There They Are...

The turtles are showing themselves!  I started piecing this quilt together today.  This is all the progress I made, though.  Not that I worked very hard or long at it.  (just sayin)

I go for my second synvisc injection tomorrow morning.  Found out that I won't be seeing Dr. CutiePie...won't see him for the third injection, either.  Gosh...not sure if I can go through with them.  {grin}  My knee has felt better this week...not so stiff and not so much bone on bone.  HURRAY!!!

I am really looking forward to the weekend...rather, to not going to work.  I have so much to do.  Does it never end?  (you don't have to answer that.)

A Little Start...

Remember, I had to reorder two 
pieces of fabric for Riley's turtle quilt?  
 
Well, they both arrived today...YAY!

So, I cut a bunch of squares.
64 to be exact.

And, once DWTS was over,

I spent about 45 minutes making some 

half-square triangles.

I don't see no turtles, though, do you?

Huh.

Well, they'll show up.   

That's all I have for today. 

FINISHED!

It doesn't quite matter what one starts, does it?  Isn't it all about what one finishes?

I don't really know the answer to that, but gosh, it sure seemed like a good lead-in to this post, which is all about what I finished this weekend.

Ready?  Here you go...

1.  Started & finished.  A reversible apron for Jesika (DIL)...she bought the fabric in January and has been waiting patiently.

2.  Started & finished.  Apron for Jasmine (granddaughter)...just because.

3.  Started & finished.  A kleenex cozy for a friend who loves dots.  I also made one for Sylvie in France...my placemat quilt swap partner.  (yeah, I know...no travel-size kleenex package in it.  Don't worry, there will be when I send them out.)

4.  Finished both placemats for my placemat quilt swap...I'll show them once I know they've arrived in France.  

5.  Finished reading the novel Blood Vines by Erica Spindler. 

6.  Started & finished.  Hemmed a pair of scrub pants for a coworker, but I didn't take a photo.  Cuz, you know...scrub pants.  If you've seen one pair, you've seen them all!  {grin}

7.  Started & finished.  Bathed Tag E. Butt. 

 

I think that's everything!  Well, besides the normal, everyday sort of things like fixing meals and taking showers and talking on the phone and doing dishes/laundry, etc., etc....you know.

And, for those of you who are wondering if the synvisc injection had any effect...I think that it did!  My knee doesn't hurt nearly as much as it has been.  I was told to not expect much until after the second injection, but it really does feel better.  So.  We shall see, hey?  

One Down, Two to Go...

I kinda wish I needed more than 2 more fluoroscopy-guided injections in my knee (synvisc).  The doctor was way too cute.  And, nice!  ...and then he touched me.  oooooh-la-la!  And, did I say how cute he was???  I tried to find his photo on the UW website, but I cannot remember his name.  Can you believe that?  I must have been too busy swooning when he introduced himself.  {sigh}

Okay...settle down...deep breath.  

I did not take photos (though when I told him that I had contemplated it, he thought I was quite funny).  But, you know, I didn't even get to watch the procedure, cuz I was laying flat on my back.  

I was a bit nervous this a.m....fear of the unknown, I suppose.  Once I was there and he explained everything and I asked a gazillion questions (just to hear him talk), I felt much better.  He numbed my knee...deep numbness.  I felt the prick and sting.  After a few minutes, he told me he was injecting the synvisc and I got all excited cuz I couldn't feel anything.  It was a very simple and painless procedure.  YAY!

I had to stay for ~30 minutes after the procedure...just to make sure that I did not have an adverse reaction.  Then, he released me.  Ya know...told me I could leave.  {grin}

I'll try really hard to get his name next week and then I can post a photo.  I might even take my camera and ask the tech to take photos.  

They have valet parking at the UW...how great is that!!!

I ran a few errands before I came home...to the pharmacy & credit union.  Then, I went to Hobby Lobby where I selected a few Kona solids for Riley's turtle quilt.  Avocado and Paprika...YUMMY colors! 

