Yule tide Ornament Swap

Yule ornament swap via quilters coven yahoo group

made 12 all together…

keeping one….sending the rest out…looking forward to getting my box of goodies back for a fabulous Yule decorating…

11-2009

celestial rainbow top done

well the top’s all done! turned out just how I wanted it to.

plenty of room for fun hand quilting…rainbows for retinal scalding…the little heart lower right will be the signature square…by the time I got the quilt this far is was bed time

49″ across by 62″ tall…I think it’s a perfect size to be lugged around and quilted on.  Course the lovies I live with feel it needs to be much bigger…I guess they want yet another quilt for their beds…HA…not!  This one will be keeping my legs warm with the upcoming winter thankyou very much…

Heidi’s quilt DONE

13 days to spare…I finished Heidi’s ( Jim’s wicked cute daughter) Birdy with the Yellow bill quilt.  Each block is 8 inches square and has a bird of some sort in the middle square.  Some left over from other projects, 1 fabric from my SS, one actually purchased for this quilt…I started this and then realized I had mixed my bird fabric with many fish fabric giving me the inkling that I had more bird fabric that I actually did…UGH!

I love the black backing…wow that’s alot of stitching! I drew the stitching patterns on the blocks as I went.  There are 4 of every design except the spider web of which there are three. each design is slightly different so no two are totally alike

fabulous signature block…added Happy Birthday Heidi after completing the quilt on the 7th of November

voted the favorite block at our house…I’m working on my next project to show off this quilt design again!

Wal-Mart Drug Providers:

Dear, Dear managerial staff of the pharmaceutical in-store suppliers… Now 1st off I am all for hiring the special needs, functionally illiterate and crabby assed postmenopausal rags…all for it…keep it up…BUT not for the pharmacy! Bad enough you can’t pronounce my name much less any of the drugs I take…but that 45 minute wait turned into 2 f-ing hours…I can only look at your drastically cheap assed and usually unattractive merchandise so long before I go to the sportsman department…purchase a long rifle and start taking people down! Yeah I have no insurance but you’all should like me! There’s no pesky paper work for you…no middle man…I’m paying 100% of the money owed to you IN CASH!!! You give me the amount…after nearly feinting I fork over the cash…that simple! Check it out…you don’t even need to count (and touch) my pills…take ‘em off the shelf…slap a sticker on it put in the bag and HAND IT TO ME!!! 5 times we stood in that WAY TOO F-ING LONG line with people just as unhappy as me yet more than likely sharing their illness with all of us and were told it’s almost done…were ya’ squeezing every pill out of a newborn babe? Making them out of endanger species flesh?!? NO! You had your obviously challenged woman (I’m guessing she was a she here) struggling with the label machine while your pharmacist I’m guessing there too…chatted it up with the post menopausal hormonally challenged blob of happiness you had running the cash register…Now I’m not prone to being loudly verbal no matter how incredibly pissed I am…but my mutterings were getting louder… Had I an ice-pick handy (I didn’t browse that isle) I would have surely driven it into left eye socket…hammered it home….slide it to the left…slide it to the right…give it a swirl for good measure…surely lobotomizing myself so watching you people working SO INCREDIBLY SLOW wouldn’t bother my so much! Well that being said and the fact that you actually ran out of one of my needed drugs (who knew there were so many epileptics in Buffalo)

I will see you again today…but you will NEVER see my pleasantly plump ass standing in your line to hell ever again! Target Pharmacy…Don’t fail me…for if you do…off to CUB…Walgreen’s…Coburn’s…fill in the blank baby. I may be poor, unhealthy and pasty white…but I don’t take slow motion inept incompetent treated-like-shit well!

Yours with ever lovin’ giggle-ee-tude…

A VERY UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER YOU HAVE LOST PERMANENTLY!

angel pocket 1

I received an email from one of the organizations I sew for needing burial clothes for preemies and micro-preemies. being not too fabulous at sewing clothing I searched the wed and found fetal demise pouches.  um…Angel pocket sounds a bit kinder

http://danettesangels.tripod.com/home.html

The fetal demise pouch is used for early losses, or infants that are too small or fragile to be dressed. On request, nurses take pictures of the babies before burial for the families.

 

http://www.touchinglittlelives.org/fetaldem.html

Adam’s Star

Since I’m making one of these potholders, tivet, coasters for each of my co-workers, friends & family for Yule tide giving this year…each one will have the name of the receipient (sp)

This one is for Adam one of the tool makers

Old lovies but they still look good!

I was at my mom’s last Saturday to pin the retinal damage but keep Jim warm quilt so I could finish it finally.

After pinning and making sure I didn’t pin Keek (Mom’s cat)  inside the quilt I wandered to the reading room and noticed a few quilts I had made in the past for mom & Dad.  Knowing none of them were properly photographed…I did just that!

I made this in like 1995 er so.  Hand quilted…Lapsized Gave it to mom for her Birthday

9 Multi-colored Frogs Dancing in a Blueberry Bog…

I made this quilt for my mom for X-mas 1997

Froggie Signature Block

Drunkard’s Frog Pattern I threw together so I can make another froggie quilt one day!

Broken Dishes lap quilt I made for my dad X-Mas 2003

Wicked fun signature block I made for the broken dishes quilt. I love the silly fat rat!

Folded triangle Stars

My Goal is 60 er so of these done by Yule time gift giving time… they’re each about 6.5 inches across

are they pot holders?  Trivets? really big coasters? wicked cool diddle-dee-doos to hang and dangle?!? 

heck…I think they’re all of the above!

I got the pattern from ‘Inchy’ at quilttalk@yahoogroups.com

1st try above…Hense the rather sad finish, I didn’t have enough of the edging… gave it to mom as she loves purple, she lived it in spite of it’s short comings completed June 12th 2009

fabulously bright rainbowie lovely hanging on my window at work, Completed June 13th 2009

Made this one for Robbie…I’ll give it to him when he pickes up Jaz for gay 90’s! Completed June 14th 2009

This one’s for Demetria my Secret Quilting Sister in Michigan.  Completed June 16th 2009

Mary’s quilt finished and on it’s way

Actually it’s already in Louisiana and she loves it!

detail of lettering of her grandkids’ names

Ah the 1st post

Welcome to the ever popular 1st post to a new blog… Yup here it is… in all it blazing glory!

I have a my space http://www.myspace.com/nanayane but I don’t ‘blog’ to it…guess I’m not totally cumfy with my friends and kids really knowing what’s up with their Yane and Mom…

I also have a Deviant Art page http://wiccanwitchiepoo.deviantart.com  …but I use that basically to save my creations so when a computer crashes or my way quality trailer burns to the ground I’ll still be able to see what I’ve accomplished.

So yeah…here’s my 1st blog… yup I am totally excited by is existance as well!

My latest sweetie pie wallypaper

We (Jazmin, Jim & I) hung out with Jim’s daughter Heidi and her man Kin in Minneapolis on the 29th of November, got a TON of fun photos.  This is the 1st time I’ve met Heidi, like my mom would say, she fits right in!

SO I made a lovely desktop wallypaper for my work computer…Heidi, Jim, Me, Jazmin, then a wee me & Jazmin, Oliver and Tabitha…Full meal deal as it were.

Jazmin’s upcoming Surgery

Me & Jaz at the Delano park summer 2008Tomorrow Mom will be picking me and Jazmin up and taking us out to Waconia Ridgeview for Jazmins exploratory surgery to see what’s up with all the ovarian cysts and pain…Jaz just turned 18 last week…I tried to find out what time we need to be there but according to Hippa laws they can’t tell me…WTF…Jaz lives with me…I need to get her there… P whatever… I’ll call Jaz in a bit and have her call the Hospital and get the blinkin’ information… MAUDE IN HIMMEL I just faxed all of Jazmin’s pre-operative paperwork to the hospital…I was probably breaking the law there too…Cripes sake even!

OK Jazmin’s surgery is planned for 10:30 am…we need to be there at 9am, so dad will pick up Tab and Oliver at 6:30 and get them to work and daycare.  Mom will be at my house around 8:30am.  Supposedly check out for Jaz will be 1pm…we shall see.  Then Dad will pick up Tab and Oliver at 2pm and bring them home and drop off the car seat.  I plan to bring a bucket for Jaz in case her stomach ia unhappy.

More on Jazmin’s surgery:

Often called ‘belly button surgery’, laparoscopic surgery involves small (1/4 inch) incisions in the abdomen (usually three) through which major surgical procedures can be performed. The first of these incisions is made in the umbilicus (“belly button”). A laparoscope (something akin to a telescope) is placed through this incision and attached to a small videocamera. The video image is viewed on a television monitor in the operating room. By moving the laparoscope closer to the pelvic organs, magnification up to 6 X can be achieved.

After the laparoscope is placed through the umbilicus, two or three other small (1/4 inch) incisions are made in the abdomen, usually in or near the pubic hairline. Electrodes, lasers, instruments and sutures are passed through these incisions to complete the operation. These instruments are very small (from 1.5 to 4.5 millimeters in diameter).

The combination of small instruments and magnification enable surgical precision that is almost impossible to achieve at laparotomy. By comparison, there is no magnification of the operative field during laparotomy, and the surgeon’s hands and large surgical instruments obscure the operative field. The precision attained during laparoscopic surgery becomes extremely important when the gynecologist is treating endometriosis, adhesions, ovarian masses, and gynecologic cancer.

What is laparoscopic surgery

Laparoscopic surgery also referred to as minimally invasive surgery describes the performance of surgical procedures with the assistance of a video camera and several thin instruments. During the surgical procedure, small incisions of up to half an inch are made and plastic tubes called ports are placed through these incisions. The camera and the instruments are then introduced through the ports, which allow access to the inside of the patient.

The camera transmits an image of the organs inside the abdomen onto a television monitor. The surgeon is not able to see directly into the patient without the traditional large incision. The video camera becomes a surgeon’s eyes in laparoscopy surgery, since the surgeon uses the image from the video camera positioned inside the patient’s body to perform the procedure.

Benefits of minimally invasive or Laparoscopic procedures are

• less post operative discomfort since the incisions are much smaller
• quicker recovery times
• shorter hospital stays
• earlier return to full activities
• much smaller scars
• there may be less internal scarring when the procedures are performed in a minimally invasive fashion compared to standard open surgery.

Why there is pain after laparoscopic surgery?

Although laparoscopic surgery has very less post-operative pain compare to open procedure but it is wrong to think that laparoscopic surgery is a painless surgery. After Laparoscopic surgery patient sometimes may experience pain at the site of wound or in one or both of your shoulders. This is caused by irritating of diaphragm by carbon dioxide gas. This is very mild irritation. If you will tell your doctor about this problem than he will give you tramadol hydrochloride injection and pain will subside. There will also be some pain in the small incisions, which will also disappear after medication. Patient should avoid alcohol while taking pain medication. Within a few days, the pain should subside completely.

Sewing Machine Happy Dance!

HAPPY DANCE ~ HAPPY DANCE ~ HAPPY DANCE!

Oh blissful glee!  I’ve a new, oh BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW sewing machine!  I shall call her Sally the Singer! She makes a plethora of stitches and even button holes, perhaps I’ll have to look into making things with button holes soon!

Now I can finally complete Mary’s grand baby name quilt, the 10 baby quilts for Project Linus and Angel Baby’s and finally get the really cute heap of sheep quilt done for the heart baby’s…then I can get back to the Queen Sized retinal damage rainbowie keep Jim warm quilt.  Yippie… Oh so filled with creative gigglitude! 

Sigh but the day has just begun here at work… 3 new molds need books, one mold is tentatively approved, 2 ECR’s, a small stack of ECN’s and the painful pile of filing…

BUT eventually I can go home and tidy the sewing area, get Sally all set up, and I guess do the Table runner I made out of the left-over’s from the tacky assed hotishpink tree-skirt…

Hey…Tacky huh?!?  We’ve a hot pink tinsel pre-lit with pink lights Yule tree…FINALLY a tree that fits out freakish little family! I need a wee menorah, a Kwanzaa corn and any other December holiday I can come up with to make sure the Yule tree covers ALL the holidays…

Last evening in the fervor of purchases with my X-mas $ from my parents (I got it early, my parents are SOOOOO cool) I got myself some really nice winter boots so I can walk during lunch here at work without freezing my b-jeezez off, some leggings to wear under my pants, and a new nightgown…hmmm, yeah that’s it… I gave Tab $40 (basically her X-mas gift from me) so she could pay her rent to me and Jim…yeah kinda round about.  I gassed up the beast, and bought a batch of bobbins for Sally the Singer. And between Tab and I, bought dinner at KFC (I know PETA…bad chicken practices, but we were all hungry) for me, Tab, Oliver, Jazmin, Travis and Jim for under $30.

Pay day which will be mighty tiny after missing 2 days last week will rearing it penny pinchin’ head tomorrow.  I need to hit the quilt shop for my ten er so fat quarters for the Block Buddy Swap fat quarter birthday deal I signed up for… Gonna contemplate a few extra purplesand white on whites for Mom’s yo-yo birthday wall hanging/table topper I’m making for January. What ever may be left…I need to save out $50 for the budget and $25 for Thursday’s co-pay for my (bleck) physical. 

