Done!

Now I'm able to cross the last "to do" off my list, not counting the Hometown Christmas! Yay me!

Getting up the courage to cut the scallop took a little bit, and THEN working on that ruffled binding--well, I'm guessing I'm not going to be making ruffled binding very often, that's for sure!

I'm sure I could have made the ruffle much quicker on my Bernina, but for some reason (because I was too lazy to want to switch machines), I did it by hand instead. ARGH!

Well, August is coming to an end. How did the rest of you do on getting things done? I want to have a little giveaway for those bloggers in my sidebar who committed to getting things finished this month and who actually finished at least three things. Please leave a comment for me about what you finished or post your finishes on your blog--I'll be checking in to see how everyone did.

While I was waiting for the cherry quilt to wash and dry, I went through all my old quilt magazines, although I still need to organize the pages I decided to keep--maybe I'll do that tomorrow night so I can finish all my "chores" before the month is over.

Open House

The afternoon was spent at Bearpaws and Hollyhocks meeting new friends and visiting with old friends (and that's NOT to say any of us are OLD; we've just known each other awhile!). What a lovely way to spend part of a Saturday! The only drawback? The weather outside was over 100 degrees; and so the "weather" inside was considerably warm as well. We all survived, though, and had lots of goodies to eat and drink while we visited. And did I remember to bring my camera? No, I did not, I'm sorry to say. I DID think about packing it to bring a couple times earlier in the day but forgot. You'll just have to take my word for it: There were wonderful quilts and projects displayed all over the shop and all of us looked simply mah-va-lous, my dear! I caught up with Ms. Pam (Orcsmom) who mentioned life has slowed down enough so she thinks she'll get a new blog post up soon--and she's promised it will be a good one! And Gran was there, so we got to catch up too--both of us have been quite busy with things at home lately and haven't had a chance to talk in a week or longer. Then there were all the shop ladies--they were pretty busy most of the afternoon, but we did get to chat a little bit from time to time.

On the way to BP&HH, I stopped at Starbucks to pick up a latte, and the boy working the counter looked at me and said, "Is that pin you're wearing a PUMPKIN?" Sigh. Of course, I had to explain WHY I was wearing a pumpkin pin in August when it was 102 degrees outside, and of course, he probably had absolutely no idea what quilting is and why anyone would be teaching it or attending an open house or--for that matter--be wearing a pumpkin pin in August, but by the time I was done, he didn't seem inclined to ask any more questions and my latte was ready. Good thing he wasn't working there when I came in wearing my bunny slippers on the way to the Spring! class last February or March!

After the Open House, Hubby met me at the shop and we drove the short distance to the Green Jade restaurant for dinner. You may remember that I'm the one who cooks on the weekends, and I knew I wasn't going to want to do that after the Open House. Sitting in a quiet Chinese restaurant, enjoying a good meal, and relaxing was the perfect way to end a busy day for both of us!

At the Open House, as I normally do, I held a raffle for a little Halloween giveaway--a small tabletopper quilt and a goodie bag. And since you couldn't be there and since I told you last night I'd post my last giveaway of things I've cleaned out of the Sweat Shop, that's what I'm going to do now. Same rules apply--there are four giveaways and you'll need to leave a separate comment for each one you want to enter. I'll draw names early this time--since Monday is August 31st, that's when I'll draw. The winners will be posted on my Monday night/Tuesday blog post and you'll have to come back to see if your name was drawn!

Giveaway 1 is a book stuffed full of quilt designs for that special guy in your life. There are something like 13 quilts; some using piecing, some applique. There are quilts for hunters, fishermen, carpenters, golfers--you name the guy-hobby and there's probably a quilt in this book based on it.

Giveaway 2 is a Cover Story panel from Thimbleberries depicting bobbing for apples--perfect for Fall!

Giveaway 3 is a book about foundation piecing--I have no idea where I got it, but I've never used this method and apparently I haven't been curious enough since the book came to me to try it, so I thought I'd pass it on. Any foundation piecers out there? Or anyone who'd like to try? There are some nice looking quilts in the book!

Giveaway 4 is for two patterns--one is an appliqued wreath quilt and one is a pieced heart quilt--both are suitable for wallhangings, although the pieced heart quilt would make an equally good tabletopper or small lap quilt.

Finally, one of last week's giveaways is still unclaimed--the book of machine quilting patterns. If I don't hear from the winner by the time I announce the winners of these giveaways, I'll draw another name--I still have the names of those who entered that giveaway.

Good luck to you and thanks for stopping in to visit!

Celebrate!

Oh, YAY, the weekend is here! On the one hand, it seemed like the work week went by in a blur, but on the other hand, it seemed like the weekend would never arrive.

Why celebrate? Because it's the weekend. My time is my own for the next couple days. I don't have to get up at a certain time or go to bed at a certain time. I can do what I want with only a few limitations.

Those limitations? Sometime this weekend I need to clean house. And tomorrow, Saturday, I need to be at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks from 3 to 7 p.m. But how can spending time at a quilt shop be classified a "limitation"? I don't think it really can--I guess it's more of an "appointment."

Tomorrow's the shop's Open House, kicking off the fall/winter season and the new class schedule. Because I'm a teacher, I like to attend each open house so I can chat with potential students and answer any questions they may have about my classes. If you're here in the Sacramento area, please stop by and say hi!

This session, I'll be teaching the Frightfully Crazy Buggy Barn class again on September 12th (and will need to start getting ready next week so I can surprise my students with Halloween treats!) and a Christmas class in early November. For my Christmas class, I'll give my students several patterns for making Christmas decorations (wallhangings, quilts, etc.) and gifts, and I'll help them get started in class by showing samples and describing the techniques they'll need. Of course, you know me by now--it will mainly be a good excuse to have a Christmas party and sew at the same time!

Why else does "celebrate" come to mind tonight? Well, so far--after only two days, mind you--the Wellbutrin seems to be working pretty well. My stomach has calmed down and I'm feeling much more "normal." Someone commented the other day about weight gain on Wellbutrin--I checked the statistics and was interested to see that according to one study, a little over 9 percent of patients gained weight, while 28 percent lost 5 pounds or more. Maybe it depends on what a person normally does when they're happy--eat more or eat less? Well, we'll see. I anticipate I'll only be on this stuff for less than two months, so whatever I might gain or lose will probably reverse itself when I go off. BUT--when I come back from quilt camp (where they feed us non-stop, I swear!), I'm going to make an effort to eat healthier and get more exercise, so maybe I'll be among those who lose weight on it.

Funny thing though--so far (again--after only two days, so who knows what it really means?), my mood has been pretty darn happy and I've stopped being as obsessive/compulsive as I normally am. Good? Bad? I'm more relaxed and not quite as driven to get things done, so it could go either way, depending. I have a quilt that's waiting for binding, but tonight I'm just sitting around, reading and relaxing. But I shouldn't over-analyze at this point; only time will tell. But so far, so good!

Shall I tell you another reason I'm ready to celebrate? Only one more week of work before I go to quilt camp. I AM SOOOOO READY! I know you'll miss me while I'm gone, but I'll get some photos and maybe I'll come back with a few stories to tell. This is pretty much the view:

As you may imagine, it's hard to decide whether to quilt or stare out at the lake--ah, the decisions that must be made when one is living in Paradise, huh?!

And a final reason to celebrate? I have a few more things from sorting out the Sweat Shop that need a new home, so I'll do a final August giveaway post tomorrow night. My August "tasks" are nearly done--I still have to sort through my quilt magazines and get that binding on the quilt I'm working on and then the only thing left on my "to do" list will be the Thimbleberries Hometown Christmas. I can see I WON'T get that done in August, but it doesn't really matter--I think I've done pretty well, working toward my goals. And that, too, is reason to celebrate!

What are you celebrating?

No Willpower

A couple days ago, I said I was doing fairly well at ignoring the "call" of winter/Christmas fabrics. Several of you mentioned you were drooling a bit over the Figgy Pudding fabrics, so in a weak moment, I decided to take another look at the line. Why do I do that to myself? Yes, I did order a little bit more. I found a shop online that had the fabrics at a good price and a layer cake on sale, and I was undone. Shameful.

When it comes to quilt-related stuff and books, I have hardly any willpower. But what about other things? Food? I'm okay there, depending on my mood and whether the moon is full, although that's not to say I don't give in to temptation more than I should. It's just that I don't feel I need to eat everything I see--so I'm better about food than I am about fabric and books.

Shoes? Nope, not my weakness. Maybe they WOULD be if my feet were easier to fit, but they aren't. So me and shoes is kind of like I imagine I would be with fabric if I was color blind; or books if I was just plain blind, blind. Nah! Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I'd still have a lot of fabric and books.

Some women are tempted by designer handbags. Not me. Clothing? Well, I like clothes and I certainly look better in them than out of them, but I don't care for shopping much, so clothes aren't a big temptation. In fact, I stopped in at Kohl's tonight for a new pair of slippers and considered some new summer jammies, but I resisted, and it really wasn't that hard. I didn't even cry.

