if I ever have a flat. And everything else is ok, the oil is probably from having the oil changed, and don't worry about the "check engine light" that keeps coming on, lol.

Next thing, the lighter doesn't work. I don't smoke, but I need an outlet for my phone and my Ipod charger. Back to Autozone. They are too busy to check out my fuses, so I leave. Down the street to the Buick dealer, will you please check my fuses. Sure, oh yes, the one for the lighter needs to be changed. They change it, how much do I owe you, nothing, but your "AntiLock Brake light" is coming on and you need that checked out.

Great, can you fix it? No, we don't work on cars this old, you will have to take it to Smicklaus, they have the manuals to work on these old cars. Fine.

I call Smicklaus, and yes, they will take a look at it, so I take it down last Saturday and leave it for them so I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn yesterday morning to get it down there.

I get a call about 3 yesterday afternoon....Ms Perry, how much do you want to drive this car?, ....hmmm, that sounds bad....what are we talking about here......"Well, the hot bearings need to be changed or fixed" or something, I don't even know what they are, but according to the mechanic, they are dangerous to drive with...the brakes are fine,,,,but the bearings need changing and that is x number of dollars. And the "check engine light" is coming on because your timing is out of sinc and that also really needs to be fixed, for x number of dollars, and the window that doesn't want to go up sometimes (forgot to mention that one) needs a new module and that is x number of dollars. We are up to a nice tidy sum by now, so I tell him I will think about it and call him back. I am in too much of a state of shock at the moment to try to even talk.

So Aud and I talk it over, and decide not to have it fixed, keep the Ford, try to find someone to buy the Buick as is, and, making a sensible decision, I call him back and tell him we will pick it up in a little while, we have decided not to spend the money.

Good sensible decision made, I go to my room and play some solitaire on my computer and think about what I am going to tell my grandson about him not getting the car.

Aud comes in about 30 mintues later, and after some discussion about selling them both and buying a new car, which I do not want to do, we decide to have the Buick fixed and give the ford to the grandson.

div>So, I call Smicklaus back, and tell them to go ahead and do the work on the car, and the car is still down there. I figure they will have it another day or so. The mechanic promises me the car will run like a top. It only has 75,000 miles on it after all.

You would think that this would be the end of this tale, but no, now I have to find the title for the Ford. Hah!!! I don't have it, would you believe. If you have read this far, you should know by now I am ready to pull my hair out.

I have gone through a lot of drawers of "crap" that I should have thrown away, looked for all the "important papers" that should be together, wrong!!! I do find a letter that says I have the car paid for, but no title. This afternoon I finally get a chance to call Ford Motor Credit and ask them where my title is. Oh, it has been more than 5 years since that car has been paid for, we don't have any records past 5 years. If you want something called a release of lien it will cost you 17.00 to get it!!! I think you probably saw a little steam over OKC about that time. I believe that the person who took my credit card number was in India. No wonder Ford is not in good shape, that was another hour of frustration to get that done, but I should have my "release of lien" in 6 to 7 days. Then I get to go through the State of Texas Motor Vehicle Division to get the title. Unreal..... Eventually I guess I will get it all together. Good thing he isn't in any hurry for it, lol.

And that, my friends, is why I have not blogged in so long.

A Quick Trip

Wednesday was another one of those special days. I picked up Emma's Mom at the airport early that morning. She wanted to meet Aud so we came back by the house to see Aud before we went on our journey.

And then Emma's Mom wanted to see my sewing room. Now I knew I was going to get a lecture about it, but what's a quilter to do when someone wants to see your quilting room?

"Perry,you have a problem!!You have way too much fabric!!!"

Hmmm, I wonder if that means I shouldn't buy anymore? lol I guess I will have to get a PO Box and an alias. She is as bad as a couple of the girls at the lqs. When I go in there they tell me I can't buy anything because I have too much.


