I am. I don't know what yet, but I am definitely going to quilt something!

We had school cancelled today, & since most of my kids' parents are teachers, I was going to have the day to myself! Yea! QUILTING!!

But when I walked into the sewing room this morning I was overwhelmed with the clutter! So I've spent the past 2 hours cleaning & organizing. Now I have a 3yr & 2mo old for the afternoon (mom decided the roads were fine for shopping) & we're going to a concert tonight. Sat am we are touring the new middle school built to replace the one that I used to attend (& DGS#1 will go to this fall). I also want to pick up a brick as a momento - the demo company is letting anyone take as many as they can carry away. Most of my classmates just want one - I doubt too many are in any condition to be used again anyway.

Hopefully tomorrow afternoon & evening I can quilt!?

~Cindy

I hope to be able to get the r/w/b scrappy Trip Around the World blocks all sewn together. I need one more border on the other r/w/b and am still thinking about it. Tomorrow afternoon we plan to go out of town and watch DGS's first baseball game of this season.

Cindy, Get all the pieces you can get, cement them together and make yourself a little planter or something.

SharonG/FL

I won't be quilting over the weekend, but tonight, I'm going to a sit and sew at a home based sewing studio I recently learned about. It's an hour drive, and starts at 6 and lasts until whenever... I'll have to leave around 10 because I work at midnight, but I'm excited to meet other people who share my passion for this hobby. We are all supposed to bring snacks to share, and though I used to bake in a previous life, this time, I'll go to the grocery store and just buy some chips or a danish or something. Should be fun... I'm just going to bring some paper piecing blocks to work on, maybe 3 or 4 simple ones and hopefully I won't be coming home with a ton of new fabric or notions or a machine... we'll see how well I resist temptation.

I work Saturday and on Sunday, I'm going to visit my grandmother...we just found out that she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (she didn't smoke, but her husband did, but I know peole can get that even without being exposed to smoke)... they gave her 6 months to live and she's really scared. She'll be 80 in June if she makes it that long... she is a hand quilter and hand piecer so we do have quilting in common and often talk about it, though we disagree about the use of a machine for quilting... We're all in shock right now, and just trying to be there for her. They told her she might have 13 months if she doesn't chemo, and she hasn't decided what to do yet, but I don't believe she should at her age because I feel it will ruin the quality of what's left of her life...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I'll be sewing a side-job of applique letters onto jackets & shirts. The only good thing about this is earning a little extra $$.

I need to cut challenge fabric to mail out to a few more of you. And cut replacement fabric pieces to take to guild on Monday ( I goofed on what I provided last week for the president's quilt)

And I'd like to figure out the problem with my challenge quilt...

It's also the Mid-Atlantic QUilt Festival in HamptonVA, but I don't see that fitting in this year :(

After I spend some quality time cleaning the trash heap called our basement, and after doing the grocery shopping and let's not forget the laundry;
I will continue on my scrappy Linus quilt, along with the other two in-process quilt tops. That's the plan anyway. :-)
V.

Sorry to hear about your Grandmother Vacuumfreak......cancer is touching so many families these days.

I went to a Pampered Sit and Sew today and made 2 Big Star Blocks (there is a youtube video) for a swap in another group. I would have accomplished more if I had precut my fabric. :(
I have to make 6 more and have them in the mail before March 15th so will work on them this weekend.

I also need to get a label made for a baby quilt I finished this week so I can get it in the mail before the baby grows up. ;)

Maryv

Yes, I suppose I'll be quilting. I am still working on that crazy pink crazy quilt. I'd have been long done had I not kept taking out machine stitching and replacing it with hand stitching. Then I decided I should reinforce all the seems between the large blocks, then I decided I didn't like the look of the binding by machine and am redoing that with a hem stitch. This morning the thread kept knotting up on me and I just went Pfffffttttt..........and mopped floors instead. I am getting new quilt cooties and figure that I'll be cutting material soon. Was going to start in on my wool, but the Japanese print is calling my name. sigh.

Calliope...cooties????

Vacuumfreak, so sorry about your Grandmother. I hope that eventually things can be comfortable for her, whatever her choices. None of them sound easy.
LindaB/CA

Yes............cooties. I think it an apt name for that feeling of being pounced upon with an itch you can't ignore. I absolutely told myself that I was not going to start another quilt and work two in tandem, something I seem to be doing quite a lot of lately. I have gone to bed twice now drifting off thinking of how the blocks should go together and what materials would make the best combinations. So very like cooties and they won't quit itching until I break down and dig out the material. I caught the quilt cooties on this forum and have had them for about six years now.