Make-up? Hair stuff? Toiletries? Going to the beauty parlor? Nope. Sometimes it's necessary but most of the time, I don't think about that kind of thing. Not until people run away from me screaming, and then I figure it's time to look in a mirror and take steps to correct things.

You know what? Now that I think about it, I'm a pretty good bargain in a wife. I'm not tempted by a whole lot of things that tempt most women, so Hubby's getting off lightly. Not to mention the fact that he's surrounded by some good quilts. So I guess I'm not that bad after all! Hey, what's a little fabric and book buying now and then compared to what I COULD be spending? In fact, considering all the money I've saved right here, I think I'll go take one more look at that Figgy Pudding line.

A Second Opinion . . .

So I finally broke down and went to see the doctor today. After the whole yogurt fiasco and recovery from the brink of death, I felt totally and completely marvelous--for four days, until Monday, and then the stomach problems came back (although not nearly as bad). At this point, given the circumstances and my surroundings when the illness recurred (MONDAY at WORK), I'm pretty sure it's a work-related allergy. Nevertheless, being mindful of all your suggestions and having come to the realization that spending half my time in the bathroom occupied AWAY FROM THE SEWING MACHINE was cutting into my quilting time, I made the appointment and went in.

And I'm happy to report that the doctor agrees with my diagnosis: I'm not dying just yet.

Actually, he concurred with one of my other differential diagnoses: It's probably related to my having quit smoking and nicotine withdrawal. He brought it up--I didn't prompt him with flashcards. So that stomach stuff, combined with the intermittent depression I'd mentioned before, along with my debit card, netted me a bottle of Wellbutrin, a mood leveling drug that was developed as a smoking cessation aid. Oh, and some Peptobismol. So now I'm set. And while I was waiting in the pharmacy, I perused the allergy medication aisle--nothing for a work allergy that results in stomach distress upon sighting the boss. Nope! Everything in the allergy aisle seemed designed to treat sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes. It's a conspiracy by the drug manufacturers, I'm telling you!

But enough about me. Let's talk about you.

What did you say? Oh! You want to know who won the giveaways? Well, why didn't you SAY so instead of letting me go on and on and on about moi?!

Okay, here it is--Giveaway #1, the rotary cutting/piecing book, goes to Missy Ann, who was lucky number 7!

Giveaway #2, the applique pattern, goes to Sandy A. (Scottylover), who was lucky number 13! (I LIKE #13 because I'm just that way--a rebel!)

Giveaway #3, the quilting pattern book, goes to Diane H., in Ontario, Canada, who was number 4.

And Giveaway #4, the fall veggie/pumpkins/sunflowers fabric packet, goes to Melissa (aka Auntia) who was number 22.

Congrats, ladies! Please privately email me your full name and mailing address, and I'll get these goodies off to you. You can email me by clicking into my profile and then clicking on email.

And finally tonight, let's finish up with a little treat for some of you Thimbleberries fans. I got a tip that the Fat Quarter Shop has pictures of the 2010 Thimbleberries Club block-of-the-month project, Village Green. Click HERE to get a look at what's coming. I DO like houses and, more than that, I've missed my Thimbleberries Club friends this year, so I just might have to rejoin for 2010. So, those of you who like Thimbleberries--what do you think?

Addendum: Okay, I just found on the Jolly Jabber Blog that if I mention their giveaway, I get extra entries, so I'm mentioning it here. DON'T GO OVER THERE AND ENTER THOUGH, because I want to win, okay? Don't even think about it. I'll be checking, and I know who you are! Just click on that link and join the club or order something and tell them I sent you. (Seriously, don't you think a nice Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate will do me a LOT more good than Wellbutrin and Peptobismol?)

One Ringy-Dingy . . .

Fall's calling. And until I finish these August projects, I can't answer, darn it! I know what it's calling about, though. Want to see?

I think I mentioned awhile back that as I was cleaning out my patterns and books, I'd pulled out a couple patterns and books I wanted to think about for fall projects.

These three patterns are all great! I sure doubt I'll get time to make all of them this year, and I don't even know which I'd pick to make first, but I have them out where I can see them, and dream . . . .

Same with this book by Disa Designs. I love just about all the projects in this book, but I particularly like the one with the stacked cat, pumpkin, and ghost. Or the wallhanging with the crows, pumpkin, and ghost. Or . . . or . . . or--well, I like it all! And I bet I could actually DO these fairly quickly using wool and the same method I tell you to use with my Little Adventures patterns. Yep, I bet THAT would work!

Then there's the Buggy Barn cats. It was hard to decide between the cats and the witches, but I knew more of my students would be making the witches, so that's what I picked. I think I might take the witches with me to quilt camp and finish them there. But I'll be teaching the class again, right after I come back from camp, and I'll do the cats for that one. I already have the fat quarters picked out and bundled together with a pretty ribbon, all ready to go. THAT was something I did when I cleaned out my fabrics!

And these fabrics? One of the ladies in my Jo's Club and Clues in the Calico class is making a sampler-type quilt using these colors/fabrics and it's really wonderful! The focus fabric on the right is Winterthur Museum-Winterthur Toile by Andover and the print comes in two sizes--this is the larger pattern of the two. I'd love a really elegant autumn quilt made from these fabrics, although I'll need to collect a bit more--some nice greens, a little black, maybe a little more red too.

Oh! I forgot about call waiting--turns out Winter's calling too!

I'm doing a reasonably good job not answering Winter's call so far, but I thought two little charm packs and a little bit of yardage couldn't really do any damage, could they?

What projects are calling you?

Going Into the Final Stretch

I've been visiting the ladies listed in my sidebar who are trying to get projects finished for August. Isn't it funny how many projects accumulate that really take so little time and effort to finish once we sit down and really work on them? So often I'll put things aside to move onto the next deadline project and never go back once the deadline pressure has passed. And in visiting some of my Blogland friends, I've seen many of you are finishing up just these kinds of projects.

Carline has taken on the challenge of cleaning out her quilting things and getting rid of the items she isn't using. Way to go, Carline! I know it's hard to part with things sometimes, but it's awfully nice to have the money in your pocketbook and the extra space in your sewing room, isn't it?

Becky and Mary (Greenmare) have both gotten a lot of table runners finished up, and Crafty Carol has finished some darling totes--including one that she started a long time ago. Mary also finished a quilt as did Colleen (cute sheep!). And DeeLee completed a wonderful block of the month quilt top (flimsy)! Great jobs, ladies!

I had to laugh when I read Julie's blog post, because I SO agree with what she had to say--she's been getting so much done, she's feeling a little burned out and had to take a day off. Wow, just look at her list of projects that she's crossed off and you can certainly see why!

I know that several other ladies over in my sidebar have been hard at work but haven't had a chance to post yet. Make sure you stop in and visit them all to see what they've been doing--I bet you'll be impressed! (Although I didn't include links within this post, you can click on the links to their blogs in my sidebar.)

And what have I been doing? Well, remember what I said about all those projects that can be finished quickly but get put aside for one reason or another? Those are the types of projects I worked on this weekend.

On Saturday, I finished appliqueing the words on this quilt top--this was really the most time consuming project, but I'd been working on it on and off while quilting the Halloween/Fireworks! quilt. Now it's in my basket of "tops to be quilted." (I'm really going to have to dedicate a month just to getting some of those tops quilted!)

Then I just needed to add the binding on this one--piece of cake! Especially since I pulled the binding out of my scrap drawer--it was a leftover piece from another project!

Finally, there was this one. I'd made the fronts of these pillow shams when I did the tutorial for the Scrappy Thimbleberries Stars quilt--all I needed to do was to sew on the backs, and now that's done!

I'll have to get a photo of my quilt rack soon--it's looking SO much better with all these little projects off of it! We need to see a photo of Greenmare's quilt rack too--hers was even worse than mine!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing and hearing about what some of us have gotten done and found a little inspiration for getting things done in your Blogland neighborhood--or found inspiration to begin a new project! One more week in August--that means there's still time to get things done! Thanks for visiting!

From A (Apples) to Q (Quilting)

Several of you asked in your comments about making and freezing apple pie. Gotta say, it's simple as . . . you guessed it! Apple pie! (Okay, very lame joke but what do you expect from me?!)

I usually make my pies according to the recipes in the Betty Crocker cookbook but any pie recipe will do. To freeze pies, just make them up to the point where you'd normally stick them in the oven, but put them in the freezer instead. Wrapped, though--I just use plastic freezer bags. It works with just about any fruit I can think of--if you've see it frozen in the grocery store, then try it at home. We're getting toward the end of peach and berry season, but you might still be able to get some fruit at the store or your local farm if you hurry. Just think how wonderful it would be to have "fresh" peach or blueberry pie in February! Yum!

I had Hubby help me draw a winner from the "300,000 contest." I wrote the names on strips of paper and folded them up, and he drew one--

That's supposed to be Happy Cottage Quilter, in case you didn't know--my strips weren't quite long enough to spell it all out and I was kind of lazy. Congrats, Ms. H. C. Quilter! Please email me your snail mail address and let me know whether you'd prefer the kit of the Changing Leaves little quilt pattern or the box of scraps from the Sweat Shop, and I'll get whatever you pick in the mail to you!