For the rest of the day, I have nothing planned.  Just going to take it easy and do some finishing work.  I need to bind the rest of Janer's quilt and the other placemat for the placemat quilt swap.  And, I need to finish quilting the rest of the baby blush quilt....then I can put the binding on that and work on finishing it.

The Turtles Are Here!!!

Are you old enough to remember The Turtles?

My fave song of theirs was "Happy Together"...

and here they are singing it.

Gotta love them! 

But, actually, those are not the turtles of which I speak.

Here are the actual turtles that arrived today!

Cuteness plus!

So, yeah...I was commissioned to make a quilt

and turtles were requested.
Is that exciting or what?
Okay, it was my sister, Joyce...
who was an
impulse buyer of 2 quilts...
and commissioned me to make 2 others.
(see them here and here and here)
AND, she's buying the blush quilt I have yet to finish!
(Refresh your memory here.)

Isn't she just the best sister?
I sure think so.

This one is for her grandson...whose birthday is May 3.


Holy Schmoly.

And, then to not have all the fabric arrive...YIKES!

Yeah, you read that right...only 3 of the 5 pieces
I ordered were in the package.

I will have to find the other 2 pieces elsewhere, I guess.

I have a plan, though...
so am ready to rock and roll
once I have all the prints.

Progress Report...

Laid out my postage stamp

quilt to see how it looked. 

Here's the math:

81 squares per block,

8 blocks...

total of 648 squares!

So far.

I'm half done.

Most of the strips for the remaining half

are ready to be sewn together...

will work on it here and there til it's done.

STRIP!!!

That's all I've felt like doing.

Stripping.

HA!

  
Okay, so I'm talking about the postage stamp quilt.

Here's how it goes:

Cut strips.

Sew strips into sets.

Cut strip sets into more strips.

Sew cut strip sets into blocks.

Cut more strips.

Sew more strip sets...

well, you get the idea.

Easy peasy and I am liking the quiet work with this one.

Not too much thinking involved at all.

Though, I did find myself thinking about how to make another one.

Similar...but different.

I think that will have to be in the near future.

I think I have enough ready to put 5 blocks together. 

I already have 5 done.

Am thinking 4 across and 4 down for a total of 16 blocks...

which would make the quilt approximately 68 inches square.

It's nothing fancy, but I am really liking it.  Kind of a utility quilt...a picnic quilt...one to keep in the car..I don't know.
I have no special plans for it.

A Good Day...

Paul, Rachel and Devin came to help clean out the garage and basement.  We got a lot done and had a good time doing it, too!  For lunch, I treated us to pizza from Papa Murphy's.  So YUMMY!!!

I took only these two photos...too busy to remember to take more, I guess.

Here's Rachel, who actually wanted to sweep out the garage...

Here's Paul.  While Rachel swept, he waited...

That's all I have for now.  Gonna rest my knee and then do some sewing.  Maybe.

Best-Laid Plans & All of That...

Yeah, well...what can I say?

This is all I got done for the Friday Night Sew-in.

Not even sure I'm happy with it.

Tumbling blocks with a striped fabric next to it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul & Rachel are coming today to help me 

clean out the basement and garage.

It's a gorgeous spring day,

so we should get a lot done.

Have a great day!

Friday Night Sew-in...

Yup, here it is...Friday Night Sew-in again!  

YAY!

Click here for more details.

I'm not sure what I'll work on, but I have plenty to choose from.

Perhaps the postage stamp quilt...

perhaps the binding on Janer's quilt,

perhaps the quilting on the blush baby quilt...

perhaps...

well, I don't know.

But, I know I will be working on something!

Have a great Friday night!

Knees

What a pain.

Literally.

Chronic.

Osteoarthritis.

I went to see an orthopedic surgeon today.  Both knees are not good...but my right knee is really not good.  No surgery at this time.  I opted for the SYNVISC injections...ultrasound guided injections.  Into the knee.  {squirm}  But, if they work and I get some pain relief, I'll be happy.  Click here if you'd like to read up on it.