So that’s today…8:11 stinkin’ AM in my little icky life… thus far

Sally the Singer Positively HUMMED!

SEWING

I sewed through an hour of evening programming last night and Jim didn’t even have to turn the boob tube any higher than usual.  Sally the Singer is wonderfully quiet…perfect stitches…Amazing what a person will put up with i.e. my ol’ Eropro, horrible tension, presser foot that doesn’t stay down …then I get Sally…wow I love this machine!  Not gonna marry it…but ya know what I mean!

I completed 37 non Xmas holiday ornaments to hand out to all my work mates that aren’t going to be getting the sewing kits.  I made one for mom and 2 of her workmates, even though she’s getting a sewing kit.  I made a few extras for Kristen, my Nurse Practitioner, Dr. Huldeen The Dr. who’s been helping Jazmin and the cool Bank chick in the drive thru window who wishes me a good day even though I’m sure her’s has been long and shitty.  Above is the one I made for me, to hang on my window at work.  When ever I try something new creatively, I make one for me just in case I screw it up or realize it’s beyond my capability.  It took 2 days to hand sew all the yo-yos…one for the little ones with the button middles and one for the big ‘uns.  as I munch upon wee cheddar pringles…

SPENDING

K… so tonight after I’ve left the $ for the budget and tomorrow’s co-pay at home, Off to Heavenly Patchwork Quilt shop in Waconia for 10 assorted fat quarters for the Birthday Fat Quarter Swap, maybe a few extras that get my attention.  Then to Target for small pop top chicken for work…hmm…no idea what else we ‘need’

CELEBRATING

Today is Travis’ birthday…guess I should get a cake of some sort… perhaps a cupcake and a pillar candle Travis will be coming to our place after work, I already let Jim know so he wouldn’t be taken by surprise.  Oliver is loving this having his dad and Jim in the same place most of the time.

CONTEMPLATING

I’m hoping to shop quick tonight so I can get home, happy birthday and sew again… I’ve one quilt ready to go!  I could just DO IT…sew like a freak and get another done for Little Angels.  But then again I need to get all the birthday fat quarters wrapped and packaged to send to Block Buddies.  I gotta get my quilter’s coven yule swap accomplished, yule card swap put together, and start Heidi’s Xmas care package put together… Already got some different sizes of canvases, a couple neat brushes and stuff…hmmm…just doesn’t end does it?

A humane human!

As I munch a pickle and a tuna on light rye…

 

A human DOES in deed still exist! K…so I walk every day for part of my lunch break at work…it is currently 15 degrees Fahrenheit,  -10 for you Celsius people… Behind the factory where I work is a scattering of older farm homes, farmland, dirt roads, swamps, and an occasional graveyard to keep you on the straight and narrow basically not much life during the winter.   I usually walk out 10 minutes and back 10 minutes about a mile total leaving me enough time to punch back in, water my static crazy hair, and munch my lunch before getting back to work…thus I blather on a bit…So I’m a marching along the side of the roan since my new nice to look at boots are totally non conducive to walking, sauntering or strolling… This older gentleman drives by in his nice little small tan very clean pickup complete with matching topper…a few moments later he comes back and pulls over by me…and asks am I just out for some exercise or am I walking back to my damaged vehicle?!?  Heavens this neat old guy probably a whole month younger than my dad was coming to my rescue! Wicked cool or what…coarse this guy had probably survived WWII so he grew up with manners and saving the lady in distress, but hew how neat is it to be rescued when yer out just exercising!   Well, there’s my moment of AW…people can be humane!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa…St. Nick…Mr. Claus?!?

 

I realize I’m an adult and I really haven’t ‘believed’ in you since I was eight and asked for a cat, a real cat…I made that perfectly clear at the time…and Christmas morning when I ran out to the tree, there sat a stuffed animal in the shape of a Siamese cat…dude, you didn’t even get the breed correct.  But I’ll be the big guy and let bygones by bygones.  I just have a little request this year…a wee one, should be relatively easy for you you’re the one night wonder after all!

I want happiness…not for me of course, I can cope with life’s ups and downs, I’m middle aged and have seen and lived quite a bit.  I know good comes with the bad and we all need to deal.  I want happiness for my children, there’s only 2 of them so this should be essentially wham bam and there you go.  When they were very little I believe they had moments of happiness, they’re older now, some times I think they’re older than me.  They don’t see the glass as half full ever; in fact I think they see the glass as empty, chipped and dirty, ready for the trash.  I just want them to look at the sky for the clouds and the shapes they take.  I want them to see the moon at night and wonder at the face that there.  I want them to eat a chocolate like it’s the best thing they’ve ever had…ever.  I want them to watch a comedy or stand-up or even America’s Funniest Videos and laugh till they cry.  I guess I just want them to wake up every day and just be OK with being alive, look in the mirror and be please with their appearance, go to work or where ever and just be Happy.  Or at least glad?!?

 

Yeah…so hey thanks for taking time out of your busy day to read something that isn’t about toys, games, the odd pony or electronics.

 

Yours just because, Yane

Is it a Manic Monday?!?

Manic Monday?!? Hmmm…Yeah probably…fer sure in fact!  UGH!  It is -6 right now and promises a high of -4… WTF… I feet are frozen to the conctrete block beneath my feet here in one of the hottest offices at work… OY!

Jim was horribly sick all weekend.  When he was sleeping I wasn’t and last night was nothing new… I gotta remember to grab some ear plug from work and see if that works at all.  I can just hear too well.  The howling wind would get tangled up in the antenna (no idea if it is eaven hooked up to any TVs anymore) and the vibrating humm was making the windos vibrate.  Jim snoozed right through it…I however did not. 

Henry Rollins Stumpy Butt decided to rearrange his tank at least three times, smashing his food dish against the glass, flipping his house all over then burrying his water bottle under bedding… He’s lucky I didn’t feel like really hurting a wee rodent…

Xmas at mom’s has been rescheduled for this coming Sunday…agrivated sigh, so now this coming payday I need to squeeze a vase for mom, the photo deal for dad, 12 thimble and 12 scissors and most likely Oliver little people farm plus gas and budget $… Yeah I’m thrilled.  Travis will be taking Oliver Xmas eve through who knows and won’t be coming to mom’s cuz he’s picking up his brother from the airport.  I figure I’ll give Olie his gift at mom’s so he can at least get it.  I’ll PU Jim’s level, and Tab’s screw driver from Menards next Wednesday, card from Target for Jaz’s $.  THen call it all finally complete.  Whew.

Can’t wait to be done with this holiday season so I can get to making the king-sized quilt for my bed, finishing all the boy quilts for TIny Angels and Project Linus.

I’m almost totally done with the sewing kits, 12 in all.  Just need the thimbles, straight pins and scissors.  If I have time (yeah right) I’m going to the dollar store and see what they have in the way of fold up scissors.

This one’s mine for work. Blindingly wicked…huh?!?

Frozen Sun Dogs in Minnesota

Today’s fabulous weather in Minnesota!

 

Extremely cold today in the Twin Cities. Decreasing clouds during the afternoon. Temperatures today will range from -9 below (wind-chill -35 below) at 8 A.M. then -6 below (wind-chll -30 below) at noon and -3 below (wind-chill -25 below) at sunset (4:32 P.M.) – winds today will be gusty from the West at 11 to 22 mph then becoming light and variable this evening after 6 P.M. Skies will be clear tonight and 8 P.M. temperatures will be near -8 below (wind-chill -20 below) then overnight lows by sunrise (7:45 A.M.) Tuesday will be near -12 below (wind-chill -22 below).

 

Many years ago, the nature-essayist Hal Borland wrote in his book Sundial of the Seasons that “Sun dogs and moon dogs are beautiful accents to a winter day or night as the rainbow is to a showery Summer day.” Sun dogs usually appear in pairs, and are loyal to the sun (as moon dogs are loyal to the moon), sitting on each side of the solar orb along a horizontal line through the solar disk. Sun dogs appear in January, April, August, and October, the month does not really matter, but they are most regularly seen close to their solar master during winter months when the sun is low in the sky and ice crystals in the atmosphere are more common, but we can see them in any of the other seasons whenever cirrus clouds fuzz the sky above.

 

Sun dogs, or mock suns, are technically called solar parhelia (parhelia meaning “with the sun”) and appear as bright bursts of light formed when sunlight passes through ice crystals at the proper angle. Usually, cirrus clouds in front of the sun produce sun dogs, but other ice clouds, such as ice fog and diamond dust, may also generate them. Sun dogs are sometimes so brilliant that dazzled observers mistake them for the sun. They are often bright white but may show a partial spectrum of color with the red wavelengths on the edge nearest the sun. Sun dogs often have comet-like appearance with a bluish-white tail facing away from the sun.

 

Sun dogs are the second most frequent halo phenomena behind the 22^o halo and often accompany that halo. The difference between sun dog and halo formation is the orientation of the ice crystals through which sunlight passes before reaching our eyes. Halo formation requires a mixture of random ice crystal orientations in the sky. But if the sky has only horizontally oriented, flat ice crystals, we just see a sun dog.

Ice crystals in the atmosphere are hexagonally shaped. Crystals forming most optical phenomena in the air are typically hexagonal rods, shaped like pencils, or flat, hexagonal plate patterns, like microscopic stop signs or dinner plates. When plate-shaped ice crystals fall unimpaired, drag forces automatically orient them horizontally so that their larger, flat surface parallels the earth like a large maple leaf drifting down from a tree.

Sun dogs emerge when sunlight passing through the ice plate’s thin sidefaces is refracted. The more perfectly aligned the falling crystals are to the horizontal, the more compact the resulting sun dog. Crystal misalignment from true horizontal will spread the sun dog vertically — its angular height being approximately four times the maximum crystal angular tilt.

Sun dogs frequently display a reddish tint on the side facing the sun and may sport bluish-white tails which stretch horizontally away from it. The degree to which colours are visible depends on the amount of wobble in the ice crystal’s fall: the more wobble, the more colour. The sun dog’s tail is formed by light passing through the crystal at angles other than the optimal deviation angle.

Sun dogs typically appear when the sun is low to the horizon, usually just prior to sunset or after sunrise, or during winter months at mid-latitudes. If the sun is low (horizon to about 15^o above it), each sun dog is separated from the sun by 22^o (or about two handsbreadth on extended arms), and both will lie on the circle of the 22^o halo if one is present.

Sun dogs form tightest to the sun at lowest solar altitudes, but they are never less than 22^o from it. As the Sun climbs in the sky, the sun dogs slowly move away from the 22^o separation, although they remain on the line through the sun parallel with the horizon. When the sun has climbed to more than 45^o altitude, sun dogs are fainter and noticeably off the 22^o circle, and they vanish altogether above 61^o solar altitude.

Over two millennia ago, the Greeks recognized that haloes and sun dogs foretold rain. Today we known this is often a valid prediction, because haloes and sun dogs are produced by ice crystals that form the cirroform clouds which make up the typical cloud sequence preceding a precipitating warm front.

One last word. There are also moon dogs that appear alongside the moon and are formed by lunar light passing through ice crystals. Moon dogs (or paraselenae) are less commonly seen because the moon can only produce them when bright and because they appear during the night when most of us are asleep.

another x-citing 2zdae

“Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her
sperm, she’ll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she’ll give you a
home. If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal. If you give her a
smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given
to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.”

 

 

Last night…I did nothing…ugh, greatly disappointed in myself.  I made 2 stacks of 3 ½ X 3 ½ squares to make bright 9-patches, eventually.  Thought about ironing some fabrics, this fat quarter of what with really cute people on it and making it into a perfect square, putting on a few thin borders and digging out the scant amount of batting I have left to make some hand work to bring with to Jazmin’s OB/GYN appointment tomorrow…yeah thought about it.  It’s still post-it noted on my brain so I will hopefully do it tonight.  Tomorrow I leave at noon to cash my paycheck, only 1 hour short this time, go grab Jaz then out to Waconia.  Hopefully for a QUICK 2 stitch removal and fast contemplating of whatever drug they will decide to put her on this time. 

 

I gotta go to Wally which is on the opposite side of the planet from Waconia after I’m sure I’ll have to pick up Tab and Oliver even if she has no $ and no real reason to go to Wal-mart…Sigh, I’d just like to get my copious shopping done with speed for a change… stop at Target in Waconia to get dad a photo book for Xmas, perhaps locate a nice candle and holder for mom there, Jazmin’s $ card…maybe even just get Oliver’s farm and extra tractor there to!  Then on Thursday I can hit the dollar store for 12 folding scissors, straight pins, needles and 12 thimbles.

 

Next week’s pay which will conveniently fall on Xmas eve (great time to shop) Off to Menard’s for Jim’s fabulous level and Tab’s Screw Driver. Oh to just be independently wealthy this ‘giving’ season I could just get it all at once and be done with all the running around and worrying about the budget.  I am just so many shades of tired from not sleeping worth a blink and feeling ½ crappy, I’m sure I’m getting the creeping crud that’s going around work and that Jim has had for a while.

