Thursday, March 28, 2013

Fix to the No-Reply Blogger issue!!


Lets start with a great big Thank You to Left-handed Quilter (Kitty) and Linda J :)

I am so excited!!! Finally, I am no longer a no-reply blogger. I had tried everything under the sun (well that LHQ and I could think of anyway) and no luck.

Lucky for me there are some wonderful people willing to help out a blogging buddy :)

A Left-handed Quilter has been trying to help me out for awhile now and after a reply to a comment I made on her blog another lovely lady Linda J commented these helpful links to some other clever and wonderful ladies that could actually help fix the problem!

http://jenniffier.blogspot.com/2012/08/google-profile.html
http://www.pleasant-home.com/2010/12/so-exciting-less-no-reply-bloggers.html

The first one is the one that I followed to fix the issue, both were helpful though!



Oh a completely un-related topic I finally finished the paper piecing block that has been giving me fits (simply because my brain does not like to reverse things... unless it deals with phone numbers and then it loves to do it just to mess with me..)

 
Now I just have to send it home!
 
Next up.... something that doesn't require so much thinking! At some point I hope to get the hang of foundation/paper piecing but for now I have a deadline to meet, so lets hope the next fabric doesn't beg me to do something quite as challenging :) 
 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Quilty Goodness With Pictures!

I do believe I promised a quilt related post :) I was hoping it would help get me motivated, it did. It motivated me to shop. Hahaha. I am working on a foundation pieced block for the boomerang swap and here's a little know fact for you:

I might very well be the slowest foundation piecer in the history of foundation piecing, but it will look nice!

I need to update the boomerang tap with the blocks I've received so far and the few I've gotten finished, then I need to get in gear. (Update: I accidentally drafted this and forgot to post so.... here are the blocks I have so far and the boomerang tab at the top should be updated by now)

Three paragraphs were just began with "I".... work on diversifying the wording is now added to the list.
That bundle of Good Fortune by Kate Spain that was received awhile ago finally got a coordinating background fabric for the BOM I want to follow with it.


 Payton was really excited about a quilt show in Bloomington Indiana. It was the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show. Since my car was still in the shop we were not planning to attend but Jodie surprised us and took us along with Sue. It was a blast, except that after the 3 hour drive kiddo was so wired he couldn't be still! I didn't take any pictures since it was a surprise trip and my camera was dead lol but if you go to Bonnie Hunter's website she posted quite a few of the quilts that were hanging.


  Inspired to Shop!
This is what Payton picked out from one of the vendors at the show. (It was Nancy, from Nancy J's. I know, I know you drive 3 hours to a quilt show and still mainly get fabric from your own LQS!)

 
 
I've been adding fabric little by little lately and all the ones shown below I just haven't posted yet.
 I keep thinking little girl quilt whe I see these!
 These lovelies were all from Nancy J's in Feb. after she did inventory and set out the "new" clearance items! Gotta loves gorgeous blenders at half price :) It was perfect timing since I had just signed up for the Boomerang swap.

This is a close-up of the off white from above ( top left)
 
 I'm using this one in the paper piecing block from the top of the page, that's why
it's not lined up with the other blenders that I got half price.
 
New Project ~ Learning to repair a quilt.
 
 
My cousin Nathan called me and asked if I could repair a quilt that his great-aunt (? I think it was) had made and it came apart in the wash. I told him I couldn't promise anything but if he brought it over I could look and see if I though it was something close to my skill level.
 
When he got here and I laid out the quilt it was obvious that it hadn't really come apart in the wash. One of the fabrics was shredding but only one and everything else looked fine! Bonus, it is a tied quilt and will be easy to take apart! I think I can do this! Granted it's going to be alot of ripping and I already warned that I can't guarantee it will be just like before, but it's an easy pattern and only specific rows are affected.
Here is a close-up of the shredding fabric.
I put the replacement fabric that he picked out next to it.
It's not really a close match but it was the closest that my stash had to offer and
he seemed disturbed at the idea of going to a quilt store lol
close-up of replacement fabric
It really is a lovely and uber-comfy quilt, I remember sleeping under it
when I would stay the night when we were kids :)

 On a side note, I did find a cute pattern that is for use on charm packs!


 Don't mind the stuff in the background, the flash was
doing odd things to the plastic and it was to dark to not use flash
so I akwardly held it under the light behind the mid-arm.
 
 
 
I do realize that fabric will only suffice as filler for so long and a quilting blog tends to need some actual progress ;) I'm working on it but it's been slow going lately.
Hestitantly, I call it a rut.
Also, it can be referred to as the great quilt depression or household interference.
 
Feel free to comment your own fun titles for a quilty lull, I'd love to read 'em!



 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Double Trouble!!

I Love my son. I think that 99.9% of parents love their children. I also think that we have "Do I have to claim him (or her or them)" moments. Like when I received a call from the school saying they my little devil   angel had punched another kid in the nose while riding home on the bus the day before.