Now, it's time for me to tell you what I've pulled out of the Sweat Shop for giveaways this week. As usual, leave me a separate comment for each giveaway you want to enter.

Giveaway 1: A book with all kinds of basic quilting information. This is a nice reference for your own quilting library or it would make a pretty good gift for a new quilter.

Giveaway 2: I have no idea where I got these. The patterns, though, are kind of neater than they look. The packet contains some plastic templates for the applique blocks (I'm not sure how you'd use them, but I think there are instructions) as well as line drawn patterns for the blocks shown--these are all traditional applique blocks and, of course, need not be used in the setting shown on the pattern cover.

Giveaway 3: Book containing machine quilting patterns. These are like the plastic stencils you'd buy but are just printed on paper and there are tons of them. I'm not sure how they recommend transferring the patterns from the book to the quilt, but there are instructions.

Giveaway 4: Fabric. Pumpkins, sunflowers, and corn. Just in time for fall--these might just make a nice table runner or placemats for your Harvest/Thanksgiving table! There's a length of fabric that has six pumpkin panels as well as over a yard of coordinating fall "veggie" fabric and under a yard of "corn" fabric.

Leave me a comment for each giveaway you want to be entered into. I'll draw on Wednesday night and announce the winners on Thursday's post.

I've gotten TONS done over the weekend and I know some of you have too. I'll show you what I've finished tomorrow and let you all know which of the quilt bloggers in my sidebar have something to show--I know a few do!

This project isn't done yet, but I thought I'd show you what I'm working on now--getting this baby quilted! I have some fancy plans for the border, but you'll have to wait and see. Once this one's done, I'll have completed all my original project goals, and I'll just have the Thimbleberries Hometown Christmas left on my list.

I hope your weekend has been productive and fun too! Thanks for stopping in to visit!

Some New Stuff!

Some of you commented on my new photo--my second in the series of nude self portraits. Yes, a few people have told me recently they were bored with the first nude photo, so since I'd had a lovely beauty treatment yesterday, I thought it was too good to waste the opportunity. What do you think? Happy? Perky? My dad used to call me Twinkle Toes--that was back in the day when I was taking tap and ballet lessons. Of course, he usually followed that up by commenting I had two left feet. Dads!

And yes, I did get down on the floor for the photo shoot--and got back up again afterward. And lived to tell about it. Yep, I've still got it! It was my thought that by putting my feet up in the air, gravity would do its job, and they'd look better. Can't say it did much for the looks of my thighs, but then they're not in the photo!

Another new thing--as some of you noticed, the counter turned over. Someone asked if it could be working properly. I have no clue. I think I have a lot of people stopping in to read my blog but not a lot of you comment. That's okay--I do the same thing. If I have something to say, I say it; otherwise, I'm just happy to have stopped in and read whatever it is someone has to say. I do know that the counter information tells me it only counts each IP address once in each 24-hour period, so coming back multiple times doesn't affect the count.

I DO think there have been more people stopping in to read it than usual--initially, I thought it wouldn't turn over until tomorrow. But maybe it's that new nude self-portrait. You'd be surprised by what people search for in blogs! That may have brought readers in by the boatloads.

So, anyway, we had six people guess the right date: Barb, Miriam, Ronelle, Nancy E, Fiesta, and Happy Cottage Quilter. Add to that Anna (Quilt Mom) who tipped me off that the counter turned. If any of you go back and look at the comments and see that I've left anyone off who guessed August 22nd, please let me know. I'll put all these names into a drawing and announce the winner tomorrow night. If the winner is here in the US, she can pick either a box of fabric leftovers/scraps OR a kit of my Changing Leaves pattern; if the winner is outside the US, she'll get the kit (shipping the box of scraps would cost a fortune!).

There's a photo of what's in the kit--there's all the wool, the cotton fabric, the pattern (of course), batting, backing, etc., etc., etc. Pretty much, all that you'd need.

Since I'm feeling more like eating these days, Hubby pulled out the last frozen apple pie from last year's apple pie baking season, and I baked it last night. Yum! It's hard to believe August is nearly over and fall is right around the corner--and for us, fall means another season for heading up to Apple Hill and bringing back apples and all kinds of fall goodies!

Speaking of August marching along, here's my newest finish--the Halloween version of my Fireworks! pattern. I didn't have a place to lay it all the way out, so I just draped it over the chair. I think you can pretty much figure out what it looks like, right?

And, since the weekend is here, I just might have another finish (or two?!) to cross off my list tomorrow! Stay tuned and find out!

Oh, and because tomorrow's Sunday and it's August--tomorrow night I'll announce another giveaway of some type--something (or someTHINGS) I've found in the Sweat Shop and want to pass along to someone else. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I'll see you back here soon!

Death by Yogurt

I haven't said much to anyone, but I've been feeling awfully sick for the last month. Can I tell you about it?

Exactly one month ago, on July 21st and 22nd, I had a stomach flu and stayed home from work for two days. I'd been feeling achy and tired for several days before that, but I didn't think too much about it until the "real" symptoms made themselves WAAAAAY too obvious, and then I figured it out. I went back to work on my birthday, July 23rd, and I was feeling somewhat better. Of course, the celebrations over the next few days also helped distract me from any lingering effects, although I knew they were there a bit, off and on.

Now, a little background about me. I don't exactly eat right much of the time--not as well as I really SHOULD anyway. I don't get a lot of exercise. I'm overweight. My gallbladder and I have been parted longer than we were together. When I get nervous or stressed, my stomach and other internal parts rebel. So, given all that, my recent bout with stomach flu, and the fact that I'd quit smoking with a vague notion of trying to become a little more healthy, it's not surprising that when I went to the grocery store a week or two later and saw that Activia yogurt was on sale, I decided to "take the Activia challenge."

I'd tried it before when Activia first came out. The problem was, though, that I couldn't seem to remember to eat it more than two days in a row, and so I soon quit trying. This time, though, I was going to try harder. I bought four 4-packs of Activia in different flavors. Yum! And for the next two weeks, I ate a container of Activia every morning for breakfast.

When I started this yogurt thing, I really didn't expect that eating a small container of yogurt every day was going to do very much. Remember my first girl boss? She saw me eating some one morning and told me she'd been eating it for a year or two and loved it--it really worked! Humm. Okay, so maybe it would be good for me. And I found that if I added a half packet of Equal and some fresh fruit, it didn't really taste like sweaty gym socks after all--in fact, it was pretty good!

Did I notice much of a difference? I'm not sure, exactly. The bacteria in Activia is supposed to shorten the time it takes food to travel from the stomach and be eliminated. Yeah, okay, maybe that worked. I didn't test it--how would you? Never mind--don't answer that. But did I feel wonderful? No, not really. In fact, as time went by, it felt like that stomach flu was coming back again.

I wasn't sleeping well, but I attributed that to other causes. I didn't feel very well, but I thought maybe I was just still having some flu issues or it was the food I was eating. Do you remember when I posted that one Friday night about two weeks ago that we'd had dinner at my sister-in-law's house and I came home feeling really ill and went to bed? I thought it might be the spicy food we'd had for dinner.

So this went on for a little while. By this past Tuesday, I'd started having acid reflux in addition to the intestinal symptoms. And, for some reason, I decided to stop eating the Activia--I don't really know why except I thought that eating it and hurrying all that stuff through my body just might make me feel a little worse.

Tuesday I was typing a document on a case involving a guy with dyspepsia. Just to be sure, I checked the internet to see what dyspepsia was and it was just what I had. I learned that dyspepsia is pretty common and could be caused by many different things, but it could also be a sign of some really bad stuff in those of us in our mid-50s and older. Like cancer.

See, that's the problem with my job--it involves medical stuff, and I'm always quite positive I have whatever it is that I'm working on. So now I was certain I had cancer.

Wednesday came along, and I was still pretty sure I had cancer. I was feeling really, really horrible. Maybe I should go see my doctor? There was a problem with that plan, though: If I went to see the doctor, I knew he'd want to do a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. And by Wednesday I was working on another case where a guy went in to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and ended up dead. See what I mean? So I really didn't want to see the doctor.

Thursday, at lunch time, I was sitting in the office kitchen, looking at my microwaved diet mac and cheese lunch, and thinking about how I really hadn't been eating much--no wonder people with cancer lost weight. I threw out my leftovers and sat at the table with my head in my hands, wondering what I should do. Go to the doctor and die? Or don't go to the doctor and die?

I figured that sitting there, thinking about how rotten I felt, wasn't accomplishing anything, so I pulled some applique out of my bag and started stitching. About five minutes later, I realized I was feeling better. The power of the mind? The healing effects of quilting?

Miraculously, throughout the afternoon, I felt better and better. I don't know when the lightbulb went on in my head, but at some point that day, I typed into an internet search engine "Activia side effects," and there it was--people commenting about all the problems they'd had when they tried Activia--all the same stuff I'd been feeling for the past couple weeks!