 

Quilter’s 12 days of Xmas

On the 1^st day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: An ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 2^nd day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 3^rd day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 4^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 5^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie fave to me: 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 6^th day of Xmas my sweetie pi gave to me: 6 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 7^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 8^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 8 rubber thimbles, 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 9^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 9 ladies in the quilting bee, 8 rubber thimbles, 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 10^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 10 quilting magazines, 9 ladies in the quilting bee, 8 rubber thimbles, 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 11^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 11 packets of batik dye, 10 quilting magazines, 9 ladies in the quilting bee, 8 rubber thimbles, 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

 

On the 12^th day of Xmas my sweetie pie gave to me: 12 days to quilt unbothered by chores, 11 packets of batik dye, 10 quilting magazines, 9 ladies in the quilting bee, 8 rubber thimbles, 7 yards of backing, 6 yards of 1930’s reproductions, 5 FAT QUARTERS, 4 acrylic templates, 3 yard of low loft batting, 2 quilting sharps and an ergonomic rotary cutter that fits me to a tee!

Happy B-day Stephermini

(We were both blinded by the sun)

 

I heard this song on the radio and it reminded me of us

All piled in the Yugo as if it were a bus.

 

Music blasting, kids whining, the heat of summer flowing through the only windows as we were off to the blood bank…for naught!

 

We were SO poor but so happy when we were all together!

 

The moments we were apart either from madness, distance or addiction

I always thought of you!

What would Jesus do?!? What would Stephermini have to say about that?

 

Over 20 years we’ve been friends,
And not even once coming to an end.

We’ve stuck together like bread and peanut butter, jelly, Pringles, cheezits.
One is not complete without the other.

We’ve shared many laughs & we’ve shared many tears
But I think that’s made us strong throughout these years.

 

But hey! Here’s to your birthday!

I’m still 6 entire months older than you…

 

I reached middle age 1^st.

But I still feel like we’re merely 20!

 

 Happy Birthday Dear Stephermini!

ThurZdae THurZdae ra ra ra

(not my new machine…)

 

Woo Hoo! It is ever so Friday eve! Had our lovely health insurance meeting this morning…we all get to go to a high deductible frickin’ insurance now… $2,000 per person per year… UGH!  We will have the option of having a HS account to put $ towards our medical spending… great… more deductions from ever check… Love being one of the many working poor!

 

K so I had to QUICK make Jaz’s remaining dr. appointment for the year to try to get all her medications filled since she will no longer be on my insurance as of the 1^st since she is not in school and she’s 18 now.  Sigh… only appointment available is 3:10 today so she’ll have to walk since I left early yesterday to take her to the OB/GYN…have no $…have no vacation left…have no incentive to even be a mother on most days now.  She applied for work where I work on Monday…I’m thinkin’ she may have to bite the bullet and apply at a few zillion other places too…just to afford her Rx since I have my own 10 per month to buy.  Bad enough I feel like I am definitely getting what Jim had and what most of my co-workers have been spewing on me.  Sniff, hork, wheeze…The OB/GYN was a massive bit of let down…the stitches are self absorbed…Jaz’ has to go to Kristen to get back on the regular birth control…so for missing 3.5 hours of work we accomplished absolutely NOTHING… I go in on the 27 for my fasting cholesterol test so I think I’ll get ALL my Rx filled at the same time since this whole insurance thing is so F’ed up I have no idea how I’ll be able to afford the drugs that do not come in a generic. Thought the holiday season was to be one of love peace giving a hoot for your fellow poverty stricken employee…guess I had it confused with something else.

 

This week Jim was nice enough to forgo the usual $55 needed for budget so we all can afford a bit of holiday cheer.  So, I picked up 11 rubber thimbles for the sewing kits, the next size up of yo-yo makers for me, mom’s gift: yummy assed candle set, dad’s gift: a photo carousel deal, Oliver’s gifts: little people farm and a walking flapping dragon, Heidi’s journal: covered in different buttons, a pair of slippers as part of Jazmin’s gift that she got now since the floors are cold, and one of Jim’s gifts: the fabulous black & Decker level deal.  Since our Xmas at mom’s is Sunday and the holiday meal here at work is this coming Monday I picked up some bright red bell bottoms and a green t-shirt that has an elf look to it.  I got some lime green marabou package trim to make bows for the ponytails I plan for my hair. Jim’s like…you’re dressing in costume for Xmas now?!?  Not really …well OK a bit…Just dressing the part! I get tired of trying to blend in with the huddled masses…I gotta be me…a freak… J

Happy Birthday to OLIVER!!!

Sweet Olie will be the big 4 today! 

What a guy… He has his moments when he’s severely flush-able…but otherwise he’s a dandy grandson!

I was there at his birth…his red gooey face…him peeing all over his mom…then peeing all over the bassinet…what a great little boogar butt from the start…

SO here’s to you Oliver Scot…you made it to 4…good job and keep up the good work…hugs n kisses!

 ~ Yer ever lovin’ Nana!

TGI F-ing F…even!

I am painfully ever so glad it is FRIDAY!  UGH!  Between stupidity in the economic – insurance pile of dung and throwing out the middle (yeah middle) of my back…I’m in rare form today…not!  Welcome to my pissy whiny wa wa wa blog moment…

Work is INSANE…I’m totally inundated with great steaming piles of paper work… WTF people?!?  I’ve had days where I’m searching for work…filing extra slow just to keep occupied…now I have 2 new molds, 4 to change to work in progress…ECR’s flowing like a severed artery…insanity!  We’ve our Xmas meal here on Monday… I’ll be bringing in all the sewing kits for: Sue, Judi, Bonnie, Melissa, Roxanne (yes I’m singing her name) & Katherine, Paul’s wee Rover quilt + the 37 non-holiday ornaments I made for everyone on 1st shift. Gotta get the Newsletter done and out by none Tuesday…so far not many have donated any fodder to it so I guess I’ll be filling it up with holiday nonsense.  We may have made our 4th quarter goal which would be monetarily nice for a switch.

 

Jim with the Wal-Mart Santa…2 funny!

Santa at Day care next Tuesday and I have to leave early, PU Oliver @ 1pm on Wednesday…grab what ever my piddly chech brings and run to Down in the Valley to find Jim’s Xmas CD, Somewhere to get Tab’s cordless drill with bits and a cool card to put Jazmin’s $ in…And have Olie back in tome for Travis to take him to Iowa for Xmas…See…Insanity!

This Sunday we’re doing Xmas at my mom’s: Me, Jim, Tabitha, Jazmin, Oliver mom & dad…Chicken Kiev with all the fixin’s…I do hope my back feels better by then…I’ll be wearing my sad Xmas elfish outfit…I’m sure my mom will be underwhelmed…Oh well…

Maude it’s only 9:41…I hope I survive the day!

check it out!

I’m on a quilting site…well something I made is on a quilting site… call me maga excited!

http://www.quiltersshowandtell.com/2008/12/the-seasons.html

Merry Happy Jovial!

Happy Yule! Merry Xmas! Happy Hanukkah! Jovial Kwanzaa! happy any other December holidays I’ve inadvertently missed!

We already had our Xmas moment at my mom’s this last Sunday.  Jim was in charge of the camera so I guess we know who he likes best!

All were spoiled as is normal for my parents.  A plethora of clothing, toys and white elephant gifts abound!  Jim got a lovely lil jug of slime with rubbery internal organs in it.  Jazmin got some lovely blue lingerie…Tab got a set of makeup she already gave to Jaz since Tab doesn’t wear that much makeup.  I got 2 cool cabby hats and a wool tam…makes me itch a bit…I think I’ll add some cotton around the edge that touches my forehead.

Travis and his brother came by last night to pick up Oliver for his Xmas trip to Iowa to see Travis’ family.  Trav and Olie opened their gifts under our tree.  Olie really like Travis’ brother who’s name totally escapes me at the moment.  Ugh! I think it starts with a D or B…yeah that helps.  Olie tried to bring the farm I got him with…too big…but AW he liked the gift from Nana!  Too Cute!

Santa came to daycare yesterday…I forgot the camera…so this bit of fuzzy loveliness is from my cell phone.  Santa was realistically round complete with large purplish nose… Only 2 kids really were terrified of him.  Olie walked right up!  Brave little guy!

I leave here (work…shhh) today around 1, PU Tab at work, get gas, dash home quietly PU Jim without Jaz and off to Best Buy, drop Jim @ Target, me to Joann Fabrics for a bit of Xmas fabric for next years ornaments, spools for them, look for and price pre-quilted xmas fabric for the 12 baby stockings I’m making for tiny angels next year…get 1 or 2 low loft battings…check out the next size up of yo-yo maker…wait till Jim calls so we can pick him up from Target.  if there’s time dash to Ridgedale for Tab, no idea what she wants there.  Back to town before 7 for the Muney to get Beer before it closes…then home to surreptitiously wrap gifts…and collapse in a heap.  Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!  I’m already exausted just contemplating what awaits today!

not long enough holiday weekend

Sew Sew Sew rather than ho ho ho!

 

I sewed, cut, painted…contemplated like a freak this long holiday weekend!  Even with all the insane driving!  Wednesday we (me, Jim, Tab) went to Best Buy, Target, a shoe store and Byrley’s wine & spirits. I got Jim a set of Dirty Harry and Fear & Loathing in Los Vegas.  Got Jaz 2 CDs she didn’t have…at the shoe store I got myself a pair of Mudd shoes and a set of ‘gay’ rainbowie socks.  At the wine and spirits as we walked pass some captured shoplifters in the back of the squad car guffaw and giggle, Jim bought me a bottle of Godiva chocolate liquor. Oh my Maude in Himmel!  This booze was like silk! Liquid chocolate!  Too yummy!  Then home to open gifts ho ho ho…yadda yadda yadda!

Jim go me a tiny hot pink not an iPod shuffle that I just filled with music off my computer here. He also got me a set of Lady sings the Blues CDs and the latest Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  Too fun!

 

 He made the yummiest turkey boob hold the nipple for Xmas dinner complete with real mashed potatoes, dressing and lots of gravy!

 

Friday Tab worked, Travis had Oliver and I took Jim & Jaz into Heights Welding to PU his paycheck, cashed it…got irritatingly lost in Maple Grove searching for a Michaels and ended up going to the Michaels by Ridgedale, then trying to go to down in the Valley in Wayzata…it is GONE!!!  No really…it isn’t there any more!  TOTALLY UNHAPPY!

 

Saturday we had Oliver as Tab had to work again.  Jim and I took him out to Hutchinson to see if we could get there.  I wanted to go to the quilt shop out there but couldn’t locate it.  So we went to the head shop where we both found some tunes, and Oliver loved up the shop kitties.  Then off to Joann Fabrics in hopes of locating 5 yes five xmas-ie fabrics and the next size up of yo-yo maker…got the fabric…but no yo-yo maker!  UGH!  Oliver turned into a limp noodle and had to be carried through the last store we attempted before going through the drive through at Arbey’s. Oliver drinks really well from a bottle of water! Home to get Tab at work and then just HOME! Cut out all the fabric for next year’s ornaments and started the painting of the spools for the trunks and the tiny cubes that will be the wee presents under the yo-yo trees.

 

 I dove nowhere yesterday!  Unless you count Sally the Singer!  We drove many a mile together!

Completed 5 bassinet quilts for preemie boys and a doodlebug girl baby quilt all of which will go to West Virginia God’s Tiny Angels.  I’ve 2 more bassinet and 2 more baby girls’ quilts to complete before shipping this pile.

I finished the top of the rainbowie 9-patch twin-sized that will go to Project Linus Greater Twin cities.  Just gotta get the back and what not for that to get it completed.

Worked on the Severe Retinal Damage keep Jim Warm Rainbow king-sized quilt.  Just gotta get the 1 ½ yards of hot pink, black and 2 yards of fabulous rainbow for the border then that one will be ready to sandwich too!

Finally completed the painful pointy table topper too.

 

Tab just called…she was supposed to get out of work today @ 2pm now she’s staying till 7pm…12 hour shift at Mickey D’s…ugh!  Poor Tab!  Oh well, I’ll PU Oliver and home to throw him at Jim who is still laid off.  Everyone’s in kinda a funk… the employed, the laid off and the wanna be employed.  I think Olie’s the only one who’s just normal!

Ode 2 my 1st button hole!

Ode to my 1^st buttonhole!

 

Yeah, well, call me a silly freak…but I’m an ever so proud and giggly silly freak!

With Sally the Singer’s assistance I made my very 1^st machined buttonhole!  On the 1^st try even!  TO WICKEDLY COOL, even!  I needed a carrying apparatus for my sweet lil not-a-shuffle-iPod-deal since it is so tiny and I don’t wanna loose it.  Yeah I’m 40 and I guess any icky kid in Home Economics or whatever they call it now makes a buttonhole, yadda-yadda-yadda but when I was in home economics, we didn’t make buttonholes…we made these horrid velour mock turtle necks…bleck! Mine was tan…hate tan to this day.  OK so I made my buttonhole last night…showed Oliver, he thought it was too wicked cool as he took one of my chicken nuggets and lipped it viciously before putting it back in the bowl. Showed Jim who was at least feigning to be as excited as I was while taking in the horrid news off the boob tube. Showed Jaz who was totally under-whelmed and had to tell me so.  Oh why must she always deluge on my wee infrequent parades.  Ugh!  Nonetheless…I am proud of my perfectly purple buttonhole…damnit!

