Ouch!!!

No pictures today - but then you would not want to see picture. My husband had workplace injury yesterday morning, nearly severing his left index finger. The bone was completely severed, but the nerves and tendon, while damaged, held. Surgery yesterday afternoon to reatttach the finger and we got home this afternoon. We are still not sure he will keep the finger, but at least the doctor is giving us some hope. It was a long day of waiting, and a long night of typical hospital stuff and then again a long day of waiting to be discharged. I did get some quilting done though and finished hand quilting my Fall wall hanging. I am pretty tired after the stress of yesterday and very little sleep last night, so I am off to bed early tonight.
Happy Stitching and please pray for Fred's finger to heal.
Teresa

I need a vacation!

I have been putting in way too many hours at work these days and I need a vacation - but that will have to wait until Labor Day week. Until then, I'll just keep plugging along. Sorry I have not posted lately, but I have started a new project and thought I would share that with you tonight. Isn't it lovely? Honestly now, don't y'all just love the colors...the embellishment...the craftsmanship?

Reaching Roma

For those of you who are knitters and would like to follow along as my daughter teaches knitting to some ladies in Macedonia, check out her blog: http://reachingroma.blogspot.com/. She is on a mission trip, and in working with ladies who bring their children to this center. She does not speak their language, and they do not speak English, which leads her to some very insightful understanding on her part of our relationship with God. I am so proud of her and hope you will take a peek at what she is doing.

Thought I would paste Ellen's comment here on the front page just incase you don't check the comments.
Ellen said...
Ellen here. I'm sorry you haven't been able to comment on my blog - I'm not sure what's going on with it. Thank you for the kind words. I'm truly astounded by what God is teaching me here. I seem to always forget that mission trips change me more than I could imagine....Thanks for sharing my blog with everyone, Mom! It's great to have people praying from all over for the Macedonians. Love you!!!!El

KScope Returns

Remember this?

This is what I call my KScope quilt and is a design I worked up in EQ6. My design wall was looking pretty bleak, so I hung it up to add a BIG splash of color. I just love this quilt and all the colors I have in it. I set it aside while I finished up a few projects with this quilt as my reward for getting them done. Well, I finished Eli's baby quilt, the French Braid, the Redwork is now in the hands of a quilter and I almost have the hand quilting on the fall wallhanging completed, soooooooooooooo I get to start working some on this one again.

And, to share the fun, I am offering to anyone who wants it, the EQ6 file with the design. You have to have EQ6 installed on your computer for me to send you the file, but just let me know that you would like to play along and I will send it to you. Of course, you don't have to make the giant quilt that I am making at the request of my hubby!

You know, it kind of reminds me of a circus big top - so maybe I should call it Circus Stars. What do you think?

On the Road Again

Friday, July 3 I just decided to take the day off. It's a short day during the summer, and we get off at 11:30am, my husband was off and I was so tired after all the long hours we have been putting in. So, I took off. When hubby got up that morning, and saw I had stayed home, he said...lets go somewhere! He has been working 56 hour work weeks too, and we both needed an escape. So we hurridly packed our bags and headed South - destination Americus and Andersonville, Ga. My husband was wanting to check out some family research at Andersonville, home of a National Cemetery and the location of a Civil War POW camp where 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned and treated horribly, and close to 13,000 died. One of whom was my husband's relative - Jesse James Pauley.

I had gotten on the internet and made reservations in Americus at the Americus Garden Inn. This was a very smart move. The Bed & Breakfast was relaxing, beautiful and we were made to feel right at home by the gracious proprietors, Susan and Kim Egelseer. Susan is an excellent chef and we had a delightful breakfast of fresh fruit, cheese frittatas , cinnamon walnut pancakes, chocolate chip scones and fresh aromatic coffee and juices. YUMMMMY. We were also greeted by the house cat who was just as friendly as Susan and Kim. The gardens surrounding the house were lovely, and there was even a swing in a gazebo out back that I enjoyed sitting and relaxing in and enjoying the scenery. I would highly recommend that if you are ever in the area, give this place a try!!