Don't get me wrong--many, many people LOVE it! If you're inclined to try Activia, please do so--it may be just the thing for you! But it wasn't for me, that's for sure! Now, three days after I stopped eating it, I'm feeling wonderful again. I've gotten two good nights of sleep, and I plan to sleep well again tonight--and sleep in as long as I want because it's Saturday!

If you've ever been pretty sick--and I imagine most of us have--then you probably know how really wonderful you feel when you feel well again. And I'm feeling about 85 percent back to normal, so I'm feeling pretty darn good! So good, in fact, that I wanted to celebrate my return from the brink of death.

What do you think? I spent my lunch hour today getting a pedicure! Bliss!

I hope you have a blissful weekend planned!

Rewards

Do you reward yourself for your accomplishments? I hope you do! You deserve it!

August is two-thirds of the way over and I've accomplished several of my goals for the month. The Sweat Shop is cleaned up--STILL! I know there are a few naysayers out there who figured it would be a mess as soon as I put a toe across the threshhold, but it's still looking darn good, if I say so myself!

And those projects I've listed in the sidebar that are finished? Yep, patting myself on the back for those!

And the fabric I culled out of my stash that I didn't think I'd use? On it's way by car tomorrow to its destination, where it will be sold and the money raised will go to cancer research and/or treatment.

Not too bad so far! And what do I have left to accomplish? Well, there are still several more projects in my sidebar I want to work on--some of which I AM working on now! And I still have a stack of magazines I want to go through--every now and then, I like to take out the instructions and pictures for quilts I think I might make and either discard or give away the rest. So I have those to organize. But I'm getting there!

When I started this drive to get things finished up in August, I said that those of you who joined up would be listed in my sidebar and those who were listed and "finished" three or more projects during the month would be put in a drawing for a reward. So how are you doing? Who has finished three or more projects so far? I hopped around to a couple blogs and noticed some of you haven't posted for awhile--maybe you're too busy getting projects done? Can we see what you've been up to? Please leave a comment to let us know how it's going.

Want to see my reward?

Cool, huh? And best of all? I just had to buy the pattern and a few of the orange fabrics--the rest came out of my stash, so this will be a good stash busting project! In September, I'm going to quilt camp for several days, and this will be the main project I'll take to work on.

I don't know if you can see it very well, but the Halloween quilt I made using the Fireworks! pattern is underneath the fabric--I'm getting close to being done with the quilting, which means marking another project off my list. That sure feels good!

What are you planning to accomplish this month and what will you do to reward yourself? Please comment or let me know if you decide to write about it on your blog. I'd love to hear about your goals and rewards!

Winner!

We have a winner for the Box O' Kim's Big Quilting Adventure Sweat Shop Scraps! Woo-hoo! (And don't worry--I have another box waiting for the winner of the 300,000 contest--if you haven't entered that one, please visit yesterday's post--you have until Thursday night to make your guess before I close comments!)

Anyway, the winner of the scrap box? Ms. Punkie Pie herself! Jen, I'm glad you weren't beat up by your cousins or arrested on the Jerry Springer show so you could win my scraps. Just email me your mailing address, please, and I'll get this box in the mail to you. (BTW, I was a little startled to see you live in Scotland, since the giveaway was for US residents, but then I read further. Who knew there was a Scotland in Connecticut? You learn something new from blog hopping every day, I swear!)

Now, maybe someone could help here. I know I talk about me on my blog--because that's just kind of the way things are, you know? But I don't usually like to get all full of myself and tell you about how many hits I get (unless it's for the good of a contest) or how many blog stalkers followers I have because those are really just numbers, and probably none of you really care. I THINK that mainly what you care about is seeing what I'm up to and maybe, every now and then, checking in to see if there's a contest or a tutorial or something, right? But you know what? Someone commented and wanted to follow my blog and asked how to do that. And you know what? I'm not sure! I know it's possible without me having that "follower widget" in my sidebar because I DO get followers, but if someone knows how to become a follower of a blog that doesn't have a visible "follower widget," can you leave a comment explaining? The person who asked was "no-reply," so I can't even answer her directly, but maybe an explanation about the follower thing would help others too.

I quilted a bit more of the Halloween/Fireworks quilt tonight and I have the center part all done--just the borders are left and then, of course, the binding. Soon I'll have another project to add to the "done and dusted" list. I had to chuckle a little today because someone mentioned in a comment that they hoped I felt better soon, and that made me wonder what was wrong with me. Well, I guess it must have been where I said I was quietly quilting and planned to go to bed early with a good book. I actually do that sometimes even if I feel just fine--it's a lovely indulgence. But the funny thing is--for me, "going to bed early" often just means getting to bed before midnight! Otherwise, I often don't go to bed until closer to 1 a.m.

Well, since it's around 11:15 p.m. now, if I get off the computer, take my bath, and get my jammies on quickly, I just might get to bed "early" again to read! Happy quilting!

You Want Some of This?

Tonight I'm somewhat quietly quilting in the Sweat Shop and planning an early evening in bed with a good book, so I thought I'd just post a reminder that if you're interested in acquiring a rather heavy box of leftover fabrics straight from the Kim's Big Quilting Adventure Sweat Shop and if you live here in the US ('cause although a certain amount of fame has come my way, fortune is lagging far, far behind), please scroll down a couple posts to my giveaway (I think it was the Monday post) and leave me a comment saying you want to be entered to win. I'll be brushing off the old random number generator (aka Hubby) tomorrow night to draw the winner, so don't be late!

And here's another sort of fun thing, I think. Scroll down to that counter thing in my sidebar. As you'll notice, I've had more visitors than I can count on my fingers and toes, and it looks like it's not too far from turning over to another big number--if my blog was a car and those were miles, it would be on it's last legs, that's for sure! So here's the game. Tell me the date you think it will turn over to 300,000 visitors. Those of you who guess the right date will go into a drawing. And because I very rarely even look at that counter thing, the person who notices and first comments when it goes over 300,000 also gets into the drawing--maybe even as a second entry if the same person already guessed the date correctly too! I'll only leave the comments for this open until Thursday night, so get your guess in soon. After that, no more guessing and we'll see who wins!

Oh, and I suppose the winner would want a prize too? Okay, if the winner is here in the US, that person will get to chose either a box of leftover/scrap fabrics JUST LIKE THE ONE UP ABOVE or a couple of patterns--I'll figure out which patterns in the next day or two. And if the winner lives somewhere outside the US? The winner will get the patterns--because they're light enough not to cost me a fortune to send! I'm thinking the patterns will probably be a couple I'd like to give away and maybe one of my new Changing Leaves patterns WITH the wool necessary to make it. Or maybe just one of my kits I've made up for that pattern (you can see a photo of the kit in my Etsy store). Or something like that--something pretty okay anyway. So, do you want to play? Leave me a comment ON THIS POST with the date you think the counter will turn over to 300,000. Don't you just love a good guessing game?!

Various Stuff Inside My Head

Being a night owl is a very difficult job. It means that the later in the day it gets, the more stuff you have filling your head. Sleep is hard because you're suddenly QUITE motivated to do all the things you're thinking about. Well, tonight there's a lot of thoughts going around in my head, but they aren't so much thoughts of things to DO--more like thoughts that excite the enthusiasm receptors in my brain. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I DID just make that up!)

Tonight was Gran's Knot-y Ladies embroidery class and that was tons of fun. As usual, I sat at the back of the class and tried not to disrupt the class too much, but it's very hard to be good. Originally I signed up for the class for inspiration and to brush up on my embroidery stitches so I could include some stitchery in my quilting and applique work, but I've found that Gran actually EXPECTS US TO DO EMBROIDERY PROJECTS! Can you imagine? Sheesh! So I sit at the back of the class and try not to draw attention to the fact that I'm probably not quite as serious an embroiderer as some. Sadly, I think I'm much more "naughty" than I am "knot-y," and I expect I'm a sore trial for the teacher.

Guess what, though? My friend Julia brought the issue of Irish Quilting magazine to class with her--the one I'M IN! Woo-hoo! I finally got to see myself in PRINT! After I wrote about it last time, I had an email from the magazine's publisher (or editor?--the gal who does all the work, anyway!), asking for my mailing address so she could send me a copy, so don't feel sorry for me--I'm sure mine is coming. AND I had an email from the author, Anne Marie, who sent me a copy of what she wrote, so I know what the article says. But seriously, it's so much more fun to actually SEE something like this printed in a wonderful magazine than to just hear about it! What fun, huh?! Julia said I was her show and tell for the evening, so I told the class how it came about and we passed the magazine around. It's so hard being the center of attention that way!

Then I came home and found an email from blog reader Ruby, who surprised me by enrolling in the Fireworks! class I taught in the spring. Ruby sent me a photo of her COMPLETED Fireworks! quilt--all quilted and everything! It's VERY exciting to me to see quilts I've designed and taught all done and looking quite beautiful! I wrote back to Ruby to say I hoped she wouldn't mind if I shared the photo--and I sure HOPE she doesn't because I'm going to guess it's okay with her and show you anyway. Here it is--

Excellent job Ruby did with this, don't you think?! This is the same pattern I'm working on quilting now, done in Halloween fabrics. I'm thinking about adding a big, black spider because the one I'm doing looks to me a bit like a spider web.