I'll try to remember to take my camera so that you all are able to share the experience with me.  Here's a preview...

so...maybe I won't take my camera.

Waiting for Inspiration...

I'm not quite sure what to do for the placemat quilt swap.

I have the fabric (may add a piece or two).
And, I have a thought.

While I'm waiting for inspiration, I'm working on this...

 

and this...

A Long Day!

Today lasted forever!

Claire was here from 8:30 til 5:30.

We went out to eat breakfast.

The rest of the time,

she helped get the house ready to show...

and painted.

The dining room walls are done.

The ceiling will be done tomorrow.

I'll take photos once I get everything back in place.

While Claire painted, I sewed.

Put together 2 more blocks for the 

Postage Stamp Quilt Along quilt...

for a total of 3 done.

Long way to go, yet.

Tag spent the day out in the kennel building.

He's a tired boy tonight!

 Have a great Sunday!

Block 1 done...House for Sale?...No More Fence!

Block 1 of my Postage Stamp quilt along quilt is done!  I've got enough strips sewn/cut to make 4 more of these blocks.  Then, I'll start over...sewing strips together, cutting them into 2 1/2" strips, then piecing them back together to make 11 more blocks...for a total of 16.  Each finished block will measure about 17 1/2" square.  

I see you math wizards shaking your heads.  Yeah.  I know.  9 squares starting out at 2 1/2"  each should give me an 18" finished block.  Right?  Well, my quarter inch foot is off...the seams are just a tish larger than 1/4".  When I need to do exact piecing, I move the needle over one notch to get perfect 1/4" seams.  But, for this quilt, I figured that as long as everything is sewn having the same seam allowance, it doesn't really matter if each individual square is just a tish smaller than 2".   Ya know?  It'll be the overall size that matters, anyway.  Being a careful (some say 'anal') person, this was a big decision for me to make!    

I am trying to be random with this.  My brain has a difficult time with 'random', but I really want to NOT obsess over placement while putting this quilt together.  

AND, did I say this before?  I am using fabric ONLY from my stash.  At least 1/2 of these fabrics are from Jane (ooh...a colored and italized word...what to do?  CLICK on it! {grin}).  Bren (there it is again!) had given me some fabric, and the rest is odds and ends that I've had for a long while.  No bright and modern fabrics in this one.  (Did you look, Kelley?) 

It's something I can work on here and there (cuz it's awfully boring to sit and sew on this for too long of a time) and it'll get done soon enough. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the realtor called my landlords today and asked to show the house tomorrow.  "Are you kidding me???"  The house is in complete disarray cuz, well, you know, the painting isn't done!!!  I asked if the realtor was told this...yeah...still wants to show it.  Criminey!  

And, of course, that means that Tag and I need to vacate the house in the middle of the morning.  Okay, I know this happens when a house is on the market, but I have so much to do...{sigh}.  I do so much better staying on task when I am not interrupted.  

On the bright side, Claire is taking me out to breakfast. 

So.  Of course, I will vacuum and sweep.  Straighten a bit.  Make the bed.  But, here is what won't be changing.

The entryway...stuff on my 'antique table from Kim' and the 'corner curio cabinet' that is not in a corner.  (Everything has a name and Kim laughs at me when I call things what they are!)

The sofa sleeper piled high with...just stuff.  See the start of a newly painted wall?  Navajo White...really nice!

The kitchen table piled high with...well, more stuff.

The living room isn't too bad...but here are some things out of place.  

#1 - framed pictures not put back on the walls.

#2 - table that will be in the dining room is there where it is cuz, well, the dining room is being painted.

#3 - my hooked rugs and quilted table topper on the chair cuz that's the only place I have to put them so they don't get paint on them while the dining room is being painted.

So, they can come and they can see.  That's all I'm gonna say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We no longer have a fenced yard.  But, Curt was nice enough to put a post there at the edge of the patio so I could put Tag's 20 foot cable line on it.  This means that I won't have to take Tag out on a leash every time he needs to potty.  YAY!  And, if I'm out on the patio, at least he'll be able to move around. 

