THE GOLDEN NEEDLE
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures......Thorton WilderI used nothing…….but then I didn’t get that kit either, so no purchases either. I’m putting all my efforts into the Christmas rush…..the sooner I get them done , then I will have time to do some sewing. I booked lightly this year, so I should have three weeks off this year!! Finally after seven years of doing this, I finally have scheduling down.
Next week my numbers will move…..probably backwards but at least they will move.
later……………..Mrs. Notimetosewthisweek
If you are here for the stash report….you can just go back and read last weeks report as I have nothing new to report. This is a good thing or a bad thing…..it means I didn’t get that kit I ordered a few weeks back…….I want it to arrive so I can caress those beautiful fabrics.
I was messing in my studio last night when all the troops were gone off doing there own thing and I got ready for my Christmas countdown…….14 quilts to complete for others……….this number puts me in a happy place as I will have a Christmas after all. This means I won’t have to be working my fingers to the bone trying to get everything accomplished that I need. Just to give you an indication……..I’ve started my Christmas decoration…….but for me, some of the decorations were up all year……….that Christmas wreath on the door………..it spent the whole year there.
later……….Mrs. Forgot to take down last years decorations
This is a 2 week report…….last week life just got in the way. I still haven’t received the kit I ordered so I still don’t have to count it…..it was just so hard to walk away from Internaltional Quilt Festival without buying something so I’m going to blame it on festival…..I would bet it will be here next week.
Purchased in the last two weeks 4.5 yards
Purchased YTD 78.25 yards
Fabric used this week 1.75 yards
YTD Fabric used 88.25yards
Net Used fabric this year 10 yards
I’m still ahead of the game for this year……….but keep in mind that pesky little kit that is coming in might just be enough to send me into negative territory.
I made some progress on the 9 patch project……..have alot a segments laying around waiting to be sewed in to patches…….I’ll be showing the project this week……I found out what the name of the pattern is but not the magazine it was in.
Did you know the Christmas season is approaching soon….I decorate in segments….here’s the blank slate I started with 
and added this week in the Nativity Set…
…I’ll be adding more this week. Just to get me in the mood for Christmas…..I’m working on a quilt for a client that’s Christmas fabrics.
Don’t you just love holly leaves…..they are just so easy and fast!!!
later…….Mrs. Up to her eyeballs in laundry
The quilt of the day (ok the last three days but that’s another story) was a mostly orange and red quilt…..nothing special just 9 patches alternating with a snowball block…….just to let you know, that snowball block is 13.5 inches…the largest snowball I’ve ever done. The owner of the quilt wanted threadplay or hyperquilting in the snowball…….ok I can do that…….sorta. 
So while pondering how am I going to freehand thread play and have it look decent……..I am just no good at winging it on some things and this was definitely something I didn’t want to do.
So what I decided was to do a very traditional quilting and add some threadplay. So I went rummaging thru the stencils that I thought would be appropriate and used those as the base to start playing.
There were 12 snowballs so I picked as many stencils and only duplicated a couple of the blocks. Here’s the result of just playing around without going to far into the galaxy…….
Here’s a picture of the nine patch…..I did them all the same.
As you can see I used a lot of different thread colors….colors that were used in the fabrics without going to far out.
It did get easier as the quilt went on but still not completely in my comfort zone…..maybe someday with a bit more practice. You know sometimes you just have to practice on other peoples quilts…….and sometimes its just about enjoying the process.
later………..Mrs. Threadplay!!
At least I know what day of the week it is today…..so lets bring back the Wednesday whine, since I haven’t whined for a good spell I have alot of catching up to do
How come when you reach that magical age….lets say…..50 (its not a big deal for me)….at the end of the day you decide to take a hot bath to give your tired muscles a rest….this sounds like a good principle…the only problem……you break out in a sweat before the benefits of the hot water have helped your muscles……you have to finish with a cold shower to wash away the sweat.
As long as we are on the age thing……..Why did God give us hair?…..I’m so tired of having to cut, pluck, shave and wax. Let’s not get me started on the coloring, highlighting and perming the stuff I want to keep!!! Do you know if we were all bald, the bald men in this world wouldn’t have to feel bad about not having any hair…..idenity crisis solved!!!! Don’t get me started on the need to nip, tuck or lift!!!!
