Injury Prone!

I hadn't been at work long this morning--I was kind of just sitting there, at my desk with my cup of coffee, trying to aclimate myself to my surroundings--when my thumb began involuntarily twitching. Of course, I figured it was probably a symptom of a brain tumor because that's one of my more frequent self-diagnoses. After all, a brain tumor would go far to explain a lot of stuff about me. After a little bit of experimenting, I realized that when I turned my arm to a certain position, the twitching would start, and when I turned my arm back it would stop. A little more experimenting and I realized my forearm felt kind of weak in certain positions too. Most definitely a brain tumor. But just in case it wasn't, what else could have caused it? No, I hadn't done any extreme quilting or cutting or applique that may have strained my thumb, hand, or arm the night before, unless picking out and ironing fat quarters was just too darn strenuous. Then I remembered. Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I was coming out of the bathroom, and being the spaz that I sometimes am, I jammed my thumb dead on into the side of the door. Yeah, okay, so maybe it wasn't a brain tumor this time. And, not only could I celebrate the fact that it was Friday, but it seemed that perhaps I wasn't going to die of a brain tumor after all--not yet, anyway! Yay Me!

But that's not all that happened to me last night. A few years ago, I was pretty sure I had multiple hernias. Every now and then, after I'd been laying back in the bathtub, usually when I was washing my hair, I'd sit up and my stomach muscles would spasm. Have you ever had a Charlie horse in your leg? That's what it felt like. If I didn't move, I'd be just fine. But, well, you know--eventually the water in the bathtub gets cold, your skin starts looking like a prune, and the shampoo runs into your eyes and you just HAVE to move! That's when it starts to feel like a Charlie horse. On each occasion, once I could stand up and stretch out my muscles, I'd be just fine, but that in-between stage would just about kill me! Anyway, these "attacks" weren't frequent and I hadn't had one for about a year and a half--coincidentally or not, since I'd lost a little weight--so I really wasn't expecting it when I sat up in the bathtub last night. OMG! Of course, Hubby was sound asleep and probably wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway (short of hiring a crane from the local equipment rental yard), so I just laid there for a bit, clutching my stomach and thinking about trying to get up, straighten out, and stretch those muscles. I just laid there, thinking about how much shampoo was still in my hair, not to mention the fact that I hadn't conditioned yet, and wondering whether this might just be a good time to shave my head bald. So, finally I took a deep breath and stood up, and yeah, it was painful but not horribly so. Eventually I was able to finish washing my hair and the rest of me and dry off. Then, I went and jammed my thumb into the door. Maybe I just didn't think the stomach thing had hurt enough; I don't know.

Anyway, eventually my thumb stopped twitching this morning and as far as I know, I'm just fine now unless there's a brain tumor or a hernia lurking somewhere that I just don't know about yet. And now I know why they say more accidents happen at home in the bathroom than anywhere else. I guess I just didn't realize that slip and falls on wet linoleum or tile and electrical items falling into the bathtub weren't the only things to watch out for.

I hope you have a fun weekend planned--just be careful not to injure yourself! LOL!

It's a Quandary!

quan·da·ry (kwnd-r, -dr) KEY NOUN: pl. quan·da·ries. A state of uncertainty or perplexity. (See synonyms at predicament.)

Do you like words? I do! And I've given you a couple this week, haven't I? So are you wondering what's my quandary? My quandary is that I'm wondering what to write about tonight! But you know I'll figure out something to write about, even if it's really nothing when you think about it.

Thanks for all your comments about quilting groups. I really enjoyed reading them! I had a long, hard day at work today, but I took a few minutes to read some of the comments while I was eating my lunch (as quickly as I could!), and it made the day's work easier.

My guild--the one I'm thinking about rejoining--really supports its members' sewing circles and publishes lists of these small groups, but I found that all but one of them met on weekdays, so that didn't work for me. The one group that met in the evenings or weekends was all the way across town, so that didn't work for me either. I've had quilting friends in the past, and we would get together to quilt or go shop hopping, but it seems like everyone has moved away or gotten involved with other things. But life's path is fluid and nothing remains the same for long, so I'm reasonably certain that one of these days, I'll find a group to get together with for some quilting fun!

When I got off work tonight, I decided to stop at Goodwill on the way home. I don't know if you noticed, but I haven't really done any thrifting lately--I think it's been about a month! I've been looking for a covered pedestal cake plate for awhile and found one tonight that I carried around for awhile. In the end, though, I decided to put it back on the shelf because I knew I didn't really have any place to store it, and I didn't think I liked it well enough to leave on display year round. I'm sure I'll find the "perfect" one someday. Still, I didn't leave Goodwill empty handed. I found some wine-colored quilted placemats that came home with me--eight placemats for $4. I'm thinking about keeping four to use and making something with the others, although I'm not sure what. I have a couple ideas floating around in my head though. I also found a yard of white-with-black-polka dot cotton fabric for $2--and you know I love polka dots and black and white!