Maybe I better join Judy's stashbusting goals. But it doesn't seem to be working for Vicky so I am not sure it would work very well for me either, lol.

Anyway, we left the house and went to Quiltworks. That is the largest quilt store in Oklahoma and a good place to see a lot of samples. I wasn't allowed to do any shopping but we did a lot of looking and a lot of visiting.

Then we left, picked up some fast food, and took off for Tulsa. Yes, Tulsa, not to go to quilt stores, but to The Silver Needle. If you cross stitch you probably know about this store, if you don't, then you should. It is a wonderful store and we spent the whole afternoon there.

I don't have any pictures from there because you are not allowed to take them. And I can certainly see why. Every surface is covered with samples, even in the bathroom, lol. And if you want a Vera Bradley bag, that is the place to buy them! All shapes and sizes.

We left there just in time to grab a bite to eat and then I had to take Emma's Mom to the airport so she could go home. Here is a picture of the two of us with full tummies that the waiter took for us at the restaurant.

I think I made Kimberly a nervous wreck because I made the mistake of telling her I wasn't seeing the road signs on the turnpike real well until I was about 1/4 mile from them. She gulped a couple of times, lol.

I had this Oklahoma map with a small map of Tulsa in there, and I had patiently downloaded maps and addresses of the Silver Needle and a couple of quilt stores if we had time to go to them, which we didn't. And of course the great ladies at The Silver Needle gave us directions to Abuelo's, a Mexican restaurant where we wanted to eat. The only problem is they told me to turn left out of the parking lot, and 20 blocks later Kimberly finally informed me I was going the wrong way, lol.

So I turned around, called the restaurant to find out exactly where we were, and several miles later and 4 phone calls to the restaurant we finally got there, and it was raining of course. Had a great meal and then headed to the airport. It was close to 5 and the traffic was picking up but we managed to get there on time.

Kimberly was worried that I wouldn't be able to see to get home but I promised her I would be ok, and she told me I would get lost for sure, and I had better go back the way we came. I assured her I wouldn't get lost. hah! I looked at the map and tried to memorize it so I would have a good idea of what I was doing.

I pulled out of the airport and took the right road and at the last minute turned the wrong way of course. So I turned around and went the other way and the traffic was horrible. It took me 30 minutes to get to the freeway I needed to get to to come home to OKC. By this time I felt a necessary stop might be a good idea before I got on the turnpike. I needed something to drink, etc. I got off the freeway and turned down a fairly busy street and found a Taco Bell. Now this is funny because we were looking for a Taco Bell as we were leaving OKC and there wasn't one on the road I took out of town and this is the only one I saw the whole time we were gone, lol. I bought a Strawberry Fruitista (love those things!) and drove back to the freeway and got on it and headed out again.

It had started to rain again and I was behind a truck, and the next thing I knew, I had taken the wrong exit and not gotten on the turnpike. So I turned around again and made my way back to the turnpike. I am laughing to myself because I am sure if Kimberly knew this she would be laughing herself silly.

Now I am cruising down the turnpike at 75 mph and all of a sudden it comes a gully washer. It rained so hard I could hardly see (I had to slow down a lot) and it took me a little over 2 hours to get back to OKC, with the rain coming down in droves most of the time. I had called Aud before I left (we knew the weather might be bad) to see if the weather was bad and I should just stay in Tulsa overnight and she had assured me that it was not raining where I would be driving. Hah! She failed weather school I think.

As I passed the last gas stop on the turnpike I remembered I hadn't looked at the gas gage for a while, and I did have a little bit of a fright because I didn't have very much left, but I did make it till the turnpike ended and almost home before I had to fill up.

I don't think I will do any more freeway driving in strange places until I get my eyes checked out the second week of September. I think the astigmatisms are coming back in my left eye; it gets a little cloudy sometimes, and I'm not seeing as good as I think I should, BUT, I am not wearing glasses and I have my sunglasses on my head, lol.

