Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Off the Stashbusting wagon BIG TIME

Well at least they were legal buys ;)
I got 15 yards of 90" muslin for quilt backings
and 2 yards of a black print and a dark green each for borders and bindings for 2 of the Girl Scout quilts.

Now if it would just warm up again to quilt outside...we actually had a frost last night. brrrrr

And them Yanks lost to Jeanne's Tigers :( . And what's up with the O's being first place?????

Tonight's stitching group for guild at Borders :) and tomorrow is a play date with Katie who fixed Ethel for me. I miss my featherweight and I heard she purrs now .

According to the weather station we're going to get days of rain :( starting tomorrow- of course the kids have 2 day passes to some out door concert Sat and Sun and hubby has a huge plant sale at his work. Seems only I planned on being inside at a quilt show and a quilt shop. ( Which I need to make my list of Maderia thread I need)

Well I should be working on my Ocean Wave blocks- it's a me quilt day :)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Say "NO!" to the Orphan Works Act

Say "NO!" to the Orphan Works Act

Sunday Stash report and stuff

The day started out well with a yummy breakfast- I forgot to include the who grain thomas's english muffin....we're all trying to eat better.






The first of 7 quilts for the Girl Scout troop. The next one is one the frame ready to quilt :) I have another top pieced -just needs borders and another top in rows.
But for the stash report I used I guess 8 yards for top and back and binding which is made and will be attached in the morning. No fabric in again this week *VBG*
I also started cutting up the muslin leftover from Cathedral Windows for another rug. One of my friends wants one for the beach house - I even get to deliver it and stay the weekend.








Earlier in the week I received these in the mail from Jeanne- arent' they great?? Thanks Jeanne :)





Today was the family party for DS who's turning 15 in 2 days. Where does the time go? I was yelling for him and getting no answer- I go into his room to find this:


Now Moose, living up to his name weighs about 15 lbs- can't be comfortable....

Monday, April 21, 2008

What did you watch????

FUN IDEA !!!
How many shows can we come up with that we USED to watch that are no longer on TV? (Every now and then maybe..)
Add one and keep going.
This should be fun and jog our memories. No repeats on the shows
please.
Michele ...........The Munsters
Rhonda.......... Courtship of Eddie's Father
Kathy................ My Three Sons
Chuck.............. The Real McCoys
Chuck............... The Match Game
Margarette ........Gomer Pyle
Jude..............Marcus Welby M.D.
Mary K..........Green Acres
Nadya...The Honeymooners
Lally...........Gunsmoke
Joyce.........Uncle Elihugh
Jeanine.......The Sonny & Cher Show
Verna.........I Love Lucy
Marie..............The Dean Martin Show
Walt..........Rowan & Martins Laugh-In
Paula...... Dukes of hazard
Sue.............Art Linkletter
Sally............Super Circus
Deb..............That Girl
Cheryl...........Emergency!
Kristi............Three's Company
Jan.........The Flying Nun
Teresa........Family Affair
Karen..........Captain Kangaroo
Malinda........I Dream of Jeannie
Kellie....Mission Impossible
Chelle......Magnum P.I.
Jamie.......Andy Griffith
Amanda...Alf
Sharon.....Gilligan's Island
Linda................Make Room For Daddy
Wanda......Peyton Place
Dodd.................Starsky and Hutch
Becky...............Mighty Mouse
Adriana.....90210
Sharon ....The Bionic Man/Woman
Kelly ............. Gidget
Sonya- Hee Haw
Lisa....My So-called Life
Meredith..Clarissa Explains it All
Ashlynn...The Wonder Years
Rachel... California Dreams
Jane........Leave It To Beaver
Sara........The Love Boat
Art.... The Shadow & The Green Hornet
Reggie......The Rifleman
Jack......Bonanza
Genie...Big Valley
Ralph.....M.A.S.H.
Hugh. . . Get Smart
Jimmy P....The Howdy Doody Show
Peggy ....Here Come The Brides (bet you thought I'd say The
Monkees!)
Peggy L....The Ed Sullivan Show
Elaine ? Fantasy Island
Honora - Charlie's A ngels
Marian - Bewitched
Gail - The Addams Family
Tara - Bosom Buddies
Danielle- CHIPs
Tony- the Love Boat
Debbie-The Brady Bunch
Duane - Mr Roger Neighborhood
Debbie-Rin Tin Tin
Penny - Sky King (and his niece Penny of course!)
Debbie B.-The Mickey Mouse Club
Lil Deb - Dark Shadows
Jim- Jackie Gleason
Phyl- Jack Bennie
Sue-Carol Burnett Show
Sheri-Pettiecoat Junction
Bobbi - Family Ties
Suzi - Father Knows Best
Deb - Hill Street Blues
Cheryll-Dark Shadows
Debbie - Captain Kangaroo
Marni - The Facts of Life
Michelle - The Twilight Zone
(altho my fave was the Alfred Hitchcock short stories with
the narrator guy!)
Lori - The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Teresa - The Patty Duke Show
Laura - The New Zoo Revue
Jon - The F.B.I.
Jennifer - Little House on the Priarie
Kim- Ripley's Believe it or Not
Tera - Gidget
Karen - The Lawrence Welk Show
Shandra- Different Strokes
Tamara ..... The Gong Show
Connie - Mary Tyler Moore
Christie- Happy Days
Linda - Fury on Saturday mornings---sure beat Mighty Mouse but
American Bandstand was the BEST
Pati - Golden Girls
Emma- Rawhide
Gail - Lassie
Maria - Knight Rider!
Mary- The West Wing
Cathey - Magnum PI
Norma--The Partridge Family
Nickie --Emergency
Anita - Land of the LostTwyla......Maverick (big time crush on James Garner)
Kyletta - Rod Serling's Night Gallery
Pat - Maude
Kim - Underdog