Note from my Auntie Elaine:  Now for your information – I don’t think I have EVER made a button hole!  I’ve sewn a button hole to make it smaller so things would stay buttoned… but I don’t even think my Singer has a button hole attachment… so congrats to you and the button hole capability! HAGD EMS

Note from my mom: I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOOVE YOUR BUTTONHOLE!!   Have a pop-free day. Loveya, Mom

 

Thus I sit here ripping my pile of CDs onto the computer so I can cram them on the sweet-lil-hot-pink-not-a-shuffle-iPod-deal for this upcoming long assed weekend of being quiet in the morning as all sleep in and I sew and the ever so quiet Sally the Singer. Thus far I have: Beck, Radiohead, Aticus dragging the lake, Asleep by dawn, Sublime, 3 Me 1^st & the Gimme Gimmes, Lacuna Coil, Bloodhound Gang, Queen, Angie’s Farm: Salad Bowl Blues (TOO COOL, eh! My friend Angie has a CD!), Apocalyptica, hmmm and the one’s I put on yesterday.  These are all CDs that were living in the Jeep…dug around and chucked them in the purse last night while waiting for Tab to get outa work at 7pm…12 hours at Mickey D’s…what a sucky day for her!  Then the moo at home was bad 2 days ago so she walked to the filling station for more.  Oy!

 

On the weather front…it’s currently snowing pebbly poo on top of the 3 inches of ice…promises to have 6 inches of fantabulous snow by noon.  I slid into the parking lot 3 minutes late today so now I need to stay till 3:33pm to make sure I have my 8 hours.  Bummer is Thursday may be holiday pay but Friday will be no pay… L Thus this week will be more than likely biting butt in the money column: I’ve got car insurance to pay, ½ of rent OR budget $ which ever, and 4 prescriptions 2 of which are not generic so they will be $36 each…hmmm…well at least the bug eaters at home already have crickets, I’ve 1 or 2 cans of cat food for Helga…and hey! We can always go to the food shelf! Sigh, I don’t wanna go to the food shelf! They’re dry goods are always buggy and half the cans are swollen with botulism! Smells oddly painty, gluey, melty in here today… nope nothing on the surge protector gonna catch fire… WOW I have a headache! 

On a slightly better note…Jazmin can stay on my health insurance here till she’s 19 OR gets a job with insurance of her own.  One less thing to smash into my incredibly shrinking funds.

Tons ~o~ Turkeys!

January 2nd 2009

K, so Tab had to work on the 2nd, as did quite a few people (not me or Jim however) The dandy thing is Oliver had Daycare so I had the day to sew (see quilting page, angel page, project linus page, HLHS page).  Bitha got off early totally forgot I was home so had my dad pick her up and bring her home just about the time I was getting ready to go get her and Oliver…er duh…so I still got to drive through the frozen wilderness to Delano to get the wee cermudgen.  Jaz came with for a ride to the Tattoo shop that took all of 3 minutes as she was only pricing a piercing.  On the way to Delano we saw the BIG flock, or gaggle or whatever of wild turkeys.  We hoped they would still be there on the way back so we could take their photo.

They were…Oliver loved it…didn’t want his window opened to see them better though.  Guess he figured they might want a ride home too.

There was a good 30+ of the feathered beasties. 

A bedroom for Nana!

Giggly Wiggly Happy Dance!!!!!!!!!

Oh…My…Maude…in…HIMMEL!

We could have our bedroom back as soon as the 10^th of January…yes 2009…like in 4 days!  Tab & Travis called the apartments in front of us and they have openings NOW! So they’re bringing all the paperwork and the $60 (WTF) down to the landlord whatever today! 

I’m going to try not to get my hopes too totally pasted onto the ceiling…but…I haven’t had my room since, hmm, 2004 when I traded my nice big room for Tab’s 2^nd smallest room cuz’ she was preggers with Olie and needed more space for all the baby accoutrements.  Then when Olie was…oh…1 ish I moved into the Living room so Jaz could have the black room and Oliver could have the smallest room…THEN Tab and Oliver moved out for a while, we made Oliver’s room into the computer room and stayed in the living room, Jim built a wall complete with locking door so it is a room.  Tab and Oliver came back, moved into the big room, divided it with a fence and gate, and this is how we’ve been ever since, no living room, just a kitchen and a tiny computer room…when company comes over they all pile into our room/living room…SO I’m really looking forward to having a living room again and an actual bed room for me and my sweet Lima Bean Man.  With a closet and everything!  All of our gotta-hang-up clothing is in the tiny closet in the computer room.  As I jump up and down internally…My clothing will be in my room with me! Too Freaking painfully cool!

Jim and I have decided the living room will basically be the crafty crap/guitar/living room. So the TV, My painting area, my sewing area and his guitar repair stuff will be in there.  We’ll get a couple beanbag chairs or perhaps a futon so there will be seating as needed.  I can totally tidy the kitchen and have a usable table n seating there too.  WOW…I SO CANNOT WAIT!

T to the G to the I to the Fribbity Gibbet F

Thus another workweek is coming to a close…

 

 Jazmin’s suffering from Migraines but for some reason the Dr. is not returning her calls…Probably cuz’ they wanna squeeze just a lil more money outa me by having her have an appointment and have to pay the co-pay and be sent to a specialist, pay another co-pay, try a few drugs that will either do nothing or perhaps blow her head up…co-pay, co-pay, co-pay…eventually find some wee medication that works half the time but kills her liver, kidneys or something else essential (co-pay)…then something else can break on her…ugh even! Tonight since we don’t want to relax or anything we (Jim, Me, Jaz) will be going to the local tattoo parlor so Jaz can get her lip pierced…can’t wait…wonder if I can bow out?!?  Probably not, I gotta be the driver as usual, then go home so I can cook…Hmmm, getting a bit tired of my forever busy life!

 

Tab, Travis & Oliver were accepted at the Clinic View Apartments…just gotta wait for the money to come in the mail so the can move in, then the fun will begin at my house, I get my room back! Complete with closet, the living room will again be a LIVING room and the kitchen can be tidied and usable too! Sigh, Tab wants a microwave for a apartment warming gift…so that’s on my patter of things I won’t get but get to buy nonetheless. At least when they move and she works on the weekends Travis can watch Oliver…Perhaps she can even get her license, car and start driving herself all over…I can save gas and oh I don’t know, work 40 hours a week and chill occasionally?!?

 

I’m hoping to sew a bit this weekend unless of course Tab moves out…then I’ll be watching Oliver then disassembling the assorted rooms.  I’ve decided on a ‘professional tote’  I think having an actual pattern to work from will help immensely!  I’ve made a plethora of bags, totes and purses in the past but none ever truly worked for what I wanted / needed in a bag.  Something that matches ‘ME’ not the outfit I’m currently wearing but the rainbow flower earth mother on the inside just screaming to get out.  And have enough room for the assortment of everything I may carry on any particular day yet have room for those OMG we gotta hurry up and wait projects to keep me from hurting anyone. So here’s the pattern:

 

And the assortment of goodies I’ve purchases to complete it. 

 

Yeah all three zippers are different colors and the black fabric with daisies is made up since I couldn’t locate the correct fabric on the web.

So there ya go…and here I go! J

Hippity Hoppity Hump Day!

Shipping out 3 boxes of lovies today: 1 box crammed with assorted blankets going to Project Linus Greater Twin Cities, 3 quilts going to Heart Babies in Minneapolis, and 11 quilts going to tiny angels in West Virginia. Got another box of 3 quilts at home ready to go to Project Linus next week.

I’m hoping to pick up the fabric needed to start a ‘Home of the Brave’ quilt to make for an injured returning soldier or a killed in action soldier’s family. I’m getting 2 earthy browns, 1 blue & 1 green with a cream and dark red for the little squares.

Also on my massive list of ‘Wants’ I have 1 travel pillow so I can practice a Benjamin Smiles pillowcase for the Ronal McDonald House in Minneapolis. Gotta remember to send in the SASE to get the Benjamin labels for the cases.

Found a few other places I’d like to sew for: Angels for AIDS, a groups that makes nice warm lovies for babies up to young adult sized for people suffering the effects of AIDS, this is based out in California.

One I found a little closer to home is Warm Fuzzies that’s fleece blankets made for persons going through chemotherapy or surgeries related to cancer in Michigan. I plan to get 3 yards of 2 colors of fleece (male & female) and satin edging to complete 6 of these.

Then there’s Quilts from Caring Hands in Oregon. They take baby and youth sized quilts. I’ve made up mailing labels and a size list for all of these so I can just sew like a freak and ship as the boxes fill up.

AND some day soon the kids will be moving out soon. As soon as they get a check in the mail…then I’ll watch Oliver while they move, Jim will tear out the fence in our soon to be room, tear down ½ the wall so we have a living room again, and rearranging the computer room door with the living room door. He’ll be making it so the ½ door he puts in the living room wall doesn’t open, it’ll be like a window between the kitchen and the living room. Hopefully this will happen soon…VERY SOON!

Happy Fried Agg Eve

Perhaps within a week er so… the kids could move out… (calm almost can’t be seen happy dance!)

Here’s my new kitchen layout after the big event:

check it out, room to move…an actual eating area and good traffic flow!

And onto the living room…OMG I’ll have a living room again! it’s been so long! When taxes refunds come allong I’ll be getting a futon, some massive bean bag chair and a normal cumfy chair + a oh I’m thinking purple rug!

as I munch my pineapple chunks…we will be removing 1/2 of the wall that made the living room into a bedroom, givnig the kitchen and living room good traffic flow yet dividing them from each other quite nicely.  We’ll trade the front bed room’s door with the computer room’s 1/2 door making a window type deal in the wall between the living room and the kitchen for better shared lighting and air flow.  the 1/2 door will be nailed shut so there won’t be any bright let’s go through the 1/2 door moments.

Fried EggZ for 1 and all

All righty tidy…Friday is FINALLY here…This week has seemed to take for frickin’ ever!

With the $ cluster F (you know what I mean) for the kids…Tab being sick…Jaz just being really weenie about EVERYTHING…Me trying to smooth everything over for everyone as usual, having little luck and feeling the all encompassing failure that comes with motherhood… UGH!

Got my bonus check-ee-poo today…WOO HOO…it’s not like totally massive but it will be enough to get some head phones for my not-really-an-Ipod so my ears won’t hurt, a case of Dew for the weekend, hopefully a travel pillow so I can practice a Benjamin Smiles pillowcase, then off to the quilt shop in Waconia for a bit of silliness…we all need a wee release now and then.  Since Tab’s home sick, I’ll pick up Oliver from Day care and he can come with to Waconia.  When it’s just me and he…there’s usually very little weenieness…

Picked this up at Wall on Wednesday:

Got it baggied in my purse so I can find some fun fat quarters to go with it at the quilt shop.  No idea yet what I’ll be doing with this…probably a baby quilt and something wee for me out of the left overs…I love paisley and the bright colors!

I hope to accomplish my perfect tote this weekend…and perhaps even cut out the Home of the Brave quilt and a few benjamin Smiles pillowcases.  I always have such high hopes…perhaps when I’m no longer the Taxi service and stuff I can actually make plans for myself and actually accomplish a few things now and then!

Maude-Dae Maude-Dae

Oh Maude…it’s Monday…

 

K…the weekend was rather productive! Started Friday after work I was planning to bring Oliver with me to Target and the quilt shop.  He wasn’t coping well with the fact that his mom wasn’t in the Jeep…threw a fit followed by a shoe so I dropped him off at home with Tab.  I went alone.  I fell into step with all the other moms, grandmas and single chicks there with their baskets in hand and ‘green’ reusable totes wandering around trying to locate what we were there for, not get run over by any vicious breeders with their too many children running free to have a firm finger shaken at them occasionally and otherwise totally ignored by their perfectly coifed made up ever so thin mommies on their cell phone guffawing uproariously at what ever Stacy, Brittany, or Courtney just said from 2 isles over. Yeah I’m that kind off pissy shopper!  I said nothing though…just wander to a different location!  Found a travel pillow…ONE in the entire store.  Got 2 sets of baby spoons & forks for Tiny Angels.  Found nifty assed wicked cool HOT pink breast cancer awareness headphones for my not-an-IPod-shuffle so I can walk at work now and use them as earmuffs! Picked up a couple nice dishtowels for the kitchen too…Teal and hot pink!  Perfect!  Then off to the quilt shop where I found 10 different fat quarters for the Home of the Brave quilt I’m working on.  Very nice muted dark reds, dark blues, browns and greens!  Also picked up a yard each of mottled hot pink and Robert Kaufman or Hoffman print that’s FABULOUS for the Extreme Retinal Damage but keep Jim warm Quilt.  This should finish the top now.  Payday I’ll pick up a hot pink or purple king-sized flat sheet and an inexpensive light colored bedspread to use in lieu of batting then I can really get to work on completing it.  If Tab, Travis and Olie don’t move out soo I’ll ask mom if I can borrow her front room floor for pinning and yarning.  I think I’ll just quilt the outside border to keep the blanket from shifting and yarn the rest of the quilt. Then when I get my room back there will be a fantabulous new loving covering the whole bed!

