A Call for Quilt Blocks!

Tracey over at OzCountryQuiltingMum is asking for blocks to make quilts for victims of the recent Australian fires. The Chocolate Cat will be helping to make up quilts from the blocks received. Of course I told Tracey I'd be happy to send her a block or two, and I thought some of you might be interested too.

They are collecting 12" (12-1/2" unfinished) blocks in "country" colors and prints--think Thimbleberries fabrics or Kansas Troubles for example. Any block pattern you'd like, since they will turn these into sampler quilts. Leave a comment on Tracey's blog if you're interested in making a block or two, and she'll email you back the details.

I think I'm going to make a couple blocks from the Scrappy Thimbleberries Stars tutorial posted on my blog HERE. They are the right size and go together fairly quickly--I thought I'd mention it in case you're willing to make a block but are stumped on what pattern to use. And, I figured it might be fun if the ladies from Oz receive enough blocks in the same pattern to put together into a whole quilt!

Hop on over to visit Tracey and/or The Chocolate Cat for more details. And here's an idea if you want to do something but don't have time to piece blocks right now--maybe you have backing fabric or batting in your stash you can send them, or even a little monetary contribution toward supplies. They haven't asked for anything except blocks and I haven't asked them what else they may need, but at least it's a way to help if piecing blocks isn't possible right now.

The Rivalry

It's Billy versus Vince!

Remember THIS post I wrote about a month and a half ago about Vince and his ShamWow? Several of you commented to tell me how crazy Billy Mays makes you. Seriously? I like Billy Mays a lot better. Or maybe that's too strong--Billy's the lesser of two evils. With Billy, at least I can turn down the volume. Vince? I'd have to turn down the volume AND blind myself.

So this morning, on my way to work, I was listening to the Adam Carolla Show and who did he have on? Billy Mays! And, as if Billy Mays wasn't treat enough, Anthony Sullivan was on the air with him. Do you know Anthony Sullivan? The Brit with the Swivel Sweeper? Here, maybe this will help:

Wanna hear a little gossip? Turns out Billy Mays, Anthony Sullivan, AND Vince were guests of the call center company they all use in the company's Super Bowl box. From what I could gather, Billy sees Vince as a light-weight upstart who hasn't yet paid his dues. And why? Well, here's Vince:

And here's Billy:

Notice they're selling what's basically the same product? And as if that isn't enough provocation, Vince's Slap Chop commercial? You know where he shows the "inferior" chopper that can't be easily cleaned, suggesting food poisoning will result from its use? According to Anthony Sullivan, that was Billy's product Vince throws in the sink.

By the time I got to work, Billy was calling out Vince, challenging him to a pitch man throw down. Should be an interesting rivalry. I'm kind of visualizing Billy as Batman, Anthony as Robin, and Vince as the Joker--except different. Instead of Batman!, it would be Pitchmen!

And lest you think any kind of story based on pitch men is a far-fetched concept, check this out:

"But wait . . . there's more. Infomercial gurus Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan have yet one more product to sell: themselves. They just signed a development deal for a reality TV series with Thom Beers and Original Productions Inc., creator of Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch. They'll find if there's network interest in a pilot for Pitch Men, a series about inventors and the direct sales people who create the need for their gadgets. 'It's really sort of my life story, so it will be old school starting at selling housewares on the Boardwalk,' Mays said."

Now you'll understand, I'm sure, why Billy and Anthony were on the Adam Carolla Show, hyping their new TV program. Yep, tune in to the Discovery Channel in a couple months to see the first episodes. I think, though, that I'll probably hold out for a Billy versus Vince WWE SmackDown. I'm pretty sure Billy's gonna kick Vince's skinny little . . . .

No One Told Me

No one told me that this cold/flu crud had a gastrointestinal component. Last Thursday, my stomach didn't feel too great, but then I chalked it up to the carnitas burrito I ate for lunch. (Good thing I passed up the seriously hot salsa and chips.) The days I stayed home--Friday, Saturday, and Sunday--I didn't eat a whole lot and I didn't notice any problems, but today I ran out at lunch for some Chinese fast food and about an hour and a half later--well, you don't need all the details, but let's just say I found out that more than just my head and chest were affected by this bug. (What amuses me a little though is to consider how much I earn an hour while I'm sitting in the bathroom at work. Yes, I'm amused by odd things, but you probably know that about me already. And at least it helps pass the time when my brain isn't otherwise occupied in the bathroom at work.)

Hubby's still sick and has an appointment to see his doctor tomorrow morning. Someone--either he or his doctor--seems to think he may have a sinus infection. I think it's all in his head. (Pun intended. Funny, eh?!) I asked him why he thinks he needs to see the doctor, and he said it's because he's still sick and isn't getting better. Hello!? He's been sick for four days, and from all I hear, this thing can last a week or two. But, whatever. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he DOES have a sinus infection and the doctor will give him antibiotics.