Why are there never any sharp knives in the house???? You know thats about the only domestic thing I ask my ever so wonderful DH to do but he still fails miserably at it!!!!
Do you know that I have meals I cook only when DH is gone on some hunting or fishing outing!! When we were talking about what I cooked when I was gone, he said one of the things sounded great and why didn’t I make it when he was around……..as I recall……last time I made that he informed me I didn’t have to make that again.
Did you know you can start a fire on a glass top cook stove……actually it looked pretty cool having the flame dance across the burner…..it went out all by itself with out setting off the smoke detectors….but then I’m glad they don’t put smoke detectors in the kitchen…mine would always be going off…….lets just say I burn things occassionally (ok its on a regular basis that I burn things)!!!!!
why does party C have to butt their nose into the business of party A and B. My theory…honey….take care of your own business instead of messing with mine!!
We bought a new lap top for my daughter…..one of those mini’s……just like the one Mom has…..but it wasn’t the same and my DD thought I should trade cause she liked mine better…..so we traded……if there are some things here in this post that should be capitalized, its not me…..its the laptop….that dang shift key is driving me nuts!!!!
Excuse me for a minute…I’m burning something…..I would not make it as a chef in a resturant…..he’d go broke having to toss all the food I burn.
Most of the time I don’t watch any TV…usually its off when I’m home alone, my family knows this………..so…when you come home and I have the TV on, there is a pretty good chance I’m watching something so just don’t switch channels without asking first…
We never lock our doors…..aleast with the new house I have keys and locks that work (in the old house I had locks but no keys)….so when I was home alone last week, I locked the doors so I would be safe in the event that someone tried to break in, in the middle of the night……and I got to thinking, I should lock the doors all the time at night…the way my DH sleeps it would take a major bomb going off right next to him to wake him up…..no protection for me there……..did he wake up when the smoke detector went off about two months ago (surprised you, not from my cooking) and it was only about 6 feet from his head……nooooooo he slept right thru it!!!
Well the troops have arrived so I bid you good whine!!
I just can’t believe how fast this year is going…….one day the years will slow down and I will start getting more constructive things done with my days. My hand dyed kit didn’t arrive this week……so I don’t have to count it as stash…yet. Today was my normal quilt shop pick and drop day…….do you know how hard it is to resist buying fabric when you are in a fabric shop…..really tough…..really tough.
One of the treasures that jumped into my shopping bag today was a very very gorgeous peace of cotton/silk blend sateen…….oh is it luscious…..the only tough part was deciding what color. 
So I’m going to make a quilted tree skirt…I picked this to die for olive green….I’ve had the stencil for years so now its finally going to be used and I’ll have a tree skirt for Christmas that matches the living room. So on my list for this week…..mark the fabric!!!! So to the add column plus 1.25 yards.
At quilt shop #3 (I got out of #2 with nothing, thank God) there were some great looking blacks with gold metallic.
…..I found a very cute pattern at Houston so what good is a pattern without fabric……I actually have a bunch left from another project so I can call part of this a stash project…..so to the add column…… plus 1.5 yards.
In the use column….
..a whole lot of 9 patches are made……so I cut a bunch of strips and started sewing…..usually I don’t count until the top is completed but for this project I’m going to count as I go……so for this project I have cut 4.5 yards…….I’m really mixed on whether or not to show the project. I’m making it from a picture I seen……I haven’t purchased the pattern, heck I don’t even know the name of the quilt…..I’m just going to call it “A whole bunch of 9 patches”.
How do you all feel about that????? Am I violating a copyright by making a quilt without buying the pattern???? I know there will be a bunch of different opinions both for and against so tell me how you feel, your opinion will be greatly appreciated.
Purchased this week: 2.75 yards
Purchased YTD: 73.75 yards
Used this week: 4.5 yards
Used YTD: 85.5 yards
Net Used for the year: 11.25 yards
Mrs. Ninepatch Sewer.
Why is it that the older you get, the faster time flies. I wish that life would just slow down a bit…..I get things done but just not as many as possible.