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday stash report

While goofing off in the hotels this week,I managed to finish the hand quilting of the jar. Spent the day yesterday sewing the hanging sleeve on and doing the binding (1 yard)







I also finished the quilting (FINALLY) and added the binding to it to sew down this afternoon. 4 yards + for the top and 5 yards of backing and binding (9)




They say it takes 20+ yards of fabric for the rug- wow!!! I'm glad that's done. I'm cutting strips to start another one soon. But I need to find some lights to do a pattern.....I think the white muslin is going to get dirty too fast- maybe a tea dye will help......(20)




So I'm going to say I finished using 30 yards of fabric in these projects....I'm hoping to have a good report ( not as good as the last 2 weeks) next week as I'm going to start quilting the Girl Scout quilts this week :)

Oh and no purchases this week either not even legal buys :)

Friday, April 18, 2008

I'm Back




A pic from one of the casinos :)


Too many meals out at House of Blues, Hard Rock and a few Irish Pubs.
We were in Philley country :( But I did manage to get to see the first game of the Yank/ Boston series- the big score game. So the next door neighbor had tickets for that game and asked if I wanted to go, I couldn't because we were going to AC and I was telling one of guild buddies. The morning we're going to leave - Wed I think, she calls and asks if I want to sit in BOX SEATS for the Fourth of July game....did I need to think about it???

The Astro/ Philley game was a good one yesterday but no Yankee game on for me :(
Then we watched the Flyers beat the Capitols at the pub during dinner.

I came back $25 richer - yeah! and I finished hand quilting my jar wall hanging. Tomorrow I'll bind it and put the hanging sleeve on it. Another finish!!!

Today is the offical birthday of the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923......fyi

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

another finish

I'm loving these rugs :). I had almost 14 yards of blues that were too thin for quilts but good enough for another rag rug. I noramlly lays flat but my pycho cat was just playing with it and her cat nip mouse.




Hubby and I are leaving tomorrow alittle before noon for Atlantic City till Friday.
I'm not sure about the internet service but I'll try if I have time. He has a bunch of meetings etc to go to - I don't :P
But my question to the men who planned this convention- they're either Met fans or Philley fans if they're from south NJ because no one in their right mind would schedule this convention when the Red Sox are playing the Yankees at home.....

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Stash Report and More :)

This blanket ( I didn't use batting in my windows) used 21 yards of 36" muslin and about 3 yards of assorted prints for the "windows". So using the below top and give away I used or gave away 29 yards of fabric!!! Wow !! Pretty cool. I feel so much better that the Cathedral Windows is finished and fruits and veggies are gone.






This baby is made with a weekend frenzy group. Though I got the cutting directions late, I improvised with about.coms directions, kinda. I pretty much read theirs and changed to what I wanted to do :P. I used 25 different fabrics for the jars, 20 of which were fqs that I'm mailing the rest of them to someone else to do the quilt. WOW!!! 5 yards gone!!!!



People have asked about my sewing case........
A few months back, I took a class with Linda Franz and Monkey on quilted diamonds. Linda had the greatest little "desk" for hand piecing on the go. Hubby especially liked the tip of using just 2 needles at a time. One to pin the end of the seam and one to sew. Most of the times I use that system.There have been alot less missing needles to be found walking around barefoot *S*




This is the case open. A nice lap desk per say. Notice the lovely quilted sewing kit I got from Paula for a Pay it Forward gift :)

Friday, April 11, 2008

Finally!!!!




The monster is done!!!! Boy did this take alot of fabric. I have a great report for Judy this coming Sunday. It's heavy but so bright and cheery for spring. I could probably sleep with the windows open with it *VBG*

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

I knew about this - BUT DO YOU??

D U S T I N G

First, I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were #2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because
He was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.

I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a we ek if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a ne w one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all
Used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.