Have a great weekend!

A Few Things...

First, I want to thank you all so much for your feedback.

I appreciate you so very much!

I guess I'll leave things alone.

I rather like the look of my blog right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had to (read HAD to) go to 2 quilt shops today.

Not one, but TWO!

It was tough, but I managed.

{grin}

I picked up this fabric...

see the Eiffel Tower?

see the Statue of Liberty?

The fabric is called 'gnomesome traveler'...

it's crackin' me up!

I have a plan.

Don't you worry.

I picked up this dotted fabric for the binding of the Blush baby quilt.

It's gonna look darling!

And, this is the second day that I worked 
on my Postage Stamp quilt.

These are NOT 1" finished squares, though.

Do you think I'm nuts?

Okay, so don't answer that.

I'm cheating...these will be 2" finished squares.

(By the way, those strips in the photo are just laying there.

They're not sewn together...don't want you to think that I cannot match seams!)

There is a lot of sewing and cutting with this quilt.

But, I can already tell that it'll be worth it in the end.

AND, today I cut my first binding on the bias!  

YAY!

It's for my large whirlygig quilt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allegra would have been 12 years old today.

There are no words that would come close
to conveying how I feel...how much I miss her.

Feedback...

I'm wondering if you could help me.  I've got this new background thing going on with my blog and have heard from one source that the text is unreadable.  I've asked a few of you, and others of you have continued to comment...everything seems to be okay.  No one has  mentioned anything, so I'm wondering why only one person isn't able to read my writing.  I'm thinking it has something to do with the water in her area.  

Anyway.  The new background is a quilt.  It surrounds my header photo and runs down both sides of my blog.  You can see it behind the sidebar.  With a thin layer over it.  But, behind the text (like right here where you are reading, you should only see a solid background...which right now is kinda white).  No quilt.  Text should be easy to read.  

Please let me know if you are having problems.  Course, if you are, you probably are unable to read this request for feedback!  

At any rate...if you would, please let me know if this new background is causing you any problems.  Cuz, after all, what would be the sense of writing if you cannot read it?

Thanks!  You're the best readers out there!

Blush...

Here's what I did this afternoon.

I used one charm pack of Blush by basicgrey for Moda, 

and 3 Kona solids.

(milk chocolate, some kind of blue, and pink) 

This is what I came up with.

(click on the image to enlarge)

 

It's a very girly-girl quilt-top, don't you think?

 

I need to get some yardage for a small border and the backing.  

Right now, it's measuring about 36" square. 

"Mama...ya forgot your pins!"

This is the second time today that Tag has brought me my basting pins.  Here's how he does it...he takes the plastic container off the table in the sunroom, carefully walks through the dining room and down the hall to the computer room, then stands in the doorway, wagging his tail.

Only after I see him, does he turn around and dump the pins out of the container.  After all, it's really the container he's wanting.  Good thing the tip of my scissors are magnetized...all I do is drag it along the floor to collect the pins! 

What a helper!

Quilting...

I was not invited anywhere chose to stay home today and have some quiet time.  The landlords aren't done painting...everything is moved around in the kitchen, living room and dining room.  CHAOS!  I know they need to get the house ready to sell, but I need to get some things done, too.
  

I started quilting on this today... 

It's the Block of the Month quilt from last year...for Janer.  I think it's going to be awesome!  I should get the quilting done today.  And, the binding on.  I'll hand-sew it while watching DWTS & AI this week.

Hope you're having a great day!

A Blessed Easter to You...

He is risen, indeed!

Quilt for Maureen...

I never showed you this quilt...it is for Maureen, a wonderful coworker/friend.  Measures about 52" square.  It's a prepayment, of sorts.  When I move, she's going to clean the house for me.  Am thinking I need to make another quilt to give her...for all the work she's offering to do.  ha!  Anyway, she loves it.  I thought it was perfect for her.  Maureen has been one of the major influences in my walk with Christ and I appreciate her so very much.

Not the best photos of this quilt, I know.  Didn't realize that I had only taken these two.