Friday night we watched the movie Andersonville, which told the story of the Andersonville POW Camp and what a tragic story it is. This made the visit to Andersonville much more meaningful and I would recommend that if you are going to be in the area, that you watch the movie. There is a second movie that tells about the trial of the Captain Werz, who oversaw the operations and was eventually hung for the mistreatment the pow's received. The POW Museum and Cemetery is actually quite beautiful now and hopefully I will have some pictures to share tomorrow or the next day. I did not take any, and have to wait on husband to download me the ones he took.

An interesting coincidence. There was only one other couple staying at the Inn, and would you believe his last name was Pauley. They were from Florida and I showed the register to Fred and of course, that caught his interest. They were out when we got there, so we did not talk with them until breakfast the next day, and sure enough, his family is from West Virginia and he and my husband are indeed related. Now how funny is that!

Hope you had a nice July 4th. I did, and am so thankful for a husband who understood my need to get away even if just for one weekend. He is a great guy and I am blessed to be married to him!

What to do with quilting magazines...

In my quilting life, I collect many things - like gadgets, fabric, rulers, needles, buttons, threads, etc. All of these I use and enjoy in my projects. Another collection of sorts is quilting magazines and books, which I dearly love to look at again and again for inspiration - seldom making the exact quilt but using elements of them in my own designs. The only problem - now where did I see that particular technique or applique pattern or border design - so I spend lots and lots of time looking through my "library", which while enjoyable, seldom leads to finding the quilt I wanted. This was driving me crazy as I am one of those irritating organized people that has to be able to find stuff - at least in my sewing room, we won't talk about the rest of the house.

So, I came up with a plan. I scan the patterns into a WORD document, create a picture index that takes me directly to the pattern file on my computer, and then throw the "paper" away. Now I can just leaf through my notebooks and usually find the pattern I want right away, open the file on my computer and sometimes print it out and I am set to go. I can get around 8 years worth of magazines in one notebook. Under each picture in the index is a direct link to the file - I just click on the link and the pattern opens up. Now it is very important to back these files up on a external hard drive and I do this after I complete each page on the index.

I also keep a listing of the magazines I have so if I am ever looking for a pattern from a specific magazine, I can check my list to make sure I have scanned that one in.

Now the scanning process is slow as I just use the scanner on my printer at home. At first I tried to keep the magazines in tack so that I could then give them away, but it made for some bad scanned images as I had to fold pages back and there was so much bulk. So now I just cut the binding off and scan individual pages.

I enjoy the scan process as I look over the patterns as I scan them in. Not one to sit idle while waiting for the scanner to do its thing, I usually keep some hand work right by my scanner and multi task by stitchin and scanning. I still have lots and lots of magazines that I have accumulated over the years to scan in, but there's no real hurry and I just do it when I have some hand work to do as well. I would show you the block I am working on - but its a secret!

Happy Stitchin (and scanning),

Teresa

And the winner is......

Sending a shout out to Andrea in the UK, known as the Welsh Quilter.

Andrea said...
I would love to be included - what a lovely prize. I have good scissors that I hide and rubbish scissors that anyone is welcome to use - lol !

Well Andrea, I am pleased to present to you a new pair of Ginger Embroidery scissors. I asked my dear husband to call out a number and he picked yours! Send me your address and I will get them in the mail to you along with a little surprise.

And a big thank you to all of you who left such nice comments. I enjoyed reading each and every one and hope you will continue to follow my blog.

Tuesday Morning finds!

Do you have a Tuesday Morning store in your town? We do, and it is one of my all time favorite places to visit. I always have to check out their sewing and craft supplies and today I found some really good buys. They often have Fons and Porter products. I have a F&P Scissor set and Rotary Cutter that I got there and they are really great to use.