Oh! And check this out: Dianne of the Pink Flamingo Slippers is making the same quilt using Wintergraphix fabrics and she just posted a photo of the pieced center on her blog. So yep, I'm QUITE full of myself tonight, aren't I?!

And speaking of me, I gather from some of your comments on yesterday's post, that you think I might have a wee bit of fabric stashed away in the Sweat Shop, hum?! Gee, I sure don't know WHAT makes you think THAT! Seriously, I've been stashing fabric with the best of them (well, maybe not QUITE as well as LA Quilter Vicky) for a lot of years now and I've only had one other clean out where I gave fabric away for use in some donation quilts. So it was time again. Now my shelves and I are much happier, as are the recipients of the fabric I cleaned out of my stash. A couple of my quilting friends picked out what they thought they would use, and the rest is going to be sold to raise money for cancer treatment/research, so it's all good!

Do you ever visit Blackbird Designs' blog? They have the BEST stuff! I was checking in on Colleen's blog last week and she had posted a photo of Blackbird Design's upcoming Halloween quilt. Oh, I LOVE that quilt! I immediately sent Lindy (at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks) a photo and said we really, really NEED that pattern, and when I was in the shop the other day, she said she had ordered several copies and might make up kits. And you know what? I HAVE SOME EMPTY SPACE ON MY FABRIC SHELVES. Funny how that works out, isn't it? I think it's some kind of cosmic, biorhythm, karma thing or something, don't you? Now I wonder if that pattern will arrive at the shop before I go to quilt camp in September? Because I'm thinking quilt camp just might be a good place to work on it!

Of course, there's much, much more stuff in my head, but you're probably getting kind of tired of me by now, so I'll just finish up here, go to bed, and try to calm down enough to sleep. Darn, but life is hard when you're a night owl!

[NOTE TO ORCSMOM: Sorry you couldn't make class tonight. I think we distracted Gran so much that she forgot all about making us do yoga!]

Progress

I've been making progress, I think. I thought I'd share the "makeover" photos.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

It's still a small room, so no matter what I do to it, it's going to look a bit cramped, but at least it's much better organized and cleaned up now--it's a pleasure to work in there! And what am I up to now?

I'm working on quilting one of the projects on the list in my sidebar!

I've been by to visit the quilters who have accepted the August challenge and some of you have been working quite hard! Anna/Quiltmom's making progress getting things done and has brought out a red and green quilt she'd like to change in some way. Any suggestions for her?

Carol at Carol's Crafty Creations--well, she's started something NEW, but that's okay since it's recycled from me. As I'm cleaning out things, I've listed a few items on Etsy, and Carol purchased the Christmas List pattern from me--she's already done the first block.

Heckety's finished her second quilt, and from the look of her dining room table, she's been busy sewing up a storm!

Laura has finished a Christmas candle mat and Moneik has been making some wonderful bags! I didn't insert links to these ladies' blogs in this text, but you can click on their names in the side bar to go over and see what they've been doing and cheer them on.

And me? Besides starting to quilt one of my projects, I spent much of the weekend cleaning out my stash and filling a couple boxes with fabric to donate to a good cause. I also filled a medium Priority Mail box with scraps and more for the winner of this week's giveaway. I'm sorry, but I'll need to limit entrants in this giveaway to United States residents as shipping this box to another country would cost me a small fortune! I'll have more giveaways soon that anyone can enter, though, so be patient. And by now you know what to do, right? Just leave me a comment saying you want to be entered in the drawing, and I'll pick a winner on Wednesday night to be announced on my Wednesday night/Thursday post.

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend! Thanks for visiting!

The Reveal

I enjoyed teaching the Buggy Barn class today, but for some odd reason, I woke up at 6 a.m. feeling quite nervous. Seriously, I haven't been at all nervous teaching the last couple classes, so this came as a surprise. And, since I've quit smoking, I couldn't even have a cigarette to calm my nerves--and boy, I sure wanted one for a little while there! Once class started, though, I settled down. I think it was partly just anticipation!

I had 11 students today--the class WAS full with 12 but one of the students had to cancel. Still 11 was a nice size. First I wanted to show you the quilt top Lindy (Bearpaws & Hollyhock's shop owner) had made that generated a lot of interest in this particular Buggy Barn class.

Cute, huh? I love those dangly legs! Lindy had "kitted" up fat quarters for the witch blocks--three deep yellow fat quarters, three black fat quarters, and three blue fat quarters--and that's what I used for mine. Last night, one of the things I did to prep for class was to make some of those dangly legs.

The students were to pick any of four quilts in the Buggy Barn's Frightfully Crazy book, and out of the 11 students, 9 decided to do the witches and 2 were working on the cats (I want to make the cats for the next class I teach in September), so most of us were working on the witches.

This was the first time some of my students had made any of these types of "stack and slash" patterns and I really got a kick out of seeing how exact one of the gals, Darlene, was trying to be about sewing the pieces back together. The whole method goes completely against everything we've learned as quilters, and some of us take to it just fine, and others go kicking and screaming--Darlene was kicking and screaming and clutching her rulers the entire way, but I was very pleased that by the end of class, she seemed to have relaxed into the process and was doing a great job.

I loved Darlene's choice of fabric, so I thought I'd take a quick photo to share.

Here I've put up my block and Darlene's block on the design wall--it's helpful for the first time Buggy Barn students to see how "wonky" a "completed" block looks; otherwise they tend to think they're doing something wrong! I wish I'd gotten a photo of Imelda's block--she added a little bit of stuffing to her witch legs and they were really cute!

And the treat bags? Since one of the students dropped out, I got to keep one for myself, so I figured I'd share and show you what was inside.

A bag of snack mix--the recipe comes from the Frightfully Crazy Buggy Barn book; a Halloween bag stuffed with candy, a pencil, a couple of erasers, and some stickers; and my new "Little Adventures" pattern along with scraps of the wool they'll need to make it.

Part of the way through the class, when no one was paying much attention, I "distributed" the "treats" hubby contributed. When the Halloween pencils I'd ordered online didn't arrive on time, he volunteered to go to a party supply store on Friday to get pencils for me, and he couldn't resist buying everyone an eyeball.

These eyeballs are kind of sticky, so I was able to set them on the tops of the sewing machines, where they'd stay in place. And weren't my students surprised to come eyeball to eyeball with them?! Yes, I think they were!

All in all, it was a good class--in my opinion, anyway! After class, I came home and took a little nap before cooking dinner. I then spent the rest of the evening in the Sweat Shop, taking all the fabric off the shelves and sorting it out, dusting it off, and sneezing my head off! I wish I could stay I finished, but I can't--I still have more to do tomorrow. At least getting reacquainted with some of the fabrics I've purchased and forgotten about is kind of fun! How are you doing on finishing UFOs and cleaning things out? I think I'll do a little blog hopping tomorrow and stop by to visit you--see you then!

Nearly Ready

I'm very nearly ready for the Buggy Barn Halloween class tomorrow--I just have a few things to pack up. Here's something I've been working quite hard on:

What do you suppose those are? And I wonder what's INSIDE of them? I'll show you and tell you more tomorrow.

I heard from Carol over at Carol's Crafty Creations today that the random number generator picked ME to win her pattern giveaway--the one with the Ms. Rosie patterns. Wooo-hooo! See, ladies? I TOLD you not to try to enter that one! Yep, I felt it calling my name when I first saw it on Carol's blog! Of course, you know I'll pass the patterns along once I've made the quilts--or decided I'm never going to get around to making the quilts!

How's everyone doing on getting things DONE? I haven't had a chance to visit you in the last few days, but once this class is over, I'll be by to take a look and see what you've been up to! And some of you wrote or commented that you didn't have a blog but would play along too--how are you doing? August is half over, and I know I haven't crossed off nearly as much as I'd hoped but I also know I've gotten a couple things done that aren't on the list, so I don't feel too much like a slacker!

Time for me to get to bed and rest up before class--I know I have a couple trouble-makers I'll have to keep an eye on tomorrow, so I'd better be alert. And if I'm not absolutely beat by the time I get home, I promise to tell you all about the fun we have. Happy quilting this weekend, and I'll see you soon!

Gettin' Stuff Done

I don't know about you, but for me, it seems like this week is speeding by! Probably because I've had so much to do to get ready for the class I'm teaching on Saturday. Add to that a few side excursions along the way, and there are just not enough hours in the day!

Boy Boss left today for a family thing in Ohio and won't be back until Monday. Girl Boss 2 moved last weekend and will be out of the office Friday afternoon, waiting for someone to come hook something up--her telephone, I think. Since the "kids" won't be around much of Friday, I'm thinking about taking the afternoon off work and finishing up the last things I need to do for class--which is mostly to make witch legs.

(And that reminds me--if any of my Saturday students happens to be reading this and are planning to make the If The Hat Fits quilt, you might want to pre-make your witch legs. Or not. It's really up to you and how driven you're feeling to get something done. Mostly I'm planning to have fun, but being the teacher and all, I have to set a good example and make at least some of my witch legs ahead of time.)

