It's All About Me

I was in Bearpaws & Hollyhocks tonight for Jo's Little Women Club, and my Home Gals and I started talking about a topic that seems to consume a whole lot of my time lately--my health. Just so you're up on the latest, my theory NOW (and, really, it may only last today--tomorrow it might be something different) is that much of what I've been experiencing is perimenopausal symptoms on top of nicotine withdrawal with just a sprinkling of anxiety tossed in. Yes, as a matter of fact, that WAS a very heavy sigh you just heard from me--I'm seriously tired of thinking about it. My stomach "issues" have gotten a whole lot better, but I'm still not sleeping very well and now I seem to be having hot flashes and night sweats. Sheesh!

So why am I bringing this up? Well, gosh darn it, I just saw a video HERE all about how now there's a theory that MEN suffer from postpartum depression too! Really? And I'm pretty sure that they suffer much, MUCH more than we women do, considering how sick they get with things like viruses. And if you asked them, they'd probably tell you they do postpartum depression BETTER than we do too. I'm sure happy that back in the day when I suffered from postpartum depression, I didn't have to share the limelight!

I hope I can get through menopause before someone decides that men suffer from menopause. I don't want to share. Men already have that mid-life crisis thing they use as an excuse to act like adolescents. Now that I think about it, maybe WE'RE doing the menopause thing wrong. Just think how much better we'd feel about all of it if we could buy what we want and do what we want as long as we're having hot flashes?

Did you all get a chance to check out that link I gave you yesterday? People of Walmart. Yep, there are some odd ones out there, and I always think Walmart brings them out. That's NOT to say I don't shop at Walmart on occasion--most people I know DO. But the odd ones stand out--and they all seem to hang around Walmart.

In fact, I posted a comment last week on Dawn's blog mentioning that she'd confirmed my belief that the oddest people hang out at Walmart--this was after she bought just about every bottle of Massengill in her local Walmart. Why? Well, go visit her and read the story. There's just no way I can make it into the Reader's Digest Condensed version here.

That People of Walmart site? There's a photo of an old man with his shirt half unbuttoned, and he has boobs. Okay, maybe HE suffered from postpartum depression, but generally, I'm not buying it. That's about all that's on my mind tonight. Time, now, to go take a Tylenol PM and see if I can get through the night without waking up 28 times.

P.S.: I just noticed Yahoo has a clickable link, "Find Out if You Have Alzheimer's Symptoms." Maybe THAT's what I have! I'll investigate and let you know. Or I might forget.

Most of the Time . . .

I'm a fairly quiet person. I know many of you will find that hard to believe, but it's true. Before I started teaching quilt classes, I thought I'd pass out from not breathing if I had to stand up in front of a class and speak in PUBLIC! Now I'm getting somewhat used to it--although I'm not sure I could do the same thing in front of non-quilters!

I've even been told by some of the gals who hang out at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks that they thought I was really quiet, shy, and reserved. Of course, that was before they read my blog. Now they have a better idea of what I'm really thinking when I'm being a bit quiet.

So, as I get older, I find I've loosened up a little more. Someday, maybe when I'm about 100 years old, I'll be a Rowdy Girl too!

(Woman watching Tokyo street parade during the annual Asakusa Samba carnival.)

For more amusement, check out THIS website. Maybe not something you'd want your kids to look at though. (If you can't get on, try back later--they're kinda busy right now.)

Winners All Around

I'm very impressed that so many of you have made an effort to get things finished up in August. It's been great knowing that I'm not alone in postponing the "new" in favor of finishing the "old." And I know that for some of you, life has intervened and you weren't able to play along--a time will come, though, when you'll get to it. There's no deadline or penalty involved.

I'm also quite pleased with having gotten the Sweat Shop cleaned up and sorted. A month ago, my quilt rack--the place for unfinished projects--looked like this:

Now? It looks like this:

There are only five or six projects on it, all of which need applique. That table runner on top? I won that at Thimbleberries Club last year--someone hadn't felt like finishing it and was doing the same thing I've been doing--cleaning out! My plan, though, is to pin it for quilting and add wool applique while I quilt it--a fast method that will "dress it up" quite a lot. Maybe I'll get to it before I leave for quilt camp in a week.

I've visited all of the "Finish it in August" blogs and I've added "stars" next to the name of each blogger who has finished three or more projects--click on over and see what they've gotten done. It's really amazing to see all these finishes. If you're on the list, have finished three or more projects, and haven't posted them to you blog yet, please email me to let me know you're posting and I'll add a star next to your name too.

Now, for the winners of my last giveaway--remember, if you see your name here, e-mail me your mailing address and I'll get your "prize" in the mail to you.

Giveaway #1 (manly quilt book)--Winona

Giveaway #2 (Thimbleberries panel)--Marylin Tucker

Giveaway #3 (foundation piecing book)--Anonymous/Sue S.

Giveaway #4 (patterns)--Fiesta

Congratulations ladies! Oh, and I DID hear from the "missing" winner of the quilt designs book, so that will be going out this week too.

Tonight, on the last evening of August, I finished organizing all of the patterns I had ripped out of quilt magazines. I wanted to show you how I keep them in case anyone is in need of an idea.

I have binders labeled "Series Quilts," "Applique Quilts," and "Pieced Quilts." With so many tote bags and various other miscellaneous things out now, I can see I'm going to have to add another binder labeled "Miscellaneous."

When I rip a pattern from a magazine, it goes into a clear plastic sheet protector, and then I put it in the appropriate binder. I try to do this every six months or so, but sometimes I fall behind. Each time I sort the magazines and rip out the patterns, I flip through all the older patterns in the binders and take out any I'm no longer interested in--it's funny how our tastes change over time!

A few of you asked for a tutorial on the ruffled binding and someone also asked awhile back if I could do a tutorial on the Halloween treat bags I made for my last Buggy Barn class. I'll try to do a few tutorials soon, so if you were interested, please check back.

Thanks for stopping in.

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!