As soon as the shock passed, I asked for details. No it's not okay to hit another person (honestly he doesn't get spanked or hit and he's not usually an "angry" kid) but what was going on? Did that kid hit him first? How many were involved? What are the consequences the school is pushing so I know what is appropriate at home.

They didn't have any info except there was an argument of some kind and the kid he hit ended up with a bloody nose.

*sigh*

Wait impatiently for son to get home to find out what happened. Stew. Do mom detective work and figure out which kid and where he lives so a personal apology can be made.

He gets home. Here is what I find out.

This child was sitting in his assigned seat on the bus and when Payton asked him to move over so he could sit there to "because he has to" the kid said "no go sit somewhere else" in a rude attitude. Payton got angry and hit him in the nose.

Really!?!?!   ..... *sigh* Okay first thing that's going to happen is you owe him and his parents a big apology and it had better be sincere! Second, we are going to have a very long conversation about why that was not okay, what should have happened, and go over how to keep it from happening again. Next, we'll talk about consequences.

Mom detective work paid off and the kid actually lived a block over. We made it there with time to spare and Payton gave a sincere apology and so did I (he is my kid, so I'm just as guilty for his behavior at this age as he is. At least to my thinking). All was well on that account, the mom was really nice and understanding and the kid was grinning at payton like they should hang out at recess.

We get home and now comes the talking part... I'm not going into all the detail because it was an official MOM talk that lasted forever!!!! He is getting good at putting his hands in his pockets if he gets angry and knows that even if he is embarassed, he will talk to the bus driver if the situation happens again, and it is NEVER okay to hit someone just because your mad!!! That last one was repeated a lot.

If you get hit once and the person is not trying to hit you a second time, you tell a teacher. That ensures the kid gets in trouble and not you. If you get hit and the kid is trying to hit you again, well then you have my permission to fight back and mom will back you up 100%. I might teach him restraint but I'm not going to force him to take a beating and not protect himself.

The school kicked him off the bus for a week (considering their zero tolerance and the fact that they usually suspend any age for this I'm not complaining, actually I think it's pretty fair). At home, well this is a big deal in our house so the game system came out of his room and he isn't allowed to play any electronic games for two weeks, he is not allowed to go anywhere after school and no one is allowed to come over.

I was actually really proud of him when I told him what the punishment would be. No tears, no argument, just acceptance and sincere regret for his actions.... When did my baby get so grown up? I know he's only 7 but I was really surprised! (Isn't it odd how as a parent we can be dissappointed and proud at the same time, man this job is conflicting!!)

This all happened last Thursday and he has been behaving so well that we're thinking of ungrounding him on Friday if it keeps up. I have no idea what other parents would do but, I know that my kid has never been grounded for longer than two days and a week seems pretty good considering the good behavior. Not to mention major points for owning what he did and not making excuses!

On a completely unrelated topic, he came home sick Friday with a stomach bug that lasted all of 12 hours and gave it to us..... It's been 4 days now and I barely feel human! Poor nick refuses to take a day off work to recoup. Hopefully, we'll all be feeling better soon!

On another completely unreltated topic and yet a happier one, Some major quilting is on the way, I could have worked on hexies while ill but I didn't want to infect them. I have some updating on the quilt related stuff I'm saving for the next day or two.

This showed up last night! It was looking like spring yesterday.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

How do you get out of a Quilting Rut?

I was wondering how everyone else gets back in the swing of things after not quilting for awhile.

How do you do it?

I found that buying some fabric is a good jump start for me or making something small. Asfar as feeling better inside to get busy outside, a trip to the salon works wonders. Nothing fancy, just got it straightened ( could do that at home but where is the fun in that!) and put up halfway then got to hang-out with lots of good company at Jodie's PartyLite party. Family, friends, candles and salon time.... yep I'm feeling spoiled and in a much better state of mind.


Good Fortune by Kate Spain that came out in January 2012 consistently keeps catching my eye. With all the trouble getting back to quilting lately my hubby gave me the go ahead to order the Fat Quarter Bundle.
 Usually I don't ask about buying things since I handle the bills and a couple yards here or there just comes out of my weekly spending allotment. (Hubby has a weekly spending allotment to, we're working on a budget here!)
So when it comes to things over and above what we have in our individual pockets we talk to each other about it.

 Oh look at at that condensed stack of quilting yumminess!!!!!
 
 
 
There are very few collections that catch my attention in their entirety.
I LOVE every fabric in this one and it still took over a year to talk myself into it!


What quilt would showcase this collection the best? It's going to live on the back of our couch I think. There isn't a quilt there yet, 99% of them find their homes outside ours. Maybe I'll follow the Craftsy block of the month for last year or this one, just not sure yet. At least I can enjoy them until the right idea presents itself.

The boomerang blocks started calling my name so I got to work and finished another one with the next up waiting to be cut out. Once things are jump started again you'll see more posting of the quilt persuasion on here, I promise :)