Oh, and I got a little side tracked this week--sort of. Well, I did a little project that wasn't even on my list of things to finish. How did that happen? I'll tell you the story another day, but in the meantime, here's what I finished today:

Isn't it hard to believe that it's the middle of August already and fall will be here before we know it? Where does time go? And how am I ever going to finish things in August with the month half over and me getting side tracked? ARGH!

I'm quite impressed that I've heard from all my giveaway winners and the packages are going out in the mail tomorrow! Usually I'll write a little note to the winners, but I was so pressed for time tonight, I didn't--I hope you'll all forgive me for being a little impersonal. I do want to thank you all for participating and checking in on me from time to time!

I've found that one of my quilting friends knows another quilter who "collects" fabric and sells it at an annual fabric sale to raise money for cancer, so my clean out will continue this weekend with my FABRIC stash! I have to get my unwanted fabric to my friend Teri this next week, so that's good motivation. And, of course, I'm sure I'll have a giveaway of fabric of some sort--watch for that in my Sunday night/Monday blog post.

Time for bed now--contrary to what some of you believe, I actually DO need to get a little bit of sleep now and then. See you here again soon!

Giveaway Winners

Just a really quick post tonight to announce the winners of the recent giveaway. I've been in the Sweat Shop, getting ready for Saturday's class, and it's getting too late tonight to chat much. Hubby long ago went to bed, so instead of Hubby, I'm employing a random number generator tonight to pick the winners.

Giveaway 1--Weekend Quilt Projects book: Sue Cahill (number 22)

Giveaway 2--Quick Rotary Cutter Quilt book: Mama Spark (not Mama's Park!) (number 4)

Giveaway 3--2 books (critters and blooms): Carline (Lady of the Cloth) (number 5)

Giveaway 4--Two Chicken Patterns: Dolores (from Canada!) (number 7)

Giveaway 5--House Sampler Pattern: Mary on Lake Pulaski (number 3)

Congrats, ladies! Please email me your mailing addresses and I'll get these in the mail to you. The books will likely be sent media mail, so it will probably take several days to arrive. And if I don't hear from any of the winners by the weekend (Friday night or Saturday), I'll draw a runner up winner.

Thanks for visiting! I'll try to be more chatty tomorrow.

Furry Stuff and Other Thoughts

My friend Julia sent me this email about the economy I thought you'd enjoy:

"It's definitely getting bad.

Cats are so dramatic!"

And speaking of cats--yesterday I stopped at the post office, and while I was there, I picked up two boxes; when I got home, I leaned them up against the desk in my office, but they didn't say there long!

I think we all know cats love to sit in boxes, but these were just flat pieces of cardboard! Obviously, she's completely and totally invisible in the photo below. Cats and kids--they just LOVE boxes, don't they?!

The Wild Child sent me a photo of my "granddog" Rocky--after all, everyone's grandkids play soccer, right?

Finally, I'll leave you with these thoughts--I found this in the printer at the office and I have no idea where it came from.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED

1. Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2. Wrinkles don't hurt.
3. Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet with a few nuts.
4. Today's mightly oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground
5. Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
6. Laughing is good exercise . . . it's like jogging on the inside!

I hope you jog on the inside quite a lot today!

Busy Quilting Blogger Round-Up

Okay, cue the RAWHIDE music again, 'cause it's round up time!

I've heard from some of you and randomly popped in on others on the list. I thought it was time to do a little recap.

Amanda's got a story to tell about why she hasn't gotten much done yet, and her story is much, much better than the old "the dog ate my homework" excuse. Stop by and see! She HAS sorted out her projects and identified what she wants to get done--that's a first step!

Carol has finished several projects and--I know you'll be excited by THIS news--SHE HAS A PATTERN GIVEAWAY GOING ON! Woo-hooooo! Go on over there and enter! She has seven "lots" of patterns and you can enter one or several--similar, in fact, to the one I had. Just don't enter the one with the Miss Rosie patterns--I've got dibbs on that one!

DeeLee has a VERY lovely star quilt completely finished! Go over there and drool a bit. I wish we could reach out and touch it as it looks very cuddle-able!

Heckety has a quilt finish too--in addition to a dancing husband and dog. I'm also fascinated by all the stuff her husband keeps in his pants pockets. Kind of reminds me of that old Mae West line. Well, never mind! Carry on Heckety!

Julie has cleaned up her stash and has a couple projects on her design wall. And look at all those lined-out projects in her sidebar that she's completed! I'm quite envious! I was looking at my one lined out project in my sidebar and wondering whether I should put in the first two projects I completed, just so I could line them out!

Paulette has a definite thing going on with Santa over at her blog, but she's doing more than making a list--she's actually getting it done! Ho, ho, ho, Paulette! Uh, Paulette? By the way, those "poopy walking breaks"? I think you brought something back with you and it got mixed up with your lovely white applique flowers. You might wanna check, okay?

Finally, Sandy over at Texan has another giveaway posted. Go on over and see who won the last ones and check out the new one.

And what better way to end a round up than with a Texan? Thanks for stopping in!

My Brain is Full of Stuff

Eeeek! No sewing was done today, and I have that class coming up on Saturday with much to do to prepare! I'm going to have to work extra hard all week to get ready. So what did I do all day instead? I cleaned! I'll need to take some photos of the Sweat Shop to show you soon--it's starting to look much nicer in there now. And the rest of the house doesn't look too bad either, come to think of it.

Today I sorted through quilting books, and I have three piles--a pile that's going to Goodwill (because the content of the books doesn't outweigh the weight/cost to ship them), a pile that I'll list in my Etsy shop, and a pile to give away here on my blog.

I also sorted through patterns again--and did a more complete job this time. In fact, I came up with a few more to give away.

Best of all though--or maybe not, depending--I found all kinds of stuff I'd like to make for fall! Woo-hoo! That's partly what the post title refers to. But first I have a whole lot of things I want to finish up this month. And I've gotten all that stuff sorted better too! I even got the Hometown Christmas rows I've done up on the design wall so I can see what's left to work on. And that's partly what the post title refers to too--all the things I want to get finished!

Okay, now for giveaway "stuff." First, let's see who won the little wool kit, shall we? Well, it's BJ! Congratulations, BJ! Please email me your mailing address and I'll put it in the mail to you!

Now for some new giveaway "stuff." I'll draw names on Wednesday night and post the winners on the Wednesday night/Thursday post--make sure you come back to see if you've won! And, like before, you can ask to be put into more than one giveaway, but please leave separate comments for each giveaway, okay?

GIVEAWAY #1: Weekend Quilt Projects book--cute, fairly fast projects with a country appeal. Although the book is a bit older, most of the patterns are still attractive and can be updated with newer fabrics.

GIVEAWAY #2: Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts by Pam Bono. Again, an older book but many of the patterns would look great in newer fabrics.

GIVEAWAY #3: Again, older books but this time, two of them! Simple patterns with some piecing and some applique.

GIVEAWAY #4: Do you like chickens? I DO! I went through a BIG chicken phase at one time and collected masses of them. I need to be pare down my collection a little bit though. So in this giveaway, there are two chicken patterns--one with Santa Claus and one without. Oh, and Santa has other barnyard animals. Kind of goofy but cute too, you know?!

Giveaway #5: House Sampler pattern. Kind of says it all, doesn't it? I have a friend who gets bored making the same block over and over again, and I can't help but think this is a good pattern for someone who wants to make different blocks but end up with a cohesive whole quilt in the end.

Because I was so busy today, I had Hubby get some Chinese fast food for dinner. Here's my fortune--

I don't think this applies to a person with a blog, do you?! Sheesh! Getting told to shut up by a fortune cookie! So much for my international fame! I guess it doesn't extend to China.

I had a couple comments today from bloggers who have been hard at work and have finishes to share, and I'll post those tomorrow along with a link to another blogger who's having a giveaway, so come on back!

Finishing Projects

How's everyone doing with finishing old projects? I've been working all day long on some little projects for next weekend's Buggy Barn/Halloween class, and I finished the most time-consuming part just a few minutes ago--some simple stitcheries. I can't show you just yet, but I'll share a photo or two next weekend after the class. I've added those to my list of things to finish in August--I had actually started these sometime in June or July, but I just limped along on getting them done until now that the pressure's on.

I know several of you love embroidery and I noticed I was having some trouble with my black floss "shedding" all over the muslin background. I thought it might be caused by my needle, so I changed needles but it didn't seem to make any difference. I'm using Presencia floss and I know lots of stitchers like it but I'm not too sure. What do you use and like?

I finally settled on the fabric I'm planning to use for the Hocuspocusville project.

I really like this Spook- tacular line. The black and white fabric on the left will be used for the outside border; the cream colored fabric is background; and the orange swirls with bats, etc., will be used for setting the 9-patch blocks in the center. I also got two charm packs for those 9-patch blocks. This is one of the reasons, though, why I'd like to find some black floss that doesn't shed.