Kimberly and I had a terrific time! She is just as warm and friendly as can be, and is another one of those people I feel like I have known forever. I have a feeling we will be making another trip to Tulsa in about a year. That's about how much cross stitch we have to do, lol. And by then, surely I will be able to see road signs better .

Pure Pleasure!!!

I get the phone call Friday afternoon that the Papparazzi Princess and her Protector, aka Hunka, have arrived at OKC Quiltworks. I get over there and poor Hunka is sitting in the car. I know it is him because he is in a Red SUV with California license, and we don't see many of them in this part of OK.

He says to me as I walk toward the car, "Are you Perry?". Yes, I am, what are you doing out here, won't Sharon let you come in? His reply, of course, "oh I have been here before". Well, at least you bought good weather. "Yes, but it is getting a little humid out here, so I will probably come in soon"

I laugh, and walk over to the door and open it, and there she is, grinning, with what else, some quilting goodies in her hand. It was as if I had known her forever. She is one of the most comfortable people to be around I have ever met.

We wander around the store and discuss different things and I decide I need to take a picture. There is a lady walking behind her and she is trying to get by. I stop her and we convince her she needs to be in this picture. Her name is Barbara Post and she is from Tennessee. So, if anyone out there knows her, tell her she is now part of blogland lore, lol.

We take a couple of more pictures; I swear I don't look this goofy in person, but maybe I do, lol. Anyway, here we are.

Now Hunka has finally wandered in and he is approaching the "reading table" very gingerly. There are 2 young girls sitting there and I can tell he is hesitant to sit. So I walk over there and ask them if they will keep an eye on him; he is a good guy, and Sharon says, he won't bite, lol, and they grin and let him sit down.

So we take a couple of pictures of quilts, find some patterns and I show her some things I think she might like and then we pay our bills and head on.

They are way behind schedule and we decide to stop at a Starbucks and visit for a little while before they head out.

I have made another football bet with Hunka. I bet him that OU will beat Missouri, and Sharon and I decide the winner will get a gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop, lol. And he has the nerve to tell me I need to spot him 14 points! Ain't gonna happen!! Hah! If I lose, I am going to send him an OU T-shirt and Sharon will post it on her blog, lol.

We talked for about an hour about everything under the sun and then they had to leave. I really enjoyed them being here and I really enjoyed their visit. I was sorry to see them leave so soon.
I am really looking forward to seeing them again someday.

I think it will be Sunday before they get home, so this will have to do you'll until she has time to put her spin on it.

Oh, I forgot, all of us had to be careful we weren't drinking something when the other one was talking, lol. So much fun! Thank you Sharon and Dennis for stopping by. You made my day!

A Dream Come True and Company's Coming!!

I want to thank everyone that has left comments and sent me emails on my eye problems. The eyes are doing much better thank goodness. I can see so much better than before, but I am having pretty severe headaches behind the right eye. I am hoping part of this is from allergies.

I don't have to wear glasses to drive, but my closeup vision isn't what I was hoping for. There is the "trifocal" area out there (if you are 40 or over you are probably familar with that,lol) where things are a little blurry and I definitely have to have "readers" for closeup. I am hoping that everything will settle down by the end of August or so and I will know what limitations I am going to have. I have not done a lick of sewing this week and have slept mostly. I think that is the best medicine for me right now.

One dream I have always had has come true however! I always see these young gorgeous girls with the sunglasses in their hair, and some older gorgeous women also, for that matter. Anyway I have always wanted to be able to do that, and Voila! I CAN!!!! lol

Here is a picture taken after I had my hair cut and repurpled with my sunglasses on. I took a picture with the sunglasses in my hair, but my right eye is so red that it is gross and I didn't think anyone would want to see that, lol.

I also treated myself to a pedicure, and I took this picture so you could see the purple slides the tech put on my feet after my pedicure, lol!