I'm still working on the last of the embroidery on the Christmas List quilt, and then I can add the borders and the final gingerbread men applique. That's been the project I've taken to work with me this week to work on during my lunch hours. Here at home in the Sweat Shop, though, I spent the evening picking out red, white, and green fat quarters so I can get started on the wonky tree quilt.

I've "stolen" a picture of Penni's quilt off her blog to show you what I'm talking about--I sure hope she doesn't mind! She did a great job on hers, didn't she? I wanted to use the lighter greens like she did, but I really didn't have enough, so I've had to mix in some other shades--I just hope it all works out okay. This is another Pieces From My Heart pattern called Trees Up! Lights On! I'll be working on this one and hope to get the blocks made over the weekend. The pattern calls for 30 blocks, but I'm doing something a little bit different--making a quilt and also a wallhanging--so I'll have 45 blocks to make. Yikes!

One more day of work before the weekend is here, and it can't come fast enough to suit me! Right about this part of the week, I start getting envious of Lorraine and my other Blogland friends in Australia, because their weekend's already arrived. Of course, come Sunday, I'm much less envious as they're returning to work! LOL! I hope you have some quilting fun or other interesting things planned for your weekend! Thanks for stopping in to visit with me!

Peppermints Revealed!

I've been holding out on you. I finished quilting the Peppermint Twist quilt this past weekend and got the binding done yesterday. I was holding off on showing it here, though, because tonight was my Thimbleberries Club meeting and I wanted to bring it for show and tell. Since some of our members read my blog, I wanted them to see something new, more or less, before they read it here. So here it is--

And here's a closer photo that shows the quilting a bit--

I always have fun at Thimbleberries Club and tonight was no exception. Last month I was on vacation and skipped the meeting because it meant driving across town in rush hour traffic. I heard later that one of our members, Imelda, had brought a Happy Jacks quilt and I missed seeing it, darn it! Tonight, though, she had another, and it was awfully cute! It just tickles me no end to see these made up!

Imelda also brought me some thank you gifts, although there was really no need to thank me, but aren't those the best kind of gifts? The completely unexpected ones? And I know she's been paying attention to my blog because she brought me some Susan Branch rub on transfers, two dish towels with cherries, and some cherry fabric. Here's a photo--

I think she needs to go shopping with my Hubby and pick out my Christmas gifts! LOL!

Next month our Club will have our end-of-the-year holiday get together/potluck/party, and I'm sad to say that it will be my last meeting with these gals, at least for awhile. The quilt pattern for next year isn't one I'm crazy about, so I've decided to sit out a year. I did the same thing twice in years past and really missed my Thimbleberries friends, but I ended up going back the following years when there was something I was more interested in. I hope it will be the same this time and that the year after this will find me visiting with my Thimbleberries friends again each month.

I think that this next year, I'll rejoin our local quilt guild. I haven't been a member for the past two years, but I think I'm ready to go back. I've always enjoyed the guild meetings and the various quilt clubs, like Thimbleberries, offered at our local quilt shops, but there's just NOT enough time to do it all. During my first several years as a quilter, I was so busy with guild and clubs and BOMs that I never had time to do some of the quilts I really wanted to do, so I've learned to limit myself a little bit. I DO wish, though, that I belonged to a smaller group of quilters who met once or twice a month to sew and chat and show one another their projects, and I'm always just a touch envious when I read about bloggers who belong to groups like that. Maybe something will come along one of these days when I retire and have a little more time during the day.

How about you? Do you belong to a guild, a quilt club, or a smaller group you really enjoy? And, if you belong to a small group, how did you all "find" each other and start getting together regularly? Inquiring minds . . . .

Tempting Tidbits

tid·bit. NOUN: A choice morsel, as of gossip or food: "The book is chock-full of colorful tidbits about theater and theater people."

Today I have a few miscellaneous tidbits I want to share that I think you'll enjoy.

Synthia, who remains blogless, sent me a photo of her version of the Happy Jacks quilt. It's still "in progress," but I thought you'd enjoy seeing it--I think it will give you other ideas besides making Jack O'Lanterns.

Her addition of the vines, leaves, and acorns is wonderful, isn't it? Next year, I might be copying her ideas!

Synthia also sent me this tip for caring for our rotary cutting mats, and I thought it was worth passing on. I don't know about you, but I never really thought about doing anything to mine, but this sounds simple enough!