International Quilt Festival was amazing……….it was my first major show and the quilts were amazing. There were all styles and degrees of perfection. I know now that I’m not sure I want to make a quilt just so it could hang in a show. I make common ordinary quilts and the quilts at the show were not common and ordinary. My favorite quilt was the Best of Show by Caryl Bryer Fallert. 
I had a class with her the next day and the back story that she provided about the quilt was even more amazing than the quilt. They say every quilt has a story and Caryl’s story is amazing. Sometimes the quilts are all about life and discovering or rediscovering yourself.
In the shopping department…..I didn’t do to bad……..the Houston Festival is a buyers paradise. Just about every quilting tool is there. I thought about getting the Go Cutter……I just couldn’t quite talk myself into it……it is an amazing tool and the booth always had a lot of people around it….I guess that was the “tool of the year” at Festival.
I also took classes while I was there. The teachers was awesome and I learned a bunch…..what was the best part for me, in the long arm department is…..I’ve been doing things right!!! I have been basically self-taught when it comes to long arming……there are no local classes available and once the dealer leaves after set up…..its just all you. The internet has been a valuable resource but nothing beats learning in person. I hope to take in more classes in the future……research and development will be figured into my yearly must haves.
So how have I been doing in the stash department since last reporting. I bought some at Houston…….those darn hand dyeds
get me every time….why can’t I resist them.
But this week I did get some sewing done, a small project with just the top completed
….I’ll be machine quilting it
this week….on my home machine with a tool to help in the process. You know, I started out quilting everything on my domestic sewing machine and because I love the machine quilting so much….that’s when I decided to move up to the long arm…..but I still do little things on my home machine……just to see if I can do it.
Purchased since last report 6 yards
Used since last report 1.5 yards
Given away as a gift .5 yards
YTD Purchases 71.0 yards
YTD used 81.0 yards
Net Used YTD 10 yards
I’m still in positive territory yet…this week I have a kit coming in that I ordered…..I seen it at Festival and it was just too good to pass up……of course…….its hand dyeds……….just to tough to resist.
This week I’m starting a long term project………a bunch of nine patches are going to be needed……..the project will all be from my stash so I will be reducing!!!!
later………..da Mrs.
I had the most amazing lunch with Vicki yesterday(Vicki is on the left). 
We are both attending the International Quilt Festival in Houston . She has a great blog that keeps the rest of us informed about what happening around the web. We were both on break from our classes. What she is working on in her class is amazing but she will get t share that with you.
Meeting Vicki has been a highlight of my trip.
Later………Mrs. I have more show to see
So far I have not been disappointed by Houston……Tuesday classes was on maintenance with Rick Taylor…..a very informative class and I found out I should be doing a few things differently than I have been doing, nothing bad just different. My other class was with the very lovely Gina Perkes……..her class was wonderful, I wish I had more time to take additional classes from her, such a treat with her down home attitude.
Todays class is with Caryl Bryer Fallert…..designing paper piecing….for those who don’t already know…….Caryl is the best of show winner at this years festival….I’ll post a picture tonight of her award winning quilt. Time to get on with my day
Karen
Yesterday (Monday) was great. I had three classes…….all lecture/teacher demo………all were great……learned alot…..one classs was a basic beginnner(yes I was too advanced for that class but I did learn something), another freeform feather(I won the door prize in that class which was the teacher sample, Yeah for me, had the teacher autograph that one) and a class on threads….the part that was the best was that it reaffirmed some of the stuff I already new. I’ve been longarm quilting for 6.5 years and this is the first time I’ve taken any classes……I have learned on the go….trial and error to get things to work. I’ve had some screwups along the way learning along the way. It was a good productive day. The toughest part of the day for me was having to sit…………..I usually don’t sit during the day….i’m standing or walking or generally moving…….sitting tough!!!!
Did you ever see the movie…..You’ve Got Mail………….you remember how the guy and the girl in the show were internet buddies……always commucating with each other but never really talking or knowing the other person……..well today…………I’m meeting someone who I’ve known….via the internet for a couple of years……..I look forward to it.
time for a shower and to get on with my day. tonight is the night when we find out who the big winnners are at Houston……..
later……Mrs I’m at Houston enjoying myself
But sitting there is class with three different teachers……I realized that I had been doing somethings right…….which makes me feel very good.
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