I found myself thinking today about the Thimbleberries Hometown Christmas quilt I was working on a year or two ago--remember that one? There were several of us who were going to get that done, and I think only one or two managed to actually DO it. I've added that one to my sidebar list too, although I don't know when I'll get to it. I DO really like that quilt though.

I never did hear from the winner of the #2 pattern giveaway, so I've drawn another name--Nancy from Blogging, Near Philadelphia! Come on DOWN, Nancy! Woo-hoo! Email me your address and I'll send these out next week. The other patterns went in the mail on Friday--by the way, if you're a winner and receive a package from a law firm, that's just me--don't freak out. I printed the addresses at work and the printers automatically add the firm name and address.

Tomorrow (Sunday--which is really today, but I need to sleep first!) I need to do some housecleaning and some Sweat Shop cleaning--I'll sort out something--books, scraps, or magazines, I suspect--and come up with another giveaway, I'm sure! And tomorrow night, I'll draw a winner for the little wool kit, so make sure you come back to visit! And if you're in my sidebar for the August challenge, let me know if you post anything you've finished on your blog--we'd really like to see it!

Fame and Fortune!

I'm back this morning and feeling much better after a good night's sleep! First of all, I'd like to welcome all my new blog readers from Ireland and elsewhere. Turns out I'm famous now. Huh, imagine that! I'll try not to let it go to my head.

I suspect most of you have no idea what I'm talking about, and that's just fine because I'm going to tell you. The other day, I had a comment from Micki at Irish Muses congratulating me--she, and I, and another blogger are highlighted in an article in the fairly new quilt magazine, Irish Quilting. You can visit Micki and check out what she says about the article HERE.

I told Hubby that my blog was mentioned in Irish Quilting, and when he wondered why, I told him they'd probably discovered that he--a man of Irish descent--washed his wife's quilt with something wine red that bled all over the quilt and thought it worth writing about as a cautionary tale. I don't think he's buying it though. In the meantime, he's told his Irish-American family the news, and everyone's quite proud. The only thing is, I have no idea really what the article says. I've checked out a couple sources for sale of the magazine here in the U.S. but nothing so far.

The author of the article, Anne Marie, has a blog also, American Quilter in Ireland, and over the last couple years, we've exchanged a few emails on occasion. She has a lovely B&B in Ireland that I'd love to visit someday and now she's starting her own quilt shop! I'm quite honored (not to mention surprised!) that she would mention my blog in her article.

So, there's the "fame" part of this post; now for the "fortune."

A week or two ago, Kim Walus, designer and Moda Bake Shop contributor extraordinaire, had a giveaway of a little "Charmed Bag" she designed and demonstrated on the Moda Bake Shop site, and it turned out I WON!

Kim's blog is Bitty Bits & Pieces, and she always has good stuff to read about. I've "stolen" her charmed bag photo off her blog because it's a nicer photo than mine--

Isn't it darling? You can make your own if you go on over to the Moda Bake Shop and check out her directions. Here's a photo of what she sent--you can see the bag and the charm pack, but she also sent some lovely "treats" from Utah--caramel corn and two Utah truffle bars (mint and raspberry). Yum! THOSE will keep my energy level up through August when it comes to getting stuff done! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH, KIM! Yep, I'm surely fortunate!

Are you tired of hearing about ME yet? Me too! And if you've stuck through this post this long--and if you stopped by this morning only to find my poor excuse for a post last night--you deserve a chance to win a reward.

Bearpaws & Hollyhocks makes up monthly wool projects and here's the project for August (again, I stole a photo--this is from Pam's blog because I haven't made mine yet).

Would you like to win this little kit? I bought an extra one just for you! Leave me a comment telling me you want to be entered in the drawing, and I'll put your name in. I'll be drawing late tomorrow (Sunday) and will announce the winner on my Sunday night/Monday post, so this will be a quick one. Good luck!

Missing in Action Tonight, But . . .

We had a nice dinner tonight with my sister-in-law, but about an hour after eating, I started feeling ill. No one else felt ill--it wasn't the food, it's ME! I have things I wanted to talk about tonight too, but I'm going to bed instead. I'll try to post early-ish on Saturday, but not TOO early because it IS Saturday, and I'm sleeping in if I can!

P.S.: I just added Becky to the sidebar and she has some eye candy over at her blog to look at, so you didn't stop by here for nothing! Go take a look.

Three For Me!

Yes, another finish! This is the quilt top I made from Kaye England's Back Home Again BOM pattern using the Ellery line of fabric--it looks like ice cream or sherbet, doesn't it? Yummy! Although I have it laid out on my king size bed, it really fits a queen--our "spare" bed is a double, and I think it will be just fine on it once I get it quilted someday.

Enough about me though. Did you see how many bloggers are listed in the sidebar as participants in the Finish it in August challenge? I'm pretty excited so many of us are getting things done!

Paulette has been busy--go on over and take a look! She's got her own special name for this challenge though--she's calling it the "Sucking My Will to Live" Challenge. She says it's nothing personal, so presumably she isn't accusing ME of sucking her will to live--I think it's just the mounting pile of UFOs that are getting to her.

Sara has joined in the challenge, and she's identified a few things she wants to get busy working on. You might want to cheer her on--we all need the encouragement, don't we?!

Carol is trying to get something quilted every day--WOW! She still has binding to add, but she's gotten a few table runners quilted and they're looking great!

Anna has also been busy. She's been identifying some of her UFOs, trying to use some of her stash, and working on projects that have been hanging around for way toooooo long!

The weekend is nearly here and I have plans for getting some things done, although a good part of that time will be spent getting ready for a class I'm teaching the following weekend--A Frightfully Crazy Halloween Party at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks.

It's time for me to get off the computer and get a couple blueberry cobblers out of the oven. Want to come by for coffee and cobbler? If you're too far away, click on over to Nancy's blog for her Sticka Buttah Cobbler--that's the recipe I used tonight and it's super quick and simple to make.

Now, go forth and make beautiful things and I'll see you back here soon!

Da Rulz

Rules. I don't like them.

A couple people asked me today about the rules for joining in my little Finish it in August program. Not many, really. All I ask is that you have a desire to get some quilty stuff done that's been sitting around WAAAAAAY too long, and if you're so inclined, do something about getting rid of anything you don't want or need any longer. Of course, giving things to charitable groups is ALWAYS a good idea, but it's also kind of fun to give stuff to other bloggers, so I'd encourage giveaways too.

I mentioned a couple days ago that I'd consider a "finish" to be either getting something completely done or, with a larger quilt, getting a top (or flimsy) completed. And, although I won't require it, it would be kind of nice if you'd "share" your finishes on your blogs so we can all oooooooh and aaaaaaah at your accomplishments. And--if you'll let me know you've posted a finish (OR A GIVEAWAY!)--I'll post something on my blog and link to yours.

Simple, huh?

And despite the fact that I won't be wielding a stick, I DO have a carrot or two. At the end of August, those bloggers who have committed to getting stuff done--the ones listed over there in the sidebar--who have finished three or more projects will be put into a drawing. The prizes? Whatever I don't get done in August will be sent to the winner(s). Okay, NO, you're right--that's just me kidding with you again! But there will be some kind of reward for the winner or winners. And no, I'm not sure how many will win because I'm making this stuff up as I go--remember I don't like rules? But it will be good. I promise. At worst? You'll get something done in August. Cool, huh?

And for those of you who don't want to get anything done this month? Well, check in with me anyway because I'll be doing some giveaways of things I no longer want/need that are taking over the Sweat Shop. I'll be doing giveaways at least once a week, I think. Oh, and if I announced your name as a winner yesterday? Please email me your mailing address--so far I've only heard from Jess.

I'm glad you were able to stop by for a visit! Now GET TO WORK!

P.S.: Just after I wrote and posted this, I had an email from Carol, letting me know she'd posted what she's been working on. Pop over there and ooooooooh and aaaaaaaaah a bit over her cute projects!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' . . . .

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Rawhide!

By any chance, do you remember the old TV show Rawhide (with a young Clint Eastwood)? I keep hearing that theme music in my head whenever I think about getting stuff DONE this month. (At least it makes for a nice change from the usual voices in my head!) We have a pretty good number of bloggers sitting over there in the sidebar, participating in this particular quilting rodeo too! And for those of you playing along, what are you working on? I'll have to stop by to visit your blogs and see what's going on in your neighborhood and report back here.

Remember my quilt rack? Well, the oddest thing has been happening since I decided to grab hold of the reins of this runaway UFO Mobile and get stuff done. Here's how it looked when I came home from work today:

And this isn't the first time. In fact, it's the third time in the last couple days. Apparently Spike has decided to help me pick out projects by knocking them all onto the floor! Well, at least she's helped me figure out a few that I'd like to finish this month, and I've started a list in my sidebar.

No, no new finishes today. What did you say? Did I hear you ask what I'm working on? Well, remember the Back Home Again BOM quilt I was making with the Ellery line? THAT's what I'm working on. I should have something to show you in a couple days.