All of this I had to get done because Sharon is coming to town next week and has threatened me if I am not purple, lol. I am now ready for the Papparazzi Princess! And did I say I am excited about it? Well, yes, I really am. I have my camera battery all warmed up!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend and has a wonderful weekend! And thanks again to all for stopping by to see me!

But I Don't Have a Prostate!!!!

The prostate (from Greek προστάτης - prostates, literally "one who stands before", "protector", "guardian"[1]) is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. Women do not have a prostate gland, although women do have microscopic paraurethral Skene's glands connected to the distal third of the urethra in the prevaginal space that are homologous to the prostate.

Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome occurred in approximately 2% of a cataract surgery population and appeared to be caused by tamsulosin, a systemic sympathetic alpha-1A antagonist medication that is the most frequently prescribed medication for benign prostatic hypertrophy.

The male population that uses Flomax has some ungodly percentage of thie floppy iris syndrome. Flomax is used with men that have prostrate problems.

Nowhere is there an indication that I can find that I should have this. None of the meds I take, nothing, but, I DO!!!

So here is the poor pitiful person after her cataract surgery today. No makeup, patched eye, hair in great disarray.

I was supposed to have this surgery last week and I didn't get my hair cut or re-purpled because I wanted to wait until the surgery was done. I intend to get it taken care of this week. Well, Aud, in one of her HSN moments, ordered this volume shampoo, conditioner, and concrete pomade. She has been bugging me for a month to use it so last night I did. Hah! My hair feels like it is glued together, I want to wash it out, and now I can't for a couple of days, lol.

Do you feel sorry for me yet? lol, well, no need. I have enough for all of us.

The surgery went well, it lasted over an hour of course, and Doc explained about this iris crap. She put me under long enough to give me a local in the eye area and then woke me up to do the surgery. That was rather interesting. Not fun, but interesting. Evidently, when my iris is touched it starts moving around, and she went to great lengths to keep it from getting in the way as she removed the cataract. I intend to ask her tomorrow on followup if she used a dremel tool to remove the cataract, I swear I heard something that sounded like a dentist tool, lol.

And, of course, it is going to take a good two weeks for my iris to settle back down because they don't like to be fiddled with. I think that means a month or more, knowing my luck.

Looking on the bright side, she did fix the astigmatism (I don't think that is spelled right, sorry). So, it is done at least, perhaps one of these days I will be able to see real good. Hope springs eternal.

Thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes. I really appreciate them.

And if anyone wants to know more about this floppy iris stuff, there is a plethora of info on google, including some fascinating U-Tube videos, lol.

Star BOM Block 1

Well, I managed to cram this together, lol. It's a good thing you can't see the back. Hmm,hmm, my eyes are getting "worser and worser", lol. I wanted to get this done before I had my eye surgery on Monday. Maybe the next one won't take me as long and will be a little straighter. One can only hope.

Hope everyone is having fun!

Star BOM with Judy

Since I don't have any projects I am working on, I decided I needed to join Judy Laquidara in the Star BOM she is so graciously doing online.

These are fossil ferns, and I am going to do this quilt scrappy. (she hopes)

Another Week Already

Wow, not sure where this one went to, but I managed to blow off a great deal of it. I did a little stash busting of some quilt stores, and did a little reading. I was trying to get my reading done before my eye surgery, but that got cancelled today for some reason, not sure why. I will find out next week.

I had ordered a new quilt rack from a local gentleman that makes them for me out of walnut and he bought it over to me this week. Isn't it magnificent? I need to rearrange the living room so I can get this one in a corner behind a chair, but for right now I am just enjoying looking at it. It is 8 feet tall and wider than usual. Aud's remark where is the next one going? We are running out of wall space, lol.

Here are some Moda Muslin Mates that I bought from Web Fabrics. I wanted to see what these looked like and I had not seen them before in a group. There were some dark ones which I did not buy, surprise, surprise! lol

And here is my yummy Portugal and the pattern I am going to use to make it. This will be a quick quilt to make; now to find some quick time to make it!