 

Started and FINISHED my professional tote all in one day and it didn’t take 11 hours like it would have in the class…took 5-6 hours in fact and only had to tear out 2 seams.  I love it…massively massive!  When empty Oliver can sit uncomfortably in it, there’s a middle pocket…

Chrystaline Brontosausus

Chrystaline Brontosaurus…look no really look…not at my shadow…
do you see him (I’m just figuring it’s a him, have to be pretty tough to be out in this cold)?
he has no tail and he’s looking over his shoulder…during my lunch walk

The combination of salt, ice inhibitor and water makes bulbous crystalline monster foot prints in the breakdown lane where I walked today. 

Made it all the way to the 1^st mailbox past 90^th street…that makes 1 mile in half an hour. 

My breath billows hotly in the slight breeze. 

Whilst the Dresden dolls scream angst in my ears…the occasional call of a crow makes it’s way past the ear mashing headphones. 

The sounds of the tires rushing past me sound odd in the cold…kind of a ripping sound of pain. 

860 calories with NO fat calories all day for breakfast & lunch…shouldn’t I be loosing weight?!?

I’m just a bit opinionated!

Man crashes vehicle into Planned Parenthood in St. Paul

ST. PAUL — A man purposely rammed a vehicle into front door of Planned Parenthood in Highland Park.

The incident happened at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday in St. Paul.

A 32-year-old man told St. Paul Police he intentionally drove his SUV into the front door of the Planned Parenthood located at 1965 Ford Parkway in St. Paul.

A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood says one employee was at the front desk ten feet from the door. Most of the staff was in the building preparing to open for the day. No one was injured.

The man was immediately arrested on the scene for aggravated assault.

Planned Parenthood showed a KARE11 crew surveillance tape of the incident. They could not release it due to the ongoing investigation.

The tape shows the man driving his SUV down the sidewalk and clipping a retaining wall before steering into the front door of the clinic. He then backed up, and rammed it two more times. The driver got out of his vehicle and began waving a crucifix. He surrendered to police when they arrived.

KARE 11 crews on the scene say the damage to the building is minimal. There is damage to the trim of the front door from the vehicle.

Planned Parenthood CEO Sarah Stoesz says she is saddened by the incident, and adds that nothing like it has ever happened at the clinic on Ford Parkway. While that clinic is the only one in the Metro area that performs abortions, Stoesz insists that only 5 percent of its patients actually are there for an abortion.

Tim Stanley, executive director of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said patients were still being seen at the clinic on Thursday.

Thursday marks the 36-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Roe decision said that most laws against abortion in the U.S. violated constitutional rights to privacy.

K…here I go with my wee bit of WTF-age… WHY do men think they have to do anything like this?  Has this man ever had sex much less fathered a child?  Why does he think he needs to make a decision for the entire female species?!?  Hmmm?  Why?  Women have the RIGHT to make their own decisions about their bodies, reproduction and anything that dwells in there.  And YEAH I am PRO CHOICE!  Not pro abortion…pro choice…if a woman any woman even my own daughters feel that for their well-being that they need to abort a fetus…then so be it.  I will not ever stand in anyone’s way or stomp on their rights to make their own decisions about their bodies! Damn already…grow up and cope…we are ALL different and ALL have different beliefs…LIVE WITH IT!

Fraidegg fabulous Friedegg

Painful happy dance…the kids are actually moving to their apartment this weekend!  Tab told me this morning right before we left for work.  SO…tomorrow I was planning on going out and about with mom…Oliver will be coming with now, so mom thinks dad can keep an eye on him at their house while we bop to Wally in search of curtains for my soon to be bedroom and looks like the living room too.  I’ve got lovely black faux velvet drapes pn the side windows so I think all I’m gonna look for are drapes and a valance for the front bowed window.  Also since I have a 20 floating around my change purse I think I’m gonna get ½ yard of each of the cute frog fabrics they have at Wally too along with solid mint, pink and maybe light blue or lavender to make a Froggy quilt.  Should be too totally cute!  Perhaps a heart baby quilt!

 

I’ll be calling Jim soon to let him know that they will be moving this weekend so to be ready to tear down the fence and gate in the bedroom and ½ the wall in the living room.  Heavens I SO cannot wait!  Perhaps I’ll be sleeping in my bedroom as soon as Saturday night!  Bet I’ll sleep well with all that quiet back there with out all the traffic in front of the house! Update: called Jim…he’s bringing home a celebratory poppa John’s pizza for supper tonight and will be ready to help tomorrow with the big disassemble and move!

 

When I’m out with mom, worrying about dad and Oliver the whole time, I’m going to pick up a phone to hook up in the bedroom, so I don’t have to run past Jazmin’s moldering corpse to answer the phone on feet that feel like the bone is slicing through my heels. And price throw rugs for the bedroom since Tab’s taking the black rug from the bedroom with her.

 

Whoa…the owner of the company just called me…ME…to make sure I put his revised write up in the company newsletter…I did…huh, does that mean anything, or am I still a bit freaked about the whole gonna getta bedroom this weekend…probably the bedroom!

 

Sweet Oliver has his last day of day care today.  I feel so bad for him. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t understand what’s going on.  He’s going to really miss his little guys…Carson, Carson, Cameron, Hunter, Hunter’s cute little brother, the girls…and Josey the Chihuahua…not to mention Karen one of the best daycare operator’s I have ever met! (tear) Then Monday he’ll start daycare/preschool/speech therapy…total huge change to his day, different rooms, new kids, many new adults…then to have a new place to live too without the backup he has at our house…hopefully if Tab has any days that he’s horrible and she needs time she’ll think to call me…she can drop him off any time!  We love the little boogar! Especially Jim…Olie’s his little man.  Once Oliver gets a bit older he can walk to our place on his own…after letting his mom know 1^st of course.  It’ll be good that he has an extended family this close by.  Not a lot of kids have that now with both parents having to work and grandparents having to forgo retirement so they work till dead too.  At least when Olie’s new daycare will be off in June and I think August I’ll have my vacation time so I can take him, still get paid and Tab can not have to worry about working…

O MY F-in-Hymer Maude!

O MY F-in-hymer Maude!

Welcome to Monday and the insanity ensues! I got to work 5 minutes late so I have to stay till 3:35 in hopes of getting 8 very needed hours of work in.  UGH! SO…after our group weekend of horrid stress with a dollop of hell we were hoping Oliver’s new preschool/daycare/speech therapy would be a tad bit easy on us and on Oliver…Well NO what were we thinking?  I hurried this morning to grab Olie’s snow pants at our house so he’d have them for day care um yeah it will be a high of fricking 8 today and this little guy will be thrown out in the cold…great!  Jump in my not even close to warmed up vehicle drive like a freak to Tab’s apartment so a shell-shocked and weeping Oliver can be crammed into his carseat crying for his baby that he can’t bring with. We get there and the lone chick there has no idea what paperwork Tab has to continue to fill out after filling out a trees worth of crap already.  I’m trying to get Oliver calmly interested in the toys while yanking all his winter crap off of him.  Woman 1 say it’s fine that we don’t have Olie’s shoes with that she sees the preschoolers in their socks quite often…then comes woman # 2…unhappy about Oliver’s not total potty training…after Tab had spoken to chick number Z about it and it being found to be acceptable.  Broad # 2 asks where Oliver’s lunch is…Yeah NO ONE told Tab that Oliver would be needing a lunch packed…WTF?!?  Our tax dollars at work?!?  What a joke, the paperwork Tab had said Breakfast, Lunch and snacks were included in the amount we are now paying for this!  Color me too tired and too much pain to even be as flippant as I’d like to be!  So with the clock ticking Tab and I leap back into the Jeep, Pass Travis on his way to work, to my house to throw together a semblance of a lunch for Olie with one of his croissants, pudding and a juice…Tab runs it into the school and I think chick # 2 says OH, Oliver’s 4….he can get hot lunch…just fill out more paper work….welcome to 6:45…I have 15 minutes to get to Delano, drop Tab at Mickey D’s and get me back to MMI…F-ing Joke…Then chick # 2 tells Tab she’ll have to go home to get Oliver’s shoes, he can’t be in socks…He will be spending the day in his boots…I really hope his day goes better than ours has started. As I pulled up to Mickey D’s Tab’s phone is ringing…they’re calling her to tell her she’s late…ONE MINUTE F-ING LATE!  Ass wipes! You’ll have to pardon my language…ugh! Yet another reason my daughter’s were NEVER in daycare!  UGH!  I’d rather be poor than driven over the edge by the people who are supposed to care for my child in my absence!

 

On the move: The kids were basically totally moved into their apartment Saturday night.  Course it hadn’t been cleaned so Tab got to scrub all the previously viewed people scatterings all day yesterday.  Yum!  We got our bed room mostly moved yesterday, the wall in the living room removed, the fence in the bedroom Jim and Jaz removed late Saturday night while I hung the new curtains.  Tonight once my dashing about is completed, I’ll be throwing Lasagna into the oven and working on the living room. Just could get into it yesterday.  I was eventually just hobbling about on painful feet since I wore the Vans yesterday with no squishing insoles for all the work and grocery shopping…Got all the clothes moved from the computer room into our closet…how nice now I can like dress looking adequate rather than always in t-shirts!  The dressers and bed are all in there and filled.  The giant Jimi Hendrix is in Jim’s corner.  The purple batik is over the bed with our handfasting cord, all is well…tired, achy, but well.  Tab Travis and Oliver are in Stephi’s old apartment so I can find them in my sleep!  Plus we can see their windows from our front window.  So, they’re just across the way.  Kinda nice!  They can just wave if they want!

 

Yesterday Jazmin’s older rat Lucy passed away.  Jaz was holding her at the time.  L So Jazmin has Gertie the Snake beater rat and Gideon the insane red squirrel who was running around like a total freak last night.  Once the living room is all put together and vacuumed (what a mess!) He can run all over without any worries.

 

Wow my legs hurt!  We moved so much yesterday!  I hope Tab’s day at work goes well.  I really hope Oliver’s day goes OK.  I don’t want him to ever feel bad that the adults in charge aren’t on the same page.  These little guys depend on them knowing what’s up and sharing information…They better step to! That’s the Nana talking of course…they don’t listen to me! That them…ugh!

Price of children

 

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It’s nice.
 
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family.  Talk about price shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.
 
But $160,140.00 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
 
   * $8,896.66 a year,
   * $741.38 a month, or
   * $171.08 a week.
   * That’s a mere $24.24 a day!
   * Just over a dollar an hour.
   
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don’t have children if you want to be ‘rich.’ Actually, it is just the opposite.
   
What do you get for your $160,140.00?
 
  * Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
  * Glimpses of Maude every day.
  * Giggles under the covers every night.
  * More love than your heart can hold.
  * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
  * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
  * A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
  * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
  * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.  
 
 
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
 
  * finger-paint,
  * carve pumpkins,
  * play hide-and-seek,
  * catch lightning bugs, and
  * never stop believing in Santa Claus.
 
   You have an excuse to:
 
  * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
  * watch Saturday morning cartoons,
  * go to Disney movies, and
  * wish on stars.
  * You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect! spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
   
For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.  You get to be a hero just for:
 
   * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
   * taking the training wheels off a bike,
   * removing a splinter,
   * filling a wading pool,
   * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
 
 
You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
  * first step,
  * first word,
  * first bra,
  * first date, and
  * first time behind the wheel.
   
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
   
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under Maude. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
 
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren !!!!!!!
It’s the best investment you’ll make!

Cool Ked

Cool shoe I frappe’d on http://zazzle.com out of JPEGs of a few of the quilts I’ve made.  I will SO be getting a pair of these when I get my taxes…I can have quilt chick feet then!

Preppy Love Purse

January 28th 2009

Wicked too totally cute purse I made in like 3 hours…I got the pattern off the web fer free…blew it up on the copier…cut it all out planning to sew it this weekend but some how managed to get the whole thing done in one evening even throwing in dinner, making a set of Wall-E cutrains for Oliver’s new room, a shower and going to bed on time…too cool!

Sewing maniac…itZ catchy!

January 31^st 2009

I try to practice any new or haven’t been attempted in a while block before planning a MASSIVE project using the block.  I cut out 4 civil war sanitary quilt blocks…figured I’d just sew them into a wee quilt to donate…but rather made them into a blindingly bright tote bag! 12X12X6 rather than the HUGE professional tote or the cute but too small preppy love purse…

 

Used variegated green/yellow machine embroidery thread to do the quilting. Side pockets are from block cut in half, just the right size finished to hole my travel sewing kit in one and mail in the other.  Inside pocket is one block folded in half.

 

Interior fabric is this painfully wicked cool screaming flower child fabric I found at Wally-Mart.