The first is a set of EZ rule templates. These sold for $3.99 for the set of three. I looked everywhere for that Pyramid Ruler when I was wanting to start a Thousand Pyramids quilt and believe me, I paid a lot more than $3.99 for that one ruler when I found one.

My next find was EZ Rulers. Now I have a weakness for rulers and scissors and cutters. The small ruler was only $.99 and the larger one a whopping $1.50! The way I slice into my rulers when I am cutting out fabric, I can always use new ones.

And finally - like I said, I have a weakness for scissors and such..a set of Mundial Scissors for $9.99. Now the package says it is a special offer for $19.99 but I know I bought just one pair of these scissors years ago at a Piece Goods store and paid around $15 for the one pair on sale.

So, if you have a Tuesday Morning in your town, be sure to check out the craft area - you just never know what you might find.

And don't forget to sign up for my appreciation gift giveaway in the post before this one!

Happy Stitchin!

A gift to say Thank You!

Do you like scissors as much as I do? Scissors have to be on my list of favorite sewing tools and heaven only knows how many pairs I have. (Wonder why they are called a pair of scissors?) I have small scissors tucked away in each sewing basket. Speciality scissors for applique, paper piecing, etc. and fold up scissors for my purse.

I would like to say thank you to all who read my blog, whether you leave a comment or not. I do have a counter and just out of curiosity I sometimes count the number of times a specific post is read, and it usually close to 150 times.

Its fun to share my joy of quilting and to read about yours. I receive inspiration and learn new skills from all I read, plus I have come to know many of you has friends from around our globe. You have offered me encouragment when things just were not going well and many times have made me feel so good when complimenting my efforts.

So to say thanks, I am offering this pair of Gingher Embroidery Scissors. I have a pair that a close friend gave me and they are my all time favorite of my scissors. I wish I could present each of you with a pair, but unfortunately my bank does not tolerate deficit spending. All you have to do is leave a comment that says Hi, and anything else you care to say and your name is in the drawing. If you can not leave a comment, then just send me an email at jqd@comporium.net to let me know you came by. I will select a name on Sunday, June 28.

Please do not announce this gift on your blog - let's just keep it between us. Please do comment or email me, even if you have never done so before - just so I know you came by.

Note: Some of you nice ladies are leaving comments but declining to be in the drawing because you already have these scissors, sooooooo...I am putting you in the drawing anyway because I appreciate your friendship. If your name is drawn, you just never know what might be coming your way, and then I will draw again for the scissors. So please...do leave a comment, even if you do not need the scissors.

Many thanks,

Teresa

From candle jar to pin cushion...

Tonight I made a trip to Michael's to find Fabric Medium, recommended in Helen Stubbins Faux Applique book. I have been looking for this stuff in several stores and finally just ordered off the internet. While at Michael's, I came across candle jars on sale for $4.00! Now I just love candles in my kitchen, and this one is called Ginger Citrus and smells wonderful, so it came home with me.

I cleaned the label off the jar, and muttered the whole time about why do they have to make them so hard to get off. Then placed the jar on my kitchen table, lit the candle and added my jar topper.

Sure smells great, and looks lovely, but what to do now with the glass jar lid? I will never use this lid on the jar again, but it is just too good to toss in the trash.

Hmmmm...its a nice weight and I just love glass objects.

I gather up some supplies - including the cute cupcake fabric and ribbon I received from Anna (ThimbleAnna), some stuffing, hand quilting thread and set to making a pin cushion. The fabric is gathered up like you would a yoyo. Fill the lid with the stuffing and then the fun comes as you get the fabric over the stuffing and pull the gathering thread to hold it in place. Tie off the thread securely and then using the ribbon, wrap around the jar lid and tie a pretty bow.

Voila - a new pincushion!

I really like the weight of it and will most likely leave this one on my cutting table. It also makes a good paperweight!

Thank you, Anna!