And here are two batiks I found at Quiltworks that will be perfect for backgrounds. I try to buy them when I can get them; they are hard to find when you need them.

Last on my buying spree was this ruler from http://www.cozyquilt.com/ . Supposedly this comes in handy when you are making some of the stripped quilts that are out there right now, so one must be prepared.

I took a mini vacation during the middle of the week and just read. My arthritis was giving me fits so I took Kim's advice about books that she liked and went to the library and checked out Sara Donati's Into The Wilderness series. Let me back up a bit, I checked these out for Aud several weeks ago and she didn't get them read before I had to return them, so I ordered them from Amazon and they had come in. Aud had read part of the first one and loved it. So, since I was hurting from the A and really didn't feel like doing anything but pouting, I just read for 3 whole days. I hate to put a book down once I start it so I just didn't. I read the first two books in this saga. I love them. They grab you like the Diana Gabaldon books do. I try not to get on a reading binge too often because this is what happens, but these books are definitely worth it.

There are 3 more of them in this series I think, but I have an Amazon Kindle coming...it should have been here today and didn't come, which upsets me. I will order them for the Kindle because the print will be bigger and I figure I can read some maybe while my right eye is healing. More about this Kindle when it comes next week. It is basically an e-reader. If you want to look at it, go to Amazon.com...it is on their opening page.

Ok, I am out of words for now I think. Hope everyone has a terrific weekend. I am going to be working on my Peace and Plenty applique blocks. Only 3 to go, so I need to catch up.

Designer BOM,Patterns, Other Stuff

Have you ever had a disjointed week where you never found your groove? I am raising my hand high on that one this week! I think it is because the moon has been full.

Started off with Dr's appt, the main word there is EXERCISE! I told them they tell me that every year, why don't you just not subject me to all of that blood work and save us all some time and trouble and just call me and say, "The Doctor says EXERCISE".

I have some rheumatoid arthritis markers showing up and they want me to go to a specialist for tests. All I can say is ^&*!!!! I won't go where they want to send me because it is downtown so they are going to send me to their first choice, but I can't get in until October or so. So of course the last 3 days I have hurt all over my overweight body! Even the fat is aching! Other than that everything is fine. Low cholesterol, low blood pressure, etc, the picture of health.

Then to the eye doc on Thursday and I am scheduled for my right eye cataract removal on the 29th of this month. I will be so glad when all of that is over.

A friend of mine woke me up at noon, told me to get my lazy *** out of bed and meet her for lunch, so I did. Then I had a Starbucks Green Tea Frap with Raspberry Syrup....ooooh..that should add some time to my exercise routine for sure!

So here I have deposited myself in my chair for most of the afternoon and then to make this an official screwed up week, Aud and I went to get some KFC. All healthy stuff here, right?

Anyway, what I am getting at is this. I am looking at Quilt Stores on the internet, and of course I usually end up at The Fat Quarter Shop. This time was no exception. Have you ever just wanted to spend a little money just because you haven't lately? lol....well, that's where I was and I decided to look at her patterns.

If you haven't looked at the pattern section on Kimberly's web site you need to treat yourself to that. She has patterns buried in there that I have never seen anywhere else. Not only does she have patterns for "real" quilts, lol, but there is even a separate section for charm patterns. I should have stuck to looking at fabric! There are some neat, neat patterns in there, like this one and this one (not a good picture but the pattern has definite possibilities) and this one (great for all of the Moda scraps we all have) , this one , this one , this one and don't forget all of the Miss Rosie's . There are patterns in there for paper dolls and any and every kind of bag and purse and tote. I know this sounds like a commercial but I really found some great patterns on there, and you can actually SEE them, which I can't say the same about a lot of places. It was very soothing to be able to just sit and look at them and decide which ones I "couldn't live without".

Of course I did manage to pick up some fabric while I was at it. Have to make my monthly payment for Emma's college, you know, lol. As Sharon would say, "I'm just sayin!"