Now, you're probably wondering about the pattern giveaways, right? Here are the winners whose names were drawn at random:

Giveaway 1: Jess at Life in the White House

Giveaway 2: Donna D. of Hemet, California (no blog)

Giveaway 3: Gail (no blog)

Giveaway 4: Carol at Heirlooms for You

Ladies, if you'll click on my profile and then click on email, you can email me directly to give me your mailing address. I'll get these patterns in the mail to you this week! And if I don't hear from any of the winners by Friday, I'll pick a second place winner, so don't delay! I want to get these patterns out of here!

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Rawhide
Count 'em out, ride 'em in,
Ride 'em in, count 'em out,
Count 'em out, ride 'em in
Rawhide!

Another Finish!

Remember this quilt pattern? It's called Christmas List and the pattern is by Donna Yackey. I made this quilt top as a BOM at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks and finished the applique blocks around October or November, I think. Then the holidays started to interfere with normal life, and although I got the blocks together and the borders on, I hadn't added the appliqued gingerbread men in the corners.

Well, I've carried this quilt top around since the holidays, and in those several months, I managed to applique on two of the eight gingerbread men. Yesterday evening, I finally sat down in the Sweat Shop, got everything out that I needed, and started appliqueing. I finished around 12:30 a.m.

Isn't it funny how so many of us seem to collect these silly little unfinished projects? Since this top is now done, I can roll it up for pinning and quilting later--but not TOO much later! AND--and this is kind of exciting to me--I can FINALLY put away all the cottons and wools I had separated out for this specific project. Woo-hoo! Not only did I finish a project, but I was able to tidy away a small part of the Sweat Shop where that particular fabric lived for so long.

I really love this pattern, and I know some of you have already purchased it. If you haven't and wonder where you can find it, scroll down in my sidebar until you come to the part that says Sources for Purchasing Patterns . . . . If you click on Christmas List, it will take you to the Bearpaws & Hollyhocks website. Give them a call--if they don't have it in stock right now, they can probably order it for you pretty quickly.

Clean Out/Giveaway Alert!

Both Sheila over at The Second Twin Sews and Sandy over at Texan are sorting out and getting rid of some of their magazines. Need some new ideas? Click on over to their blogs and sign up to win one of their giveaways!

Okay, Let's DO IT!

You bloggers out there never fail to inspire me! Carol (of Carol's Crafty Creations) has posted a couple times recently about using what she has in her stash and not buying more for right now. She also recently had a scrap giveaway--what a great idea! So I looked around the Sweat Shop, and I got to thinking.

What IS this place?

How did it GET this way?

WHAT can be done?

That quilt rack in the photo above? Okay, I KNOW you can't actually SEE the quilt rack very well, but trust me--it's there under all that stuff. Well, that's pretty much where I stack things that are in progress. Quite a lot of things and not much progress, huh?!

So the FIRST thing I decided is to devote as much of August as I can to finishing things up. I'll keep a list in my sidebar of "finished" projects. Would you like to join me in getting things finished this month? I'll also keep a blog list in my sidebar of those of you who are determined to get a few of those UFOs finished during August.

And here's what I'm defining "finished" as: For smaller projects (i.e., table runners, bags, pillows, etc.), "finished" means all the way completed--done and ready to enjoy. For larger projects such as large wall hangings and quilts, "finished" may just mean the top is done, although you may not have gotten it quilted yet. Or, if you already have a top that's done, "finished" would be getting it quilted and bound. Make sense?

So, I'll count my hexagon quilt top as "finished" for this purpose. Now I'll roll it up and put it in my basket for quilting later.

I don't want to make this post too long, so I'll tell you in another post what else I have that I'd like to "finish" in August. I'll also tell you about a little contest idea I have for those of you who join in--a little incentive, because we ALL need incentive, right?! So stay tuned!

The SECOND part of what I want to do this month is get rid of some things I won't use or have already used. What do I mean by that?

Each Sunday, I'll gather together some things I'd like to move OUT of the Sweat Shop and give you an opportunity to win/claim them for yourself. This week, I've cleaned out my patterns and I have four giveaways. Here they are:

I've tried to group these according to interest/ability to some extent. For instance, Giveaway 1 and Giveaway 3 would be great for those of you who are interested in applique. If any of these pattern lots look like something you'd like, leave a comment. And while I have no objection if you want more than one pattern lot, you'll have to leave a separate comment for each giveaway you want because I'll move your comments from my e-mailbox into a folder for each giveaway.

I will likely do the same type of thing later this month with books and scraps, so check back. I'll leave the pattern giveaway open until Tuesday night when I'll pick winners and announce them on Wednesday's blog post. Please note--YOU MUST COME BACK TO MY BLOG TO SEE IF YOU'VE WON and then email me your mailing address to claim your patterns if you're a winner. If I do not hear from you by Friday, I'll pick a second place winner, okay? [CONTEST CLOSED--WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY'S BLOG POST.]

Now, if you want to do the same thing--clean out your unused and unwanted quilting things via giveaways--let me know and I'll mention your blog on mine. No sense holding onto stuff we aren't using when there may be other quilters out there who would just love to have them, especially with the economy the way it is.

I hope by the end of the month to have a leaner, meaner Sweat Shop, and what isn't yet finished, can come with me to quilt camp in September. After that, I know I'm going to start getting busy with holiday crafting and quilting, so I want to get ready NOW! How about you?

Where Does the Time Go?

I've been working on the hexagon quilt today, and I've finally finished the quilt top--I think. Well, it's done UNLESS I think of something else I'd like to do, but I really can't imagine what.

Do you lose track of time when you're quilting? I've just realized it's 3:15 a.m., and I had no idea it was that late! Time to get to bed--there are more projects to tackle tomorrow!

You Win Some, You Lose Some . . .

Hubby was invited to a friend's house to play poker tonight, so while he was gone, I changed all the locks. No, I didn't--that's just one of those little wifely fantasies I sometimes have.

What I REALLY did was meet up with Gran and Pam and our other friend, Darlene, for a girls' night out. We gathered at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks quilt shop, and from there, the four of us went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner and then to a movie--The Ugly Truth. What a fun time!

The Ugly Truth stars Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, and while it's not exactly Academy Award material, it had us dying laughing throughout the movie--a good movie to see with a bunch of gal pals! And--something none of us knew beforehand--it's set right here in Sacramento! Where was I when Gerard Butler was here?!

I smuggled two big boxes of Whoppers into the theater, but we were all too full of salad and focaccia bread from CPK to want to eat anything else, so I decided on the drive home that I'd empty one of the boxes into a bowl and count out how many were in the box--and the number of Whoppers would determine the winner of the little Halloween giveaway. Kind of a good idea, huh? Candy/Halloween? Yeah, I thought so!

Sixty-two Whoppers! And the 62nd comment was from . . . [drum roll please!] . . .

MICHELLE! Michelle of MichelleSews! Woo-hoo! Gosh, it seems like Michelle has been a Blogland friend of mine since I started blogging but I don't remember her ever winning one of my giveaways. Michelle, send me your mailing address and I'll get it in the mail on Monday or Tuesday. Congrats!

Now to tell you about the Big Quilt Catastrophy of 2009. Yes, Hubby washed one of my quilts--that red, white, and blue quilt pictured above--with a wine-colored blanket and a wine-colored bed skirt that had likely never been washed before. I seriously don't know what he was thinking--especially since the quilt didn't even need washing. Except that our new mattress was being delivered, and I guess he thought everything that went back on the bed should be washed first.

So yesterday afternoon, he called me at my office to tell me how very, very sorry he was--and, I suspect, to break the news to me when I wasn't close enough to kill him then and there. I told him to keep washing the quilt until I got home.

I've often heard Lindy at the quilt shop tell about a quilter whose red and white quilt bled and how she washed it and washed it and eventually the red came out of the white in time for her to deliver her quilt to a local quilt show. So I thought that was the easiest thing for Hubby to start with. By the time I got home, it had been washed three times and was still red, pink, and blue. I washed it several more times. We used laundry detergent and OxyClean. We used dye magnet cloths. And each time we washed it, it was just as pink as it has been the time before. Before bed, I washed it some more. Then I posted to my blog and asked your advice.

Several of you gave me some good suggestions to try. This morning, I went out to the garage where we keep our laundry stuff and rummaged through all of the cleaning supplies. Yep, I had a box of a cleaner somewhat similar to the Rit Red Out product--this was designed to remove dye that bled in a mixed wash load. So I decided to go ahead and use it. If anything happened, whatever it was had to be better than red, pink, and blue. Seriously. (Edited for inquiring minds: I used Carbona Color Run Remover.)

So, yeah, now I have a yellow, cheddar, and white quilt. Kind of different shades of yellow.

Yes, I did like the red, white, and blue quilt better, but I kind of like the yellow and white quilt too. I have a lot of yellow in my house, and the shades in this quilt now look kind of like an antique quilt. No, I wouldn't have set out to make a quilt in these particular colors, but it IS what it IS, and it's better than red, pink, and blue!

Now, I need to ask your advice again. Can anyone recommend a good "how to" book on laundry? Hubby's been doing ours for about 25 years now, but I think there are a few things he hasn't quite gotten the hang of yet.