In the meantime, he's been running a fever, so he gets hot and turns off the heater. If anything, I've been chilled, so finding the heater turned off isn't making me happy. I'm thinking that maybe knitting needles up his nose might help with that sinus infection. Too bad I don't knit.

Time for a nice, hot bath, bed, and a good book. Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.: Today's the Wild Child's birthday and she's 25! Yes, my children were born three years and one day apart. What can I say? May was a very fertile month back in the day.

Summer Hats

What's more fun to think about on a gray winter day than summer hats?

I've been working on a Pieces from My Heart pattern this week called Hats, and having completed the quilt top, it was time to pin it for quilting. Rain clouds were threatening much of the day, so I couldn't pin the quilt on the patio as I usually do.

It took a little more work, but I cleared out the kitchen and brought in the tables. As you can see, it was a bit of a tight squeeze, but where there's a will--or a quilt to be pinned--there's a way! (And yes, that IS Spike under the table. She thinks she's a star!)

And here's the quilt:

Not a great overall view point--I probably should have stood on a chair or something, but the chairs had all been moved out. In fact, just to get this photo I had to wedge myself between the kitchen table (which had been moved into the kitchen "prep" area) and the stove. I took a close up for you though, so you could see a couple of the blocks better:

The blue, yellow, and white look so summery! I've started the quilting, but I doubt I'll have it done before the end of the week. Then there are a few wool and yo-yo embellishments to add before it's done. But I think it's looking pretty cute!

Hubby is still quite sick with this cold crud. Me? I think I'm feeling well enough to go back to work in the morning although I haven't gotten rid of it completely yet. I suspect I'll be pretty worn out tomorrow night after working all day, so if I don't post, you'll know I'm just tired--and busy quilting hats!

Thanks for visiting!

(P.S.: It's Soccer Son's 28th birthday! Time sure flies, doesn't it? I'm just glad I'm not getting older as quickly as he is! Happy birthday son!)

Cherry Delight!

Saturday morning found me feeling a bit better after a good night's sleep, so by early afternoon, I was ready to get out of the house and hit the errand-running road. First stop was the post office to mail off a pattern and pay a few bills. Next stop, the dollar store. I was looking for some flannel backed vinyl tablecloths but I didn't find any. I DID find some Easter goodies for the next class I'll be teaching--Spring! That will be another fun class, I think!

No day out would be complete without a stop at a quilt shop, so I headed on over to Bearpaws & Hollyhocks. I'm working on a really cute quilt and I needed some sashing fabric.

The blue floral fabric up front was in my stash and seemed perfect for the border, but I didn't have anything that was "right" for the sashing, and I needed something for cornerstones too. I came home with these three possibilities and ended up using the white with red stripe for the sashing. I thought the red floral would make good cornerstones, but I was wrong--too RED. The border fabric worked well as cornerstones though, and just as soon as I get the top done, I'll show you what I've been up to lately--I'll probably have a photo for tomorrow's post.

Next stop? Another quilt shop! I was looking for some black and white fat quarters for the Hey Ghoul Friend quilt I'm making for the class. Since I've already bought what was available at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks, I headed over to Running with Scissors.

Eureka! A bunch of black and white fat quarters! And can I ever just buy what I'm shopping for? Nah! What would be the fun in that?!

I really NEEDED this panel--probably about as much as I need a hole in my head, but I really, REALLY like cherries. There's more cherry graphics on the back side. What will I do with it? Heck if I know! But just so it doesn't get all sad and lonely waiting in my stash--

Yep, more cherries to keep it company! Up at the top of the photo, there's another piece of fabric from the same line with all-over cherry graphics, and then, as you can see, I found a few other fun and cherry things, like charm packs. I have no willpower. I think it's probably because my immune system is compromised as a result of this cold. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

At about this time in my Saturday excursion, I had planned to hit the Goodwill store next door to the quilt shop, but all the running around I'd done had knocked the snot out of me! (Not literally--I only wish!) It's funny how you can have a cold and feel more or less okay but then you get tired out really fast. Since I still had to go to the grocery store, I decided to call it quits and save Goodwill for another day.

But, hey, I even found some quilty-related stuff at the grocery store! No, not the cat--the freezer paper behind the cat! I'm finally running low on my ginormous roll of freezer paper I use for applique, so I picked up a new box. Spike just WOULD NOT move out of the photo and insisted on playing with the strap on the camera, so there you go--a cat-and-freezer-paper photo composition.