 

I finished it in a day…really didn’t time myself, but made it to bed by 2am…

 

 

February 1^st 2009

Needed the ‘perfect’ wallet…can never find one with enough space for what I actually need to carry with out the space for crap I don’t even have i.e. check book…made this one in a couple hours, white we were trying to NOT watch to super bowl…My license fits perfect in the lil plastic window.  2 pockets inside to hold money, change and the plethora of cards…too COOL!!!

Or shall I say spicy HOT!

Next one I make will not have a metal zipper though! Jaz want me to make her one…gotta have her pick out 2 colors…Still gotta chunk of the red from mine I could use on hers…I’ll have to see if blood clot red works for her…I’ll have to see if Tab would like me to make her one too…

 

 

As of February 2nd the Rainbowie-Severe-Retinal-Damage-But-Keep-Jim-Warm king-sized quilt has gotten to the damn near close to finished stage.  The length is now just right.  Just need to add 24 inches more of borders to the width then I can finally get this monstrosity made into a quilt.  I have a black flat sheet for the back and a nice heavy blanket to use in lieu of batting.

 

I am sick, SICK, sick of being sick! I’VE HAD THE FLU ALL WEEKEND… Hmmm caps…that’s eyecatching!  Still sick but hopefully not contagious.  Gotta work, I can’t afford not to…OY!  Now pleurisy is having a good time maiming me every time I cough or sneeze.  Oh to be old with a crapped out immune system!  Poor Olie has quite the cough too.  I’m thinking it’s from catching a chill at school since they put the kids out side unless it’s below 0…Hopefully his cough won’t turn into anything worse than it is now. Jim’s still sick too, but going to work like a trooper.  Thank Maude for Day-Quil, Sudafed, and the painkillers I can look forward to when I get home!  Rent this week…sigh!  Can’t wait to get my taxes back!  Finally get some furniture in my living room!  The camp chairs are wearing on me!

tired…sick…cranky

I do so being ill…well ill in combination with the unhealthy that is me.  Been sick for about a week…gross cough, cement in my sinuses…expanding, exploding, pressure causing, cement…can’t blow it or snarf it…just dangles there behind my left eye making filing a real joy as well as picking up Oliver, putting on my shoes…oh yeah, it’s pretty!

Get paid today…pay rent…call in my Rx which I hope Jim can pick up for me on Friday as I’m gonna pay 100% of the rent…tired of paying rent too!  HEY where’s my rent receipt for 2008 and 2007?!?  sure would like to get credit for paying it!  Pukes!  Yeah I’m sick…I hate everyone when I’m sick…alright not everyone…just the people that just normally piss me off…now I really despise their mere existence!

Got a quilt for hmm…Project Linus or maybe tiny angels…on the machine.  Bought a cool little baggie marked bright at the quilt shop full of chunks, strips and even some charm squares all brightly colored.  Made four 4-patch blocks…threw in some interesting borders and wrapped it all up with a 6.5 inch wide pastel rainbow striped border look way cute! baby or girlie!  probably girlie, there’s butterflies on some of the squares.

Got fabric piled and ready to cut for Benjamin Smiles pillow cases, received the labels for those in the mail from his mom.  Got a nice stack for at least 1 Home of the Brave quilt.  Some yummy flannel for Tiny Angels.  Wonderful pink and love shades for a heart baby quilt (will I ever finish the Heap of Sheep quilt I started last year?).  And some MEGA bright and sassy prints for a Project Linus quilt…now all I need is unlimited time, a pile of batting, a few spools of thread and postage!  Yeah all I need…

Tax lady called today…In about a week I can go sign my tax papers, pay $155 and off they’ll go…hopefully I’ll get my refund back real quick! I got plans!  Pay ALL the outstanding medical bills, pay the entire gas/electric bill, pay for my Jeep insurance for the next year, rent a massive roll off bin this spring to clean out the shed, entry way and anything in the house we’re tired of falling over, furniture: 3 chairs, and a couple floor pillows for the living room, wood to replace the floors in the bathroom and hallway, tile wall board to replace the walls in the shower, (sigh) and IF there’s anything left over (ha right) the fabric and quilt needs I have a list of out of Keepsake Quilting and send some $ to Tiny Angels to help with the shipping of the baby things.   Hmmm, we shall see…shan’t we?!?

*Sniff…Cough…hork…snarf*

weekend too quick!

Amazing how fast the time goes when it’s limited!

But I did manage to complete the top of a quilt for some sweet baby who’s not feeling too well.  When it’s done I’ll send it to Heart Babies in Minneapolis.

 

Trimmed up the monster template and taped it down to the kitchen table… have the muslin all ironed and taped down over it…Hopefully I can get the lines traced tonight.

 

I zipped up hmmm, no idea how many assorted purple 9-patches for hmm, tiny angel quilts, perhaps a Snuggle Bunny quilt too.  Saved out 4-orphaned ones to make a table runner probably for my mom for mother’s day or perhaps her anniversary in June.  She has a thing for purple.

I’ll have to make a red and black runner for the coffee table I hope to get along with the furniture when taxes come back.

Sigh…another day another dollar…

Henry Rollins Stumpy Butt!

“Henry Rollins Stumpy Butt”

 

4 day headache

Welcome to day 4 of a lovely headache that actually woke me up last night just to make sure I still noticed it.  Lovely.  It’s all on the left side of my head so it’s either a migraine just hanging out till I give up and drug myself into unconsciousness to get rid of it or it’s one of those intermittent headaches from my under control epilepsy just reminding me that every seizure caused a wee bit of damage…so keep taking those medications…sigh…every few months this happens…just to remind me my head is really a bit off. Oy!  I’m not calling the blanketty blank doctor though because all they do is discuss stress, caffeine, work, take a gallon of blood and send me home with duh-duh-duh-duh…Advil.  I’m not in the mood to pay a massive bill and take what I already have at home. Blend the headache with the achiness that never goes away and the forever tired…oh yeah I’m pretty useless at times! 

 

I sewed a whole lot of nothing this weekend.  I hate when I don’t accomplish something.  I did however make assorted piles of fabric for assorted quilts I can make some time in the future.  Jim put up the shelves so they go all the way around the living room about 10 inches down from the ceiling.  I painted the bottom of every shelf crayon red and the edge matte black.  On my Fridays off I will be painting the wall behind the shelf up to the ceiling vibrant purple, semi-gloss. When complete it should look FABULOUS what with the black velvet drapes on the side windows and the red tie up fabric blinds across the front…I want to get a vibrant purple throw rug to cover the ugly tan carpeting, then with the black and or red furniture I plan to get…wow a living room that actually like oh I don’t know…matches…too odd!  I could get used to living in a home albeit a ‘vintage’ (1973) trailer as long as we actually have the comforts of home for a change!

 

We had Oliver for a bit on Friday while Travis was at work.  I managed to trade the painting table for the kitchen table so when I do get to so next it will be lovely with a rectangular surface rather than the odd egg shape of the painting table.  Course not I really don’t like the egg table in the kitchen cuz it so small and doesn’t blend with the bench or the chair.  Some day I’ll be satisfied.  Ha, yeah right! Did manage to trace the foundation piece for the monster pineapple with Oliver’s assistance, He held the table in place…it wasn’t really going anywhere…

 

Jim and I traded Valentines gifts Friday after Oliver went home.  He got me the sweetest card, how I make him laugh and stuff.  What a sweetie pie! Gosh I love him! He got me a wicked cool black bracelet too.  I got him a Homer Simpson card that talked.  I think I should have looked for a ‘feeling’ card instead.  Thursday is his birthday, I plan to get him a flip shut track phone since he’s always talking about getting one and he never did.  Found a cool law and order card that makes the noise of the show when you open it. 

 

Today on the way home after picking up Tab’s paycheck since she doesn’t work today, I’m stopping at the dollar store with my 3 dollars and getting a few plastic baskets to hold the ever growing tidied fabric menagerie. Then pick up Oliver at school, pick up the mail, drop off Oliver, finally get home, put the pork loin in the oven, locate the paper cutter (bottom brown drawer under the frog tank in the kitchen) and start properly labeling the fabric.  Got such an assortment if I label it at least I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for eventually.

As I sit munching

from my wee can of peaches, in heavy syrup of course…I look at the sweet gift my sweet lima bean man got me…

yeah I know it wasn’t horribly expensive, I’m perfectly happy being a cheap date, specially n this economy.  I’ve never needed diamonds, gold, roses.  I’m ok with pretty stones, silver and a card!  Just to have him look at the racks of silly, tacky, wacky, occasionally sad costume jewelry and find the one that I would like the most and actually wear to death, is enough to let me know that I finally found the guy in the world who is truly my soul mate.  We may not like all the same things, some of his music may pain my ears as I’m sure mine does his, we may not agree on politics and all, but we still are perfect together!  I make him laugh, he makes me laugh…we love freakishly spooky movies and he doesn’t get mad when I scream along.  He appreciates that I ache most of the time.  I appreciate that he works to exhaustion most days.

Gosh but he’s just too totally dandy!

 

Remind me to make something turquoise and orange…those colors look wicked lovely together!

photoshop B-4 quilting

I made 4 postcard sized rectangles out of 4 different lovely batiks then painted goddesses on them with metallic paint (4 different colors of course) they’ve lived in a baggie with a few other batiks I’ve found along the way for almost a year now…I going to finally make them into a wall quilt with prairie points along the bottom!

Contemplated in WORD, then tranfered into Paint then arcsoft to make it into a jpeg.

this one’s been Gimped to see what the colors would look like.  The pastel/metallic batik prarie points are already cut out and all the fabrics are ready for the big chop n sew!  I really can’t wait, some hand quilting for in front of the boob tube.  I’ve got this great outerspace stars and planets fabric I’m going to use for the backing…should be a weight inducing feast for the eyes!

goddess runner pieced

K so I thought I had 4 painted goddess squares in my baggie of do this when you have time…come to find out I had 8…my goddess wall hanging has turned into a goddess table runner for the coffee table I haven’t purchased yet.  All machine pieced and ready for copious hand quilting.

Approximately 52 inches long by 20 inches tall not including the prairie points.

The frappe’ of batiks and the green stars and the yellow check in between the goddesses plays a happy tune on my retinas.  The dark blue water/flame fabric and the metallic batik wrap it all up into a definite keeper.  Shhh…all my favorite fabrics have found their way into this…happy giggly dance…I can’t wait to get home so I can get to quilting it!

 

I LOVE the fabric for the backing.  I can flip the runner over and have the universe staring up when the mood hits me.  The quilting stitches should look way too dandy on this side!

 

Machine sewing completed February 17th 2009

a lil cheese with that whine

When-Z-dae eve and have many plans for payday…as it were…32.5 hours give er take. Minus medical insurance, let’s see 98 bucks…minus 401K –unattractive sound-…joke… 10 bucks, 61 cents…take away FICA 32 bucks, yank out federal tax um, 34.42…pry out state tax oooh, 15.55…then there car insurance this week…heavens I do hope I get my taxes soon… Nonetheless after getting the money order for car insurance Gotta mail out the box of batiks I traded for the fabulous dancing under the moon plate when I pick up the money order and the 1 stamp. Gas up the Jeep, and I’m off the Heavenly Patchwork to pick up my Dear Jane quilt book… -hands in air which looks odd for me and a hoot hoot-get another yard of light cream batik for background and browse the plethora of novelty fat quarters…and if $ allows get 1 yard of a bright solid-ish teal/turquoise and 1 yard of something rainbowie-eye-burning with lack so I can FINALLY finish the Extreme-Retinal-Damage-Rainbowie-but-keep-Jim-Warm-Quilt, whew it would be ever so nice to get our quilt done before winter ends! I’ll have to stop at Douber’s and get hmmm, 5-6 skeins of bright embroidery floss for the tying since I’m only machine quilting the outer borders to keep the blanket inside from shifting too much.

(sewing corner)

When I ever get the tax check…I’ve got to order a roll off trash bin so we can totally clean out the shed and entry way to make room for all of dad’s saws and carpentry equipment he’s giving Jim. Pay up the gas/electric bill (UGH), pay off all of Jazmin’s medical bills, Maude I haven’t even added them all up because I’m afraid of the total! Get furniture for the living room so we can put away the camping chairs, which are too totally uncomfortable. I really want NEW furniture but it looks like we’ll be going to Saver’s or some other previously viewed store. Sigh! Just a love seat, perhaps a rocking type chair for me, a coffee table…something for Jaz to sit on…You know I look at the grand total of my tax rebate and although it is dandy, I see just how fast it will leave my hands and where it all will go…won’t be going into fixing up the house, won’t go to a bit of clothing or new shoes, I just really hope there’s a chunk left so I can go through a few fabric catalogues and get fixin’s for the next years worth of quilts to donate. Oh and pay up my car insurance for an entire year so I have one less bill every month. Money really sucks when you have it, when you don’t, when you need it…UGH!

(Sewing Corner again!)