On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle
Goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his h ead leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.

I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM. I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15. They even h ave a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off from the
Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this abo ut a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said no.

Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. It's a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas, heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out that's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU!

The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an over dose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're breathing it in, if not you d ie within 2 seconds of finishing 'the hit.' That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes
Were still open.

The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fit here. And that's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known. It's easy to say hey, it's my life
and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always affected . This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. O ne won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my
wife, I can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids
about them.

After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem ther e. They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this 'new' way of getting high they found, they hid it.

The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wou ldn't have been in my house.

We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some 'professionals' do know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it.

April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder if I died and went to Hell.
This Officer is asking for EVERYONE who receives this email to forward it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers. Even if you do not have children, you can still forward this to friends & family who do.

It's not my fault-really part 2



See although I've done some dishes, laundry and ironing of shirts ( boy do I hate that) I've managed to figure out what I want to make for the baby boy coming in July to one of our friends. God bless the mom as both her sons are under the age of 3 and she's having a third. I've always said there is a special place in heaven for moms of all boys.

Ok I have to make the beds now that the sheets are all dryer fresh...

It's not my fault- really! LOL



Hubby never understands why I get nothing done. Or it takes hours and hours. I've decided that it is the fault of blogland and the US Postal Service.

I was looking at some blogs that have vintage quilts on them and then I ordered 2 older Vintage Quilt Magazines from Mc Calls last week and then have spent almost 2 hours reading them, finding quilts I like and redrawing them into EQ. Take for example the above quilt. It's in the Spring 2006 magazine called Lend and Borrow. Pretty huh??? A few weeks ago a made a love quilt for a friend in pinks and creams and have a million bonus hsts and lots of pink fabric leftover. I need a baby quilt for a girl for July. And look 5 blocks on point and it's just over 64" square. I bet if I look in the kona stash I even have a pink for the sashings....if not, there's enough white to dye to match.

Maybe I should shock the man, turn off the computer and do some housework- do you think his heart can take the shock???? We shall find out later on.....*wink*

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

For Karen Lee

This is the star I saw on the floor walking in Philley






And this is what I did with it. All hand pieced and hand quilted using a silk batting. It drapes wonderfully.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Monday 's Post

Another overcast day here in NJ :(.
I haven't been able to sew much as I've managed to get all my machines needing some tlc. The only sewing getting done is Cathdral Windows. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.That has me very excited and hubby too as he's getting sick of little pieces of 30's fabric every where. Silly man. I have 2 baby quilts to start a boy and a girl one :) One of my friends is having her third boy -yikes !!! Can you imagine???
One of the groups I belong to is doing Pineapple Blossom as a summer quilt. So they'll be lots of cutting in the next few days. I'm doing it in Christmas BLues for a friend...sounds like perfect summer fabric huh????

I got Ami Simm's Quilter's Workstation pattern and I have no clue what I got myself into- 72 steps??? And FIVE zippers!!! And idiot I am I'm going to try and make 2 at once- I'm sure I'll be committed soon after I start.

Fabric in zero- fabric out a fat quarter used for wrapping a bday present....sigh

Baseball should get interesting soon. Seems alot of teams are having a slow start. Only good thing is the Yanks are doing better than hubby's Mets- even with Santana! :p But who would have picked the O's to be in first- not I

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Let's do a catch up

Let's see last weekend I went to the Lancaster Quilt show and bought some goodies with money hubby has been holding since the last quilt show I missed March maybe??? The Mancusco one...


I bought mostly patterns and stencils. I'm looking to get a hand quilting hoop at the NJ Show in June so.....I did buy a Roxann's thimble- we shall practice with it to see if it helps any....

Last week I did manage to finish another feathered star....

that's about it besides working on CW. The Vet quilt is still on the frame waiting for it to warm up a bit.

Besides the game Monday/ Tuesday I had to take my dad for hand surgery Tuesday morning EARLY. I'm not a morning person and had to get up 4 days around 5AM. Today's mess was trying to get Moose in a carrier to go to the Vet. He didn't fit in the ones we use for the girls...so I got an old one out of the garage and fat ass broke it. Now I get to shop for another one this weekend. :( But in doing so I managed to throw my back out grrrrr so I've been using a heating pad on it - doesn't help much - I'm dreading going to bed later as the mornings are always tough when it's out.

So that's my week in a nutshell.....

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

See Snoopy for Met Life??? The number underneath is how many more home games there are at the present stadium.




New stadium being built less than 100 yards from present stadium.




We had great seats :) and finally got to see the game -and guess what?? THey even won!!!!!



The "bum" Damon at bat. Even as a Red Sox dd loved Johnny Damon. On her birthday one year, he was signed to the Yankees....great Bday present.





Jaba Rules!!!!





Things to do with your ice cream dish when you 're done after the game :)