I see what you mean. Now I need to catch the "finish what you start" cooties!

Just got back from the Sit and Sew... all I can say is WOW! i HAD A BLAST... I didn't want to leave, but I have to work and it was an hour's drive... definitely worth the drive. This lady had part of her house converted into a sewing studio and it was a very comfortable space. I was the only male and the only person under 40 there... about 12 people in total showed up. She told us to just bring snacks, so I bought sugar cookies and pretzels... some of the ladies brought fried chicken, stir fry, Mexican type cassarole, pie, potato and macaroni salad... oh did we feast and laugh!

About 12 people in total showed up, and I felt just like one of the girls... everyone asked a few probing questions like what do I do for work and what got me interested in quilting... I told them I wanted to go to school to be a nurse this year and there were 3 nurses there so we talked a little about that.... some of the ladies talked about their grandkids or husbands... a few of them came to stand over my shoulder and said, "Sorry, I'm just being nosy, whatcha working on?" I imagine they were making sure I really knew how to quilt, so I told them I was paper piecing... some of them had never paper pieced before so I had to give 3 impromptu mini-lessons on how to paper piece and I barely know myself LOL

The home was beautiful and the host was gracious... her husband and 17 year old son were there and they were nice too and she had a beautiful sweet puppy... everyone was just so welcoming and friendly and I can't wait to get more involved with this group. What a fun night and welcome distraction!!

Here's a picture of the small bit of sewing I was able to accomplish between all the chit chat and laughing and eating....

Thanks for the comments about my grandmother... I talked to her tonight and it looks like her children have ordered her to do chemo, so she will whether she wants to or not... I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

I forgot to mention something cool that happened at the Sit and Sew... The lady who was sitting across from me was piecing and all of a sudden she said, "OH NO!" and put her hands over her face almost laughing and fake crying at the same time. I looked at her and said, "You just sewed all those half square triangles with no bobbin thread, didn't you?" She said, "Yes!" It was such a great moment, because we all had that been there, done that sense of camraderie. We laughed, and that sparked a great conversation about machines that warn you when the bobbin is running low... then the poor lady put a full bobbin in and continued stitching.... 20 minutes later she did hands over face routine and said she'd just sewed all the pieces upside down and she wasn't even drinking the wine that someone brought.... she had to get up from the machine and go get a piece of fried chicken to calm her nerves. It was awesome to know I'm not the only one who goofs!

It was fun to see all the different machines too... a few of the ladies were hand quilting because they didn't want to drag their machiens along, but there was a bottom of the line Janome, an Elna with a touch screen and embroidery functionality, and 3 Vikings in addition to my humble Brother... The host had vintage toy and hand crank sewing machines on display as decorations and a Featherweight. I think she and I spent an hour just discussing machines.

I e-mailed her to tell her what a great time I had and she said the ladies all liked me and I was welcome any time... yay :o)

Bobby, it sounds like you really had a great time! I'm so sorry about your grandmother and that her children are trying to control her. We're trying very hard not to do that with my mom. She's 87 and still perfectly capable of making decisions and taking care of herself!

That said, I think I'll get sewing time tomorrow. Yesterday I helped mom get packed to leave the nursing center and signed up and moved into the assisted living place. She's planning to stay there a month or two till she's ready to go home. Today DH and I are taking her to her house to get things she needs/wants and help her get settled, My brother and sis IL are also coming down to visit her.

Donna

Bobby, I'm happy you found a friendly group of quilters. It's fun to have a group of friendly people to share the same interest.
So sorry to hear of your Grandmother's illness. I will keep her in my prayers.
Calliope, I think I have permanent case of quilt cooties! I will have to remember that term. lol
Linda OH

Bobby, it sounds like you had a great time. I'm so in favor of letting the elderly make their own decisions if they are capable. There is a wonderful book my aunt recommended while my mom was with me at the end of her life. It's called, "Final Gifts" by Maggie Callanan.

That being said, I have had such fun bossing my (elderly :) ) husband around while he is recovering from 2 double hernia surgery this past Wed.. LOL He is usually so independent, it is nice to be able to help him with things and to razz him a bit. Today I can say he is definitely on the mend and expect he won't need much help from me going forward.

I doubt that I'll be quilting this weekend. Besides DH, DD#2 is coming home for her birthday. So I'm busy cleaning, shopping and cooking. What with the weather and DH, I didn't get out earlier. And I have to finish cleaning out DD#1's condo so I can close on it this week. Crazy weekend!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, whatever you are doing.