"CLEANING & CONDITIONING YOUR ROTARY MAT

Did you know that in order to clean and condition your rotary mat, you can actually give it a bath!! You are to put your mat in the bathtub and use 1/4 cup white vinegar and a couple of drops of a mild dishwashing soap. Using a mushroom brush or other mild bristle brush, create a lather and gently clean and condition your mat. Rinse the mat and let it air dry or dry with a Turkish towel. The mats love moisture. It helps keep them supple (love the word supple). This info from Charlie's E-Z Mat Cutters, a distributor of Olfa products."

Tonight I stopped in at Trader Joe's to pick up a few things and I saw these:

I nearly passed them up because although I enjoy caramel and dark chocolate, the thought of adding sea salt to those ingredients struck me as really weird. I don't know what made me decide to try them anyway, but OMG! They are just about the BEST sinfully delicious treats I can remember eating! If you visit Trader Joe's from time to time, pick up a box of these--I'm not kidding, you'll thank me for the suggestion!

Finally, I'll leave you tonight with this tidbit, sent to me by another no-blog friend who always manages to keep me supplied with chuckles:

What's Wrong With This Picture?

No, you aren't looking at snow! This is my design wall. I think this has to be the first time in ages that it hasn't had SOMETHING on it. It's really kind of weird. I kept catching glimpses of it tonight and it felt like something was missing. I guess I'll need to get started on the next project soon!

Tonight was the last meeting of our Christmas List "class." I had my quilt center together and another lady had started quilting hers. The others were still working on their last block. We talked about meeting again in December to show our finished quilts, but we decided that if we had finished ours, it would likely be hanging in our house by then, and if we hadn't . . . well, what would be the point of meeting? So, this was it.

Now for a little "quilter's math." The Christmas List class cost $60 for the year. Bearpaws & Hollyhocks has a special thing with their year-long classes where if you show up, you get $5 off any purchase that night. Since I attended 11 classes, I "saved" $55, making the class only $5 rather than $60. Not bad, huh?! We just won't factor in the fact that I still put out that $55, not to mention the fact that I'm sure I always managed to find more than $5 worth of stuff to buy each month. Nope. Not going to think about that part. That's just too complicated. Instead, I'm just going to pat myself on the back for managing to take a year-long class for only $5. Besides THAT tremendous savings, I didn't buy any of the monthly kits--I just used mainly scraps from my Thimbleberries basket. So, the way I figure it, I saved so much money on this quilt that I can probably afford to splurge a little next time I visit the quilt shop.

And, by the way, with my $5 credit tonight plus about $11 or so in "real" money, I came home with a yard each of two very nice red with white polka dot fabrics. Remember that sale they're having where all fabric is $8 a yard? One of the pieces I bought is Lecien fabric, so I think I "saved" another $6 there. I'll have to remember that I have that extra $6 to spend next time I go shopping. Isn't math swell?!

And My Globes Aren't Fuzzy Anymore!

As usual on Sunday nights, I hate to see the weekend coming to an end when there's so much more I'd like to do, but at least I feel I've accomplished what I needed to get done, and I can go to bed without feeling I've left things unfinished.

I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs today. Hubby loves it, and it's been quite awhile since I've made any. I made extra spaghetti so I could put together a casserole for Hubby to stick in the oven for our dinner one night this week. In fact, I have one or two other meals planned for Hubby to help out with, as well as a couple fast and simple dinners that I can throw together after work. I hope these fast dinners translate to more sewing time!

Once I got the sauce and meatballs going this afternoon, I cleaned house. I like the house clean and tidy, but I'm not very good when it comes to all the hidden dirt-collecting spots around the house. For instance, under/behind the fridge--I don't want to know what's back there. As far as I'm concerned, the spiders can have it as long as they stay back there. The oven--no, it's not self-cleaning, but I figure I'll just let it go until it gets really bad and then I'll get a new oven. I noticed the other day, though, that the globes on the kitchen light fixture were getting mighty fuzzy, so I took them down today and cleaned them. Funny, but I kind of forgot there's a bit of a swirl pattern in the glass. And where does all that dust come from anyway? The Wild Child was here when I first noticed how fuzzy they were, and we stood, gazing up at them, pondering the possibility that Spike had somehow climbed up there and deposited white fur all over them. Well, at least they're good now for another year if I'm lucky.

Tomorrow night after work I meet with my Christmas List group, so I was anxious to get caught up on that project. I've gotten the center put together now--

Tomorrow night we'll get the final pattern for the outside border and some applique. There's a little embroidery I want to add, and then it will be ready to pin and quilt.

Time for bed so I can get up in the morning for work. I hope you've done everything you wanted this weekend too!

A Quiet Saturday

The weather out today was kind of gloomy, and late in the day we had a few light showers. Perfect weather for sewing! Which, coincidentally, fits in nicely with my panic about how little time is left before Christmas.

I sat and sewed much of the day, thinking about what quilting things need to get done. I've managed to convince myself that one project doesn't need to be done this year, so that's some progress! Then I've been working on quilting the Peppermint Twist quilt, and that's nearly done so there's another gift that I can soon cross off my list.