Oh to be the working poor! Jim is totally stressed; one of the welders where he works was laid off yesterday. There are only 5 employees where he is so you can imagine how slow it must be to have 20% of your workforce not working. He hopes he’s not next, Maude me too! Just for his sanities sake if nothing else. There’s a part timer there still. I’m hoping if nothing else that guy will be next for the chopping block before Jim. I mean we will survive with him on unemployment till he can find something else. Just tighten the belt in a few places; we’ll be fine.

(dandy shelves by Jim!)

I brought home a list of phone numbers yesterday for Jazmin to call to search for employment. I can see her MySpace activities from work and her being ‘bored’ is getting mighty tiring! Course then there’s her hand out every time she senses money in my wallet and that she has basically quit doing any chores at home (thus no allowance). Way tiring. If she can’t do anything at home AT ALL except whine and complain she can get a job so she has a reason to be tired.

(Hyachinth in the kitchen window)

Speaking of whining…I think I’ve done enough!

hippity hoppity happy hump day

Happy Hump Day…well for me it’s my Friday eve also since my Fridays are free of charge now.  WOW just got my 1^st 32-hour paycheck…good thing I was already sitting down or I would have surely collapsed in a dead heap!  8 missing hours and more taxes being taken out…talk about shock and awe.  Could have handed me a live grenade and it wouldn’t have peeled my eyes off the lack of money.  Thank Maude in HIMMEL Jim still has a job and is still working 40 hours per week. As I knock on simulated wood grain…Nonetheless I have much to do with this pittance!

 

Jazmin has tonsillitis and of course there are no samples of antibiotics at the clinic so I get to go there 1^st after cashing this joke on paper and hopefully not have to give them more than half of it for the drugs.  Gotta get Gas…another painful moment, male out the box of fabric in trade for the pretty plate…I’ll forgo car insurance till Saturday when I cash my state tax refund, got that yesterday…honestly I’m shocked anyone getting a refund this year is being allowed to actually have it at the rate everything’s going!  Rant!  Then drop off Tab and Oliver at their apartment…drop off Jazmin’s drugs…

 

And go all alone to the quilt shop for my Dear Jane book and colors for the 1^st 2 or 3 or 9 blocks…I’ve it all figured out…each block will be a different color of the rainbow!

 

See?!?  Hope it shows! Totally cool in a totally not 1930’s reproduction way!  BOOWAHAHAHA! All the backgrounds will be dappled crème colored batik except the white blocks, which will have bright rainbow batik for the background.  Although damn near destitute, I’m really looking forward to starting this MASSIVE project.  I realize ‘Cornea-Sizzling-Synapse-Frying-Dear-Jane’s-a-Pain-in-the-Quilt’ will take quite a while to accomplish but it will be well worth the time and pin pricks.  Should painfully fan-tab-u-lous!  Well hey…keeps me out of the bars…ha…hate bars…don’t even hardly ever drink anything fiercer than coffee…go figure!

 

Saturday Jim and I, perhaps Jaz if she’s no longer catchy, will venture into the beeg ceety Minneapolis to cash the tax check, get the money order for the car insurance and one for my order from keepsake quilting…then to a few hopefully only a few previously viewed furniture stores to sniff and I do really mean sniff out some furniture for the living room.  Having never had brand new furniture in the living room and having gotten many a used piece of furniture I know exactly what I do NOT want coming into the house!  Anything thread bare, anything with cat/dog/other hair on it, anything with critters living in it i.e. fleas My penny pinching X found a chair in the trash…not sitting on the side of the road saying free but chucked into a dumpster, brought it home and not only was the chair infested with fleas soon our cat and in fact I had flea bites too…we had to bomb the apartment and chuck the chair.  I put a sign on it that said beware: fleas! And ANYTHING with an odor!  I got a really nice looking couch from a co-worker once…the smell of cigarettes was so overpowering you could get a contact high just from brushing up against it…the smell NEVER left the couch. Had it for over a year and every time I walked into my house the smell hit me like a brick.  Since I don’t smoke my nose works just fine, almost too well at times…so what ever we find for the living room has to be more than just Fabreezed for quick sale. I want a comfy chair preferably a rocking but not spinning type.  Jim wants a recliner but since we have an ottoman perhaps just a comfy chair would be OK.  Jaz wants one of those video chair deal that looks like an upholstered banana.  And a coffee table.  I’d really prefer everything to be black, red, purple or any combination of those three.  Perhaps once we fill the truck with non-stinky bug free slightly attractive furniture I hope we can go to IHOP, never been there…I’d love some French toast and sausage!  Hoping we can be super time efficient so we can grab groceries on the way home so Sunday will be mine to cut, sew, contemplate!

Ever so March!

WELCOME TO MARCH!

Got the smaller of the Tax checks so FINALLY have furniture in the living room!  We browsed a couple discount furniture places in Columbia Heights to no avail!  Oy!  Either ugly colors (really…sea foam green couch?) or way flipping too much ($500 for the chair Jaz liked) so off we went to Ikea…where we all found exactly what we wanted and I could afford it!  Jim got a recliner with ottoman,

Jaz a springy black chair with foor stool and I got my garish black rocking chair and Tab gave me a black foot stool… so now all I need is a purple rug to cover the ugly assed tan carpeting in the living room!

 My 1st dear Jane block…all done on my friday off from work… doing them by hand as they’re too tiny fo me to use my machine with out having fits and paper piecing didn’t work for me…

Pinwheel Gone Awry

1-2 buckle my shoe using orange poppy on dappled batik! 2-27-09

Shhh I got lazy with this one…appliquéd a circle of batik onto dotted yellow then appliquéd the curvy cross onto it… Renamed Bumble Bee Moon 2-28-09

Renamed this one Dr. Jensen’s Stethoscope since he’s been our doctor since Tab was a fetus way back in 1987. 2-28-09

Jaz’s Bon Fire…we don’t camp but Jazmin has many bonfires in the yard during the spring summer and fall…what’s interesting is we burned this rather crappy laminate stuff and the flame was almost this shade of teal…I’m sure totally poisonous and unhealthy! 3-1-2009