Thank You, Anna (ThimbleAnna) for the lovely gift. I just love these fabrics, and pincushion and frame...its all wonderful, and all the more wonderful because its a gift from you. You were one of the first bloggers I met and I have always enjoyed reading about your exploits. Thanks!!! And just to show you that I have done a little sewing, although not much, here is my redwork quilt in process. I am enjoying working on it, but just don't seem to have enough time.

First Ever Primitive Kit!

Yesterday, Cathi (Shakerwook Primitives) and I traveled to Landrum, SC to visit the guild's quilt show and check out all the vendors. They have a great show and I will post a few pictures at the bottom of some of my favorite quilts. I am sure Cathi will be sharing a few on her blog soon too!

While there, I purchased a primitive quilt kit by Bareroots - Nativity Candle Mat. These little mats were in just about all the vendors shops and I think they are a really good way to complete a small project and get a taste for Primitive wool applique.

Enjoy the pictures from the show - its a very goon display of some wonderful quilts. If you're in that neighborhood this weekend - check it out!

Your opinion please....

But first, before I get your advice, let me show you a couple of pictures from yesterday. I traveled to Columbia, SC to spend the day with Darlene and we shared laughs, projects, and shopping, not to mention a delicious lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. It was kind of a belated birthday outing for me and Darlene was so sweet to take me shopping in Columbia. She also gave me the nicest gift (well actually the nicest is her friendship and the day we spent together) . The blue bird is a pin cushion, but I just don't think there is any way I am going to be able to stick a pin in that sweet little bird! Thank you Darlene, I just love it all!!

Our shopping took us to two quilt shops, a Hobby Lobby, Goodwill(got a little thrifting done in there) and to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. I finally found the red fabric that I needed for my redwork quilt. I had no idea how hard it is to find the right red - its either too orange, too purple, to dark etc. The gold and greens were on sale and I think they will make a lovely pineapple quilt in the near future. The color pencils are to try our Helen Stubbins Faux Applique technique. All in all, a successful shopping spree.

And now for your opinion. I am sorry about the big pictures, but I still had my upload set to medium in the middle and it just takes too long to upload to take them out and do over...so please just hang in there.

I removed the wavy borders on my log cabin stars table runner and had to trim off at least 2 inches on the long borders and 1 inch on the shorter ones - and then they laid nice and flat. I must have been really tired that night I put those on. Here's a picture of it in my entry way. That's a hope chest my father made for me and its the only thing that is wide enough for this runner, other than my dining room table.

This is where I wanted to put it, but as you can see, it is much too big for the coffee table.

The reason I want it here, as I have cute Uncle Sam on my fireplace mantel for July 4 and wanted to bring the red/white/blue down to the coffee table as well.And here is a close up of the machine quilting I did. I am still learning free motion, but I saw something similar to this on someone's blog a few months ago and just loved the pattern. Theirs was done by a professional though and looked much nicer with leaves and such - but this was fun for me to do.So, if you have hung in there with me, here is my question. Do I just leave the runner in the entry way as is and call it done? OR...do I take off the binding, cut the border down to the same size as the inner red border and use it on the coffee table? I tried folding the edge under and it will fit ok on the table if I do this. My mom suggested I just make another one for the coffee table, but I want it NOW, not when I have time to make another one. Any suggestions?

We, the People.....

I have never voiced a political opinion on my blog, and prefer to keep it politics free. One place in my life where I do not have to face the current state of our wonderful country. But this YouTube commentary struck home with me. It expresses so well what I have been thinking, believing, and doing nothing about. This is not an attack aimed at our President, it is not promoting the Republican or Democratic Parties - it does put a voice to the outrage that I have felt over so much that is going on today. Read it if you want, if not, that is ok too. As for me...I have some tea bags to purchase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA

Congratulations to the Graduate!

Here is my adorable Grandson, Levi, who graduated from Kindergarten last night. Gotta love that smile! We are proud of you Levi!