Hubby's got this horrible cold crud now, except he seems to have it worse than I did. Or maybe it's just because he's a man. In any event, he spent all day in the recliner, watching TV. Well, yes, as a matter of fact, he does that even when he's NOT sick, but today he sounded miserable and was huddled under a quilt the whole time, drinking hot tea and eating soup. Poor baby!

Tomorrow I plan to spend much of the day in the Sweat Shop--no more running around for me this weekend! It was nice to get out of the house today, but it wore me out and I'm really tired tonight. Time for my beauty sleep!

Thank You!

Thank you for all the get well wishes! I stayed home from work today and did a little sewing, a little reading, a lot of TV watching, and just generally a bunch of doing not a whole lot. In fact, I've just about bored myself to tears! I'm feeling a bit better, and since I really need to do some grocery shopping, I'm hoping to get out to run a few errands tomorrow.

The weather has matched my health and mental state, drizzling on and off all day, although it's supposed to be clear tomorrow. I love the rain, but not so much when I have to go out and run errands!

Yep, that's how boring I've gotten. I'm reduced to blogging about my health and the weather. I promise I'll try to do better tomorrow! If I go out, I'll have to see what kind of trouble I can get into so I have an amusing tale to tell! In the meantime, happy weekend and happy quilting to you!

Another Sick Day

Thank you all for your comments on yesterday's post about the state of the economy and how it's affecting all of us personally. Some of you had some good tips on ways to economize. I know I can do a lot better at my grocery habits--I often buy more than we need, freeze stuff, and then forget it's there. ARGH! And I think just about everyone said the economy has affected them but they still have the essentials--family, love, and a roof over their heads--and they're grateful and reasonably content--a very positive and uplifting attitude!

About the title of this post: I seem to have come down with a cold virus and I'm feeling kind of icky tonight. I think when I wasn't paying attention someone stuffed cotton balls into my skull through my ears, causing all my brain matter to come out my sinuses. Paints a pretty picture, doesn't it?!

Hubby was kind enough to go digging through the freezer for some homemade chicken soup, but frankly I think I'd rather just have cereal and fruit for dinner. I'm posting this early because I suspect I'll end up laying on the couch and watching TV or going to bed with a book, and I won't have the energy to write later.

Sorry I'm not very inspiring or entertaining tonight, although if you're an 8-year-old boy, you might be amused by the whole cotton ball skull and escaping brain matter thing. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, please carry on without me.

The "E" Word

We hear about it every day: the Economy. How is it affecting you and your family?

Back around Thanksgiving, Hubby learned his hours were being cut back from eight hours a day to seven hours a day. That doesn't seem too terrible until you break it down into dollar amounts. If, for instance, a person working eight hours a day earns $3200 a month, in losing an hour a day, that person would lose $400 a month. Luckily, gas prices fell and a lower paycheck meant lower taxes. But still . . . . Where would we economize?

Around the same time, my job got really busy and I found myself working overtime. Not a lot, but some. Enough to help offset the difference in Hubby's pay. Also around that time, Lindy at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks first mentioned the idea of me teaching a quilt class, and I soon realized that would also help offset the reduction in Hubby's income.

More recently, Hubby's hours were increased back to eight hours a day because one of the employees left and the company was shorthanded. My bit of overtime work has continued. I've started teaching quilt classes. And now, there's my fledgling quilt pattern business. So things are okay--for now.

My work as a legal secretary in the personal injury defense field means my job is reasonably secure from economic highs and lows. The fact of the matter is that in hard times, more people sue. Hubby, on the other hand, works in the automotive parts industry, and we all know the automotive industry as a whole isn't very healthy these days, so his job is less secure.

Because it's hard to know what the future will bring, we've cut back in little ways, tried to increase our income as best we can, and are starting to look at ways to pay down our debt. We could do better, but I think we're doing okay.

I read a story in our local newspaper yesterday about people trying to make ends meet by taking a second job, starting up an online business, or selling things on eBay, so I guess I fit right in with the changes we've made recently.

How about you? Have these uncertain economic times meant a change in your life-style?

A Few Random Thoughts

On Monday the Wild Child ventured away from the Tahoe snowboard runs long enough to drive down to Sacramento for an overnight stay, and we all--me, Hubby, the Wild Child, and the Soccer Son and his Lovely Girlfriend--went out to dinner to celebrate the Wild Child's birthday (February 10th) and the Soccer Son's birthday (February 9th). We had a great time and I learned something interesting about the Soccer Son: he can fit a whole cupcake in his mouth! In fact, he performed the trick not once but twice: once before dinner and once after dinner. Talented boy!

During dinner, the Wild Child was talking a bit about possibly going sky diving again and I think she mentioned BASE jumping too, but I'm not sure because I had my fingers in my ears and I was humming loudly at the time. And did I mention she's in a band now? Lead singer and song writer extraordinaire. She sang for us a little bit of her latest song, "Sweatin' Out the Alcohol."