Did manage to get a little bit done this week so far.
Block Two in the Designer BOM I am doing from The Fat Quarter Shop. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt if the first two blocks are any indication.


These are some more of my batik blocks I am working on. Running out of wall space, lol.
I guess that is all for now. Have a great weekend!!!

A Little Quilting Going on Here!

I am so excited! I have actually gotten a little quilting done this week. My quilting room looks like a complete disaster. I took a picture of it and decided it was too bad to look at, lol. I never let it get so cluttered. I have actually hung up another design wall 20 x 40 in an area I found on a wall, and made a "hanging design wall", which is pictured further down. I have so much up on the main design wall right now I am running out of room and I don't want to take anything down at the moment, don't have time, lol.

This is Peace and Plenty Block 11.

I have started my batik quilt I wanted to do and here is one of the blocks.

Another block from the batik quilt.



Others from the batik quilt. I have already changed the one with the pink in it, lol, I don't like it. It feels so good to finally be working with batiks again. I love all of the colors in them.


Moving right along with my Web Sampler, I have the house and its border done. I still have so much to do, not sure it will be finished by Sept 1 after all.


Here's another view along with all the "stuff" that is scattered everywhere.


And here is my hanging design wall. I have a hook over the door, so I just took a hanger and pinned some batting on it and then pinned the batting to a hanger and put the blocks on. Just think you could have lots of hanger design walls, lol.

And, I put my Janome Platinum in a new sewing table that I purchased from SewEzi. Their website is http://www.seweziusa.com/ . I am so pleased with this table. It folds flat, has wheels, a carrying handle, and a "suitcase" type slip cover to store or take it in. They custom fit the acrylic inserts to your machine and I ordered this one day and it was here 3 days later. It is just the right size too. Just thought I would mention this in case one of you is looking for a portable solution to a table.

Aud has shingles and is having a tough time with them which is not good. I got an all clear on my cancer which makes 2 years out, and I have an appointment with the eye doc on Thursday. My eye has improved enough I am hoping she will schedule the right eye so I can get through the eye bit before something else on me goes haywire, lol.

The only other thing I know worth noting is I have a new LG HDTV that is just super. I never knew TV could look so good, lol. I am watching stuff I never watched before because it is so sharp. We have other HDTVs in the house, but this one is in my room and I am like a kid with a new toy, lol.

I guess that is all from me for this week. I keep saying I am going to post more frequently but that just "ain't happening" at the moment.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead of them!

Catching Up

Hello, everybody. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. It was certainly hot enough here. I tried to stay in the a/c as much as possible. Not a lot of quilty stuff going on around here so I haven't posted lately, but I finally decided I better at least say something. I am doing some quilting stuff, but nothing that is showable yet. Just bits and pieces of things. And the Piece and Plenty takes lots of time, but I am working on that. Will post a picture of one block pretty soon. I am almost finished with it.

My version of what I took a class in on Saturday. It is called Mirrored Silhouettes. Of course I didn't finish it, I never do, lol.

This is the sample of the wall hanging I was looking at to do mine.

It's a few days late, but what is on your bed for July? This is my patriotic quilt that I made about 3 years ago (I think). It has hand embroidery, hand piecing, paper piecing, and plain old piecing. The quilting was done by a lady from Missouri named Penny Roberts and she did an absolutely wonderful job on it.

This is Roger and Laurie and Aud. Laurie is Keith's mother and is married to Roger. He is from Nepal and is one of the nicest and sweetest people I have ever known. Some of our young men could take lessons from him, that's for sure. Keith is very fortunate to have him in his life.

Here's Keith again, hasn't changed much in a month, lol, but he and family stopped by. It was good to see him, and he didn't have his Rock Band with him , lol.

Aud in the front yard pulling weeds (I only see one though, lol)

Apricot Lilies in the back yard

Asian Lilies, these things are about 4 feet tall.