my dear jane insanity

Row-Block	My Title	Original Title	Page #	Color	Background
A-01	Pinwheel Gone Awry	Pinwheel gone awry	17	Red	Light batik
A-02	1-2 buckle my shoe	One two buckle my shoe	17	Orange	Light batik
A-03	Bumble bee moon	Hunter’s moon	18	Yellow	Light batik
A-04	Dr. Jensen’s Stethoscope	Courtney’s stethoscope	18	Green	Light batik
A-05	Jazz’s Bon fire	Cathie’s campfire	19	Teal	Light batik
A-06	Sweetie Uncle Stevie	Uncle homer	19	Light blue	Light batik
A-07	Dear Old Dad’s Plaids	Dad’s plaids	20	Dark blue	Light batik
A-08	Flo Nightingale	Florence nightingale	20	Bright purple	Light batik
A-09	Trailer Park Fever	Cabin fever	22	Lavander	Light batik
A-10	Witch Points West?	Which points west	22	Hot pink	Light batik
A-11	Yane’s Protest	Pebble’s protest	23	Kissy pink	Light batik
A-12	Mom in a fancy frame	Framed fancy	23	Black	Light batik
A-13	Work day or night	Star light star bright	24	White	Rainbow batik
B-01	Batchelor Buttons in da garden	Bachelor buttons	24	White	Rainbow batik
B-02	Rhubarb pie	Sweet tator pie	25	Red	Light batik
B-03	Looking at you looking at me	Mirror image	25	Orange	Light batik
B-04	Neal’s Soccer Field	Chris’ soccer field	27	Yellow	Light batik
B-05	Hot toasty Buns	Hot crossed buns	27	Green	Light batik
B-06	Catch a pretty duck	Wild goose chase	28	Teal	Light batik
B-07	Kick ball diamond	World series	28	Light blue	Light batik
B-08	Water Lily in lake Minnetonka	Water lily	29	Dark blue	Light batik
B-09	Tinker Toys all over the floor	Tinker toy	29	Bright purple	Light batik
B-10	Dr. Whistler’s Trophy	Judd’s trophy	30	Lavander	Light batik
B-11	Cross the T	Melissa’s cross	30	Hot pink	Light batik
B-12	Blood roots in bloom	Star flower	32	Kissy pink	Light batik
B-13	Always in the middle	Four corner press	32	Black	Light batik
C-01	Odd copper’s Badge	Trooper green’s badge	33	Black	Light batik
C-02	Young Mr. Dressen Teacher o the year	Streak of lightening	33	White	Rainbow batik
C-03	Wanna build a Fence	Rayelle’s fence	34	Red	Light batik
C-04	Modern Molding fun colors	Tic-tac-toe	34	Orange	Light batik
C-05	Tropical depression	Eye of the cyclone	35	Yellow	Light batik
C-06	Sweet Oliver’s Aura	Ashley’s aura	35	Green	Light batik
C-07	Feeling flowery	Megan’s mountain laurel	36	Teal	Light batik
C-08	King of everything Crown	Hani’s crown	36	Light blue	Light batik
C-09	Tear jerker	Jane’s tears	38	Dark blue	Light batik
C-10	Revier’s Lantern	Patriot’s lantern	38	Bright purple	Light batik
C-11	Height’s Welder Man	Soldier and sailor’s monument	39	Lavander	Light batik
C-12	Scary Multi-Family Reunion	Family reunion	39	Hot pink	Light batik
C-13	Sioux City SD moment	Lakota Sioux	40	Kissy pink	Light batik
D-01	Sully’s Guiding Light	Alison’s guiding light	40	Kissy Pink	Light batik
D-02	Rat in the Mirror	Mouse in a mirror	42	Black	Light batik
D-03	Stepping on Jacks	Jason’s jacks	42	White	Rainbow batik
D-04	Friend Crystal’s Star	Crystal’s star	43	Red	Light batik
D-05	Gumma’s Pretty Window	Cathedral window	43	Orange	Light batik
D-06	Good may the long walk do ya	Challenge	44	Yellow	Light batik
D-07	In the living room	Meeting place	44	Green	Light batik
D-08	Many Cousin’s Delight	Dee Dee’s delight	45	Teal	Light batik
D-09	Uncle Mike	Uncle Richard	45	Light blue	Light batik
D-10	Nightly pillow fight	Battle field	47	Dark blue	Light batik
D-11	Pez Man	Snow crystal	47	Bright purple	Light batik
D-12	Ode to Kristen O.	Crossed swords	48	Lavander	Light batik
D-13	Field of English Daisies	Field of dreams	48	Hot pink	Light batik
E-01	Guido’s eating’ Phlox	Aunt exie’s phlox	49	Hot pink	Light batik
E-02	Myhre’s Merry May	Merry may	49	Kissy pink	Light batik
E-03	Puppy paddle	Paddle wheels	50	Black	Light batik
E-04	Spiky Leaf Hopper	Buffalo leaf hopper	50	White	Rainbow batik
E-05	Squint @ the Rising Sun	Rising sun	52	Red	Light batik
E-06	Grandpa Stan’s Medley	Michelle’s medley	52	Orange	Light batik
E-07	Fill the Bread Basket	Bread basket	53	Yellow	Light batik
E-08	Zoë’s Maze	Mama’s maze	53	Green	Light batik
E-09	Quilt Jail	Quilt jail	54	Teal	Light batik
E-10	Douber’s	Five and dime	54	Light blue	Light batik
E-11	Bicycle Wheel	Wagon wheel	55	Dark blue	Light batik
E-12	Grandma Ruth’s Corset	Mary Ruth’s corset	55	Bright purple	Light batik
E-13	Moth in Stanley’s Web	Moth in a web	57	Lavender	Light batik
F-01	Big Top by the skate park	Big top	57	Lavender	Light batik
F-02	Plethora of Allergies	Kaleidoscope	58	Hot pink	Light batik
F-03	Snowball fight in the middle	Snowball	58	Kissy pink	Light batik
F-04	Massive electric windmill in Burnsville	Old windmill	59	Black	Light batik
F-05	Jim loves his Grandmas Dorothy	Parcheesi	59	White	Rainbow batik
F-06	Kaili’s Daisies	Deanne’s daisies	60	Red	Light batik
F-07	Cheyanne Star Struck	Star struck	60	Orange	Light batik
F-08	Hail smashed Window	Church window	62	Yellow	Light batik
F-09	Side Garden Autumn Aster	Autumn aster	62	Green	Light batik
F-10	Fiery Potholder	Potholder	63	Teal	Light batik
F-11	Goin’ to Target	On target	63	Light blue	Light batik
F-12	4th -o- July fireworks in Delano	Starburst	64	Dark blue	Light batik
F-13	Tour de Watertown	Tour de France	64	Bright purple	Light batik
G-01	Dobie’s Ducky House	Hattie’s hen house	65	Bright purple	Light batik
G-02	Off the beaten Trail	Mohawk trail	65	Lavender	Light batik
G-03	Four Leaf Clover in the yard	Four leaf clover	67	Hot pink	Light batik
G-04	Such a Shutter Bug	Shutter bug	67	Kissy pink	Light batik
G-05	Poof there it is	Poof	68	Black	Light batik
G-06	Bupppa’s Star	Papa’s star	68	White	Rainbow batik
G-07	Minneapolis	Indianapolis	69	Red	Light batik
G-08	Heidi’s Comet	Justin’s Comet	69	Orange	Light batik
G-09	Tracy’s Journey	Mary’s journey	70	Yellow	Light batik
G-10	Heavy metal	Woven meadow	70	Green	Light batik
G-11	Diamonds on the souls of her shoes	Decisions, Decisions	72	Teal	Light batik
G-12	Glory to Maude	Gloriae	72	Light blue	Light batik
G-13	Mini Muffins	Molly’s muffins	73	Dark blue	Light batik
H-01	Peek-a-Boo I C U	Peek-a-boo	73	Dark blue	Light batik
H-02	Oh those Mulligans	Jacob Anthony	74	Bright purple	Light batik
H-03	Lavender Baskets	Berry baskets	74	Lavender	Light batik
H-04	Abigail von bus Kirk’s eyes	Abbey’s Eyes	76	Hot pink	Light batik
H-05	Jim’s Motorcycle	Michael’s motorcycle	76	Kissy pink	Light batik
H-06	Burned cookie Sale	Pie sale	77	Black	Light batik
H-07	Blinding white Star	Bennington star	77	White	Rainbow batik
H-08	Minnesota’s Crossroads	Eaton’s crossroads	78	Red	Light batik
H-09	Sloshing thru the melt	Snowflake melt	78	Orange	Light batik
H-10	Marvelous Marvin’s Bowtie	Ben’s bowtie	79	Yellow	Light batik
H-11	Piercing Rays thru green waters	Piercing rays	79	Green	Light batik
H-12	Natalia’s Heart	Hannah Lou’s hearts	81	Teal	Light batik
H-13	Hobby Farm Fields	Farm fields	81	Light blue	Light batik
I-01	Yane & lima bean Man’s Handfasting	Ralph & nelda’s wedding	82	Light blue	Light batik
I-02	Playground ‘cross the hi-way	Kaye’s courtyard	82	Dark blue	Light batik
I-03	Blended Family Album	Family album	83	Bright purple	Light batik
I-04	In-Stability	Stability	83	Lavender	Light batik
I-05	Hot Spicy Pink	Maria’s majesty	84	Hot pink	Light batik
I-06	Giggle Box Cookie Puss	Viewer’s choice	84	Kissy pink	Light batik
I-07	Snakes & Lizards	Mac & muff	85	Black	Light batik
I-08	Yane & Heidi’s Paint box	Pete’s paint box	85	White	Rainbow batik
I-09	Walk 2 school or carry a lunch	Chase A Myth	86	Red	Light batik
I-10	Pumpkin Medallion	Iris medallion	86	Orange	Light batik
I-11	Gideon Squirrel Chase	Coyote chase	88	Yellow	Light batik
I-12	Carver County Fair	Fred’s square	88	Green	Light batik
I-13	Sweet Harmony & Amber	Sweet harmony	89	Teal	Light batik
J-01	Jumpin’ Judy Moos Jonquil	Josepha’s jonquil	89	Teal	Light batik
J-02	Outside the box	Perfect Picture	90	Light blue	Light batik
J-03	Royals Volleyball Net	Rick’s volleyball net	90	Dark blue	Light batik
J-04	Robyn’s Apron Strings	Adelaine’s apron strings	91	Bright purple	Light batik
J-05	Rubbing the headstone	John Jacob’s windmill	91	Lavender	Light batik
J-06	Asylum wandering	Granny weaver	92	Hot pink	Light batik
J-07	Lizard Tracks	Chicken tracks	92	Kissy pink	Light batik
J-08	Weld Freek	Anna’s anchor	94	Black	Light batik
J-09	Rats for all!	Maury high school	94	White	Rainbow batik
J-10	Poppy sniffing	Chieko’s calla lily	95	Red	Light batik
J-11	Separated @ Birth	Twin sister	95	Orange	Light batik
J-12	A tisket Basket	Rebecca’s basket	96	Yellow	Light batik
J-13	Ringing dinging Bells	Pam’s bells	96	Green	Light batik
K-01	Crooked Creek on the farm	Crooked creek	97	Green	Light batik
K-02	Pumpkin patch Chickens	Grandpa’s chickens	97	Teal	Light batik
K-03	Seven Girlie Friends	Seven sisters	99	Light blue	Light batik
K-04	Taking turns	Thea’s turns	99	Dark blue	Light batik
K-05	Sound of wind chimes	Passing Thru	100	Bright purple	Light batik
K-06	Cass’s Folly	Ann.’s folly	100	Lavender	Light batik
K-07	Rose of Moo-Cows	Rose of sharing	101	Hot pink	Light batik
K-08	Spring @ lake Rebecca	Spring in BrookPark	101	Kissy pink	Light batik
K-09	Oh behave	Scout’s honor	102	Black	Light batik
K-10	Quite the Quandary	Quandary	102	White	Rainbow batik
K-11	Luce Line Columbine	Columbine	104	Red	Light batik
K-12	Laurel’s Dilemma	Doris’ dilemma	104	Orange	Light batik
K-13	Wish upon a Star	Brandon’s star	105	Yellow	Light batik
L-01	Plexiglas Pane	Widow’s pane	105	Yellow	Light batik
L-02	Stephermini’s Snowflake	Stephanie’s snowflake	106	Green	Light batik
L-03	Sniff the garbage cactus	Reflections Abound	106	Teal	Light batik
L-04	Cross 2 Bear	St. George’s cross	107	Light blue	Light batik
L-05	Luce Line horse trail	Chattanooga Charlie	107	Dark blue	Light batik
L-06	Witch’s maze	Maze of Madness	108	Bright purple	Light batik
L-07	Waconia Town Square	Town square	108	Lavender	Light batik
L-08	Bicycle Crash Dummies	Box kite	110	Hot pink	Light batik
L-09	Yane’s Place	Walter’s place	110	Kissy pink	Light batik
L-10	Delano Wandering	Nan’s naiad	111	Black	Light batik
L-11	See the chicken scar	Caitlin’s star	111	White	Rainbow batik
L-12	Stephi’s Pride	Sally’s pride	112	Red	Light batik
L-13	Orange moon rises	Harvest moon	112	Orange	Light batik
M-01	Dog Days @ the lake	Dog wood days	113	Orange	Light batik
M-02	At the pet shop	Duff’s bluff	113	Yellow	Light batik
M-03	Heavenly Patchwork	Fireweed flower	115	Green	Light batik
M-04	Stepping Stones during the drought	Stepping stones	115	Teal	Light batik
M-05	Retty’s Point	Mother’s point	116	Light blue	Light batik
M-06	Grandma Hazel’s Simplicity	Simplicity	116	Dark blue	Light batik
M-07	Tabitha’s Rose Garden	Rose garden	117	Bright purple	Light batik
M-08	Ultimate fighting insanity	Enchanted Square	117	Lavender	Light batik
M-09	Fan Dance on key west	Fan Dance	118	Hot pink	Light batik
M-10	Simple jack	Simple Simon	118	Kissy pink	Light batik
M-11	Night walks	Rickshaw	119	Black	Light batik
M-12	Hopscotch on the sidewalk	Hopscotch	119	White	Rainbow batik
M-13	Law & order marathon	Lynette’s diamond	120	Red	Light batik
Top Left Corner	Sweet Oliver’s Imagination		122	Red	Light batik
Top Right Corner	Tabitha’s Dream		123	Orange	Light batik
Bottom Left Corner	Jazmin’s contemplation		124	White	Rainbow batik
Bottom Right Corner	Natalia Tatianna will be forever missed		125	Red	Light batik
Top – 01	Shelf mushrooms		127	Orange	Light batik
Top – 02	Bug eaten Pines		127	Yellow	Light batik
Top – 03	Tabitha’s Checkerboard		128	Green	Light batik
Top – 04	CSI that T		128	Teal	Light batik
Top – 05	Sand by the drought river		129	Light blue	Light batik
Top – 06	Travis’ fiery Flame		129	Dark blue	Light batik
Top – 07	Fjord 2 Angie’s		130	Bright purple	Light batik
Top – 08	Sharpie Humper		130	Lavender	Light batik
Top – 09	Get to the Point		131	Hot pink	Light batik
Top – 10	Precious Gems		131	Kissy pink	Light batik
Top – 11	Salemwitchiepoo		133	Black	Light batik
Top – 12	Uncle Jerry’s Oak		133	White	Rainbow batik
Top – 13	Water Tower in red		134	Red	Light batik
Left – 01	A silly Fantasy		135	White	Rainbow batik
Left – 02	Jazmin’s Diamond		135	Black	Light batik
Left – 03	Special Brownies LOL		136	Kissy pink	Light batik
Left – 04	Oh fly a Kite		136	Hot pink	Light batik
Left – 05	Legal fireworks		137	Lavender	Light batik
Left – 06	Burnsville		137	Bright purple	Light batik
Left – 07	Natalia’s Steeple		138	Dark blue	Light batik
Left – 08	Wiggly sky		138	Light blue	Light batik
Left – 09	Slaughterhouse Guitars		140	Teal	Light batik
Left – 10	Cathedral in St. Paul		140	Green	Light batik
Left – 11	An Ikea Cake Stand		141	Yellow	Light batik
Left – 12	YaneZ Wicked Wall Art		141	Orange	Light batik
Left – 13	Watermelon		142	Red	Light batik
Right – 01	Chaska Valley		143	Red	Light batik
Right – 02	Shakopee		143	White	Rainbow batik
Right – 03	In the Beeg Cities		144	Black	Light batik
Right – 04	Wandering the Skyway		144	Kissy pink	Light batik
Right – 05	5 little girls		145	Hot pink	Light batik
Right – 06	Tumbling Blocks		145	Lavender	Light batik
Right – 07	Both Aunty Deb’s Hearts		147	Bright purple	Light batik
Right – 08	Love Forever		147	Dark blue	Light batik
Right – 09	Long Walks Nowhere		148	Light blue	Light batik
Right – 10	On the traintracks		148	Teal	Light batik
Right – 11	Hills of Jordan		149	Green	Light batik
Right – 12	Goddess’ home in the Valley		149	Yellow	Light batik
Right – 13	Toddler’s Pirouette		150	Orange	Light batik
Bottom – 01	Post Straight Line Winds Rainbow		151	Red	Light batik
Bottom – 02	Le Sueur Woods		151	Orange	Light batik
Bottom – 03	Attic Window		153	Yellow	Light batik
Bottom – 04	Stormy Sky		153	Green	Light batik
Bottom – 05	Heidi’s Glory		154	Teal	Light batik
Bottom – 06	Baby Rickrack		154	Light blue	Light batik
Bottom – 07	Jazmin’s Clown		155	Dark blue	Light batik
Bottom – 08	Butt Clouds		155	Bright purple	Light batik
Bottom – 09	Buddha Monkey Head Garden		156	Lavender	Light batik
Bottom – 10	Don’t need no Diamond		156	Hot pink	Light batik
Bottom – 11	Gaelic pretty		157	Kissy pink	Light batik
Bottom – 12	Bupppa’s Stained Glass		157	Black	Light batik
Bottom – 13	Argyle tattoo		158	White	Rainbow batik

Jazmin’s Charm Quilt

Jazmin my youngest daughter (18) has taken up quilting! I am so excited that she has decided to delve into the sewing arts! She already started a 9-patch with skull fabric and black and red solids, but that has been put away for the moment (ran out of solid red and need a center medalion chunk of fabric for her idea) we went to the Quiltshop on Friday since I have that day off now. She picked out a pre-cut charm set, no idea whitch fabric since as soon as we got home she set to work. There weren’t enough of the colors she wanted so into the stash to cut a plethora of other colors to make the rainbow. I hoping today while I’m at work she’ll dig through the basket of ‘big chunks’ and decide what she wants for borders. Then I think I’ll teach her how to do prairie points since I have a bunch of rainbowie 3 inch square already cut. I am ever so proud!

Jazmin’s Pincushion

New pincushion made by Jaz. 

All cotton pieced and finished by hand. 

Really old grandmothers flower garden pieces. 

Weighted with pennies. 

Looks great on my Jello mold table!

Finished some time in the wee hours of the morning March 11th 2009

DANDY PERFECT JOB Jaz!

happy april 1st!

may not a fool irritate your day!

grief & sewing

Saturday the 18th of April would have been Natalia’s 20th birthday.  I think I did really well for a change.  I actually got out of bed at a reasonable hour (8:30am) got dressed…didn’t cry…

 

April 17th one of my many fridays without pay off…I put the finishing touches on the retinal Damage Rainbowie but keep Jim warm quilt top

 

With left overs fro the last 2 borders for the retinal damage…while The Hills Have Eyes I & II screamed on, I made Tab & Travis an Apartment Warming table runner for their dining room

Got a good chunk of Sissy Mary’s Kitty and grandkid quilt going…Roman strips in the middle the there will be a goose chase on the left and right with 11 inch Cat square at the corners with assorted stripes on the top and bottom and a few borders and prairie points…

constant busy work keeps me sane!

Mary’s Quilt thus far

Mary’s Here Kitty Kitty & Grandchild quilt middle

one more borner and it’s ready to be sandwiched…

Cutest Dog Competition