It's always fun when the family gets together.

Tonight I was talking to a quilt friend, Imelda, about--what else?--quilting. Imelda was in my Valentine Hearts quilt class. She told me she brought a few projects she made to show her sewing group, and a couple of the ladies wanted to know where they could get the pattern. I know some of them read my blog occasionally, so if any of you are reading this--or if anyone else is interested--just click on my profile and then click on the "email" link and let me know you're interested in purchasing a copy. I don't want to turn my blog into a pattern sale site, but I haven't figured out yet how to get a website up and running, and with Valentine's Day approaching--well, I'm not sure what else to do, but I apologize to those of you who didn't pop in for a sales pitch!

Imelda did have a question about my blog that some of you may have wondered about. Yes, once I have a "real" pattern business started, I still plan to have plenty of creative ideas and the occasional pattern freebies/tutorials for those of you who stop in to visit. I'm sure that not everything I make will be suitable for development into an actual "pattern." On the other hand, I feel that if I'm going to teach classes based on my own patterns and charge students to take the classes, it's not fair to them for me to give the patterns away free on my blog. So hopefully I'll be able to balance things. Something for everyone!

And all that reminds me. Tonight I did a little internet surfing--I should have been catching up on my blog visiting, but somehow I got side tracked over to the Fat Quarter Shop, RJR Fabrics, Thimbleberries, and Moda--among other happy places to visit. So much good stuff out there! Did you see Monica/Happy Zombie's post the other day about the "Moda Bake Shop"? There are lots of free crafty patterns and projects there--some by Monica and some by other designers. Monica's Pennie Pockets are there, and she shows how to string the beads she adds to the bottom. She also has instructions for a reversible pocket calendar cover. And you know about Moda's free pattern site, don't you? More good stuff!

I was kind of hoping Minick and Simpson would give it a rest for awhile for the sake of my bank account, but I see they have a new line coming out, Flag Day Farm. I really love their fabrics and I'm EXTREMELY tempted to throw caution to the winds and order the fat quarter bundle. I'm sure if I think about it for a day or two, I'll figure out a way to justify the purchase. In fact, I've been thinking about teaching one of Patchalot Marcie's patterns in a red, white, and blue colorway as a patriotic/4th of July class. Flag Day Farm fabric and a Patchalot pattern? Hummmmm. The wheels are turning!

Finally, if you're looking for a Valentine idea for that special someone, check out Kimberly's blog, Bitty Bits & Pieces, for an excellent heart pillow tutorial--the pillow even has a pocket to tuck goodies into! I really need to make one of these, but I seem to be all out of good Valentine fabric. Don't worry though--I had the foresight to order a bit the other day, so maybe it will arrive by the weekend.

Happy quilting and thanks for stopping by to visit with me!

Yahoo is Driving Me NUTS! And Other Stuff . . .

I have two Yahoo email accounts: One that's connected to this blog and another I've had for several years and use for everything else. The other email account is just fine right now, but for some reason, the email account I use for this blog has, within the last week or two, demanded that I reproduce distorted letters and numbers in order for me to reply to emails from those of you who comment. It's driving me nuts!

Have you seen these things? For the most part, it's much worse than what we have to add in order to leave comments on some blogs, and sometimes I despair of entering the correct letters and numbers to send off my email messages. It's not uncommon for me to try two or three times before I get it right, which leads me to wonder: "Is the message I'm sending really that important?" But I figure if you took the time to comment, I can take the time to try to decipher the undecipherable.

The spam-eliminating program used by Yahoo employs Captcha, and just in case you've managed to avoid Captcha, THIS LINK will take you to a Wikipedia entry that talks about it and shows a few examples. And I have to agree--the version Yahoo mail uses is the one described as "often very difficult for humans to read." Ya think?! Sheesh! Except that what they show on Wikipedia is much easier to read than anything that comes up on my screen. And really, why does it come up when I'm replying to an email? Does it make sense that Yahoo would need to screen out robots from REPLYING to emails sent to them?!

Well, enough rant for now. The "other stuff" I wanted to mention is that Jess over at Life in the White House has made a Valentine wall hanging from my pattern using four heart blocks, and she added sashing to hers with a cute 9-patch in the center where the sashing intersects. Darling! She still has to quilt and bind it, but I'm sure it will be done in no time. Click over and take a look. And if any of you who ordered a pattern makes a quilt, tabletopper, or wall hanging, I'd sure love to see it, so please let me know!

Bedtime for me--it was a tough Monday at work and I kinda doubt the week will get any easier until, oh, maybe around 5:30 on Friday afternoon! Thanks for stopping by!