Between quilting the last couple days, I've been working on the Christmas List applique and I finished the Watch for Santa block--

and I just have the letters left on the Enjoy the Season block--

Tomorrow, Sunday, looks like it will be filled with more sewing, with the occasional break for cooking and possibly a bit of housecleaning--just a little bit, I think.

A friend sent me some funny stuff today--I'll leave you with this one:

Oh NO! I'm Late!

Does it seem to you like fall is speeding by, or is it just me? I stopped at the grocery store tonight to do my shopping and found turkeys! Thankgiving turkeys!!! Already?! Well, I now have one in my freezer, so I guess I'd better face up to the fact that Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away.

And you know what else I figured out tonight? Christmas isn't very far behind Thanksgiving! Do you know that--if my math is correct--there's less than seven weeks until Christmas?

I think the majority of us make a resolution after the holiday season to either work on Christmas gifts all year long or at least get them started earlier. Did you make that promise to yourself? Did you stick to it? Please don't tell me I'm the only flaky, self-deceptive procrastinator in the group!

I would like to take some time this weekend to start thinking seriously about what I need to do/make/get done between now and Christmas. Yep, I just might need to make a list or two. I was mentally reviewing the quilty gifts I planned to make, but do you know what happened? I got a headache and then my head exploded. I really, really should have started this months ago. Seriously. I'm late. Seriously late. ARGH!

Boring Me

I don't have anything at all interesting to share tonight. I stayed home from work sick today, so my day was spent sleeping a lot, reading a lot, watching TV some, and doing some applique this evening. I'm feeling a lot better tonight and will return to work tomorrow. (One more day until the weekend!) I hope your day was spent in a much more interesting way!

A Jo's Club Meeting That Sort of Wasn't

Today was the first Wednesday of the month, which meant Jo's Little Women Club was meeting tonight at Bearpaws and Hollyhocks. When I walked in, Lindy asked me what I had on my blog now. Hummm. Why? Turns out Donna Yackey, the designer of the Christmas List patterns, would rather fill orders through Lindy's shop, so I'll change the link for that pattern to direct you there rather than to Donna. If any of you are interested, you can call the shop or email Lindy and she'll take care of the rest.

The Waiting For Santa block is progressing nicely--I just need to add the letters and trim it up a bit. This really is a fun pattern!

I almost didn't go to Jo's Club tonight because I wasn't feeling well, but I sucked it up and went anyway--such sacrifices we make for our art! LOL! But I'm awfully glad I did.

Lindy's been running Jo's Club since it began, and Jo Morton designed the program to run six months at a time. On a few occasions, there have been a month or two "pause" between sections, and Lindy's always been good about letting us show up at the shop on the second Wednesday of the month anyway and finding us something to do each month until the next section arrives. This time, though, we've had a break of several months between sections, and although Lindy's found some good projects to keep us busy, she decided to also reward us for our loyalty by gifting us with a bundle of Jo Morton fat quarters tonight. (Darn cute ribbon with the shop's name too!)

What a wonderful surprise! I think we're awfully lucky to have a shop owner who treats her customers so well, don't you? So, although we didn't exactly have a Jo's Little Women Club meeting tonight, I don't think any of us minded one little bit!

Besides the fat quarter surprise, Lindy is running a couple sales. All of her Halloween fabrics and Halloween decorations are 50% off. And yes, as a matter of fact, I did find one or two little things that needed to come home with me! Although I didn't take a photo, I couldn't pass up a brown with white polka dot fabric from Maywood Studios. I don't know what it is about those polka dots, but they always seem to want to follow me home, so I really can't be blamed, can I?!

I knew Lindy was also running another sale--any fabric in the shop on the bolts for $8 a yard, half yard cuts minimum. I was in the shop a week or two ago and knew about the sale, but $8 a yard for fabric that's normally between something like $8.50 and $9.50 a yard didn't seem like a huge bargain until Lindy mentioned tonight that a woman had come in and got a wonderful deal on fabric that was normally around $15 a yard. Well, of course, that got me thinking. Yes, as a matter of fact, I DO need some fabric for quilt backs, so I took home this hunk of Moda Peace on Earth backing fabric. Backing fabric--from Moda--at $8 a yard!

I've been admiring this blue and brown woven plaid for awhile now. The colors are really soft and beautiful, but at $16 a yard and imported from Japan, I had been trying to ignore its Siren song. Ha! No longer do I need to ignore its call. The photo hardly does the fabric justice. Seriously yummy stuff!

Sometimes I think it would be nice to walk out of a quilt shop without buying anything, and you know what? No matter what good intentions I have going in, it seems I always fail. Tonight, though, failure hardly hurt at all!