The quilt group sounds wonderful and I really like your heart blocks.
LindaB/CA

I'll be sewing a side-job of applique letters onto jackets & shirts. The only good thing about this is earning a little extra $$.

I need to cut challenge fabric to mail out to a few more of you. And cut replacement fabric pieces to take to guild on Monday ( I goofed on what I provided last week for the president's quilt)

And I'd like to figure out the problem with my challenge quilt...

It's also the Mid-Atlantic QUilt Festival in HamptonVA, but I don't see that fitting in this year :(

No sewing this weekend - yesterday was my first-born DD's wedding. She decided a month ago that she wanted to get married sooner rather than later so the Aug. date was out the window and yesterday was the day. We took a few family pictures at a local Victorian B&B (where the newlyweds spent their first night), had a simple ceremony at an old train depot in the village park, and then a cake reception at our church. It was a busy weekend, but all in all everything went well and turned out nice. My DH did a great job of making my ideas for decorating the room become a reality and several people said he should go into the party business! The couple is away on a short honeymoon, everything is cleaned up, the grandparents have left for home and I am going to take a nap!
Karlene

Well, the weekend is almost over, but I'm managing to get a bit of quilting in today. I'm just taking a break from FMQ on a table topper. It is the first time quilting on my new Pfaff and the first time I've attempted anything of any size. Previously I had only attempted this on tote bags and purses. So far, it's going ok. I started at the top and am working in vertical sections. Wasn't sure what people ususally did. I doubt if I'll finish this tonight, but would love to get a good chunk done.

VacuumFreak, Really sorry about your grandmother and I'm also sorry her children are pushing her to do something she may not want to do. I hope they'll be around to help take care of her. So nice for you to have found a group that you're comfortable with to share your hobby along with food and laughs. Sounds like you have a nice support group.

Karlene, She gave you a month? My youngest gave me about 10 days! But, we had a beautiful church wedding with a beautiful reception....good thing the wedding dress (ordered from JCPennys catalog) didn't need alterations.

I didn't get any sewing done this week-end, but, I did figure out a border for the r/w/b star quilt! I'm so excited because I'm using some flying geese blocks I had made for a long ago mystery that I never completed, and also some blue and white HSTs from another quilt. Those were 7 inches so had to cut them in half. When I laid it all out on the floor, I had to play with the corners.....I mean, really play and tweak and fudge, but, I think it looks ok. Whew! I was sweatin' this one!

SharonG/FL

Maritmelinda, I hope you are enjoying bonding with your new Pfaff!

Jennifer, sounds like you are getting a lot done in spite of your busy schedule!

Kate, what did you end up quilting if anything? How is that new Juki doing for you?

Yes, the group is amazing... so glad to have found a group that isn't snobbish or cliquish as many (not just quilting) can be! I just posted this on the facebook page of the studio and it sums up how I feel pretty well...

Between the talking, laughing, and eating at the Friday Sit and Sew, I did so little stitching that the motor of my sewing machine barely got warm! However, my heart certainly did as I was readily welcomed by a fun loving group of complete strangers... (owners name), "awesome" hardly seems an adequate enough word to describe you, your studio, and my first experience indulging in such wonderful company! You rock!

Just got back from seeing granny... I brought the blocks I made at the Sit and Sew and she said they were nice, but I could tell she didn't like them because they not done by hand. The visit was pretty much normal, we talked and hugged and I took her out to eat and changed a light bulb and vacuumed for her... but there was a somber feeling looming in the air with thought of her impending death hanging over us in the not too distant future... I even cried in front of her and on the way home... she told me not to be upset and that the world had to keep revolving and she's lived a long time... I don't know of that was supposed to make it better or not!

I did sew a little! Felt SO good! I've been working on Jen's challenge quilt - started but now I'm totally confused and not sure my original idea will work. But it was fun to get started on it anyway.

I'm loving the Juki! It's VERY fast and really wonderful for free motion. I still have the beloved old Elna set up on the sewing table too and used that this weekend for the small piecing.

Sharon - 10 days! Oh my!

Bobby - I hope you can treasure this time you have left with your grandma. It will be memories like this time you just spent with her that will mean so much to you in the future, and I know that they mean the world to her now.

I finally got some quality time in the sewing room, too! I made a birthday block that needs to get to Scotland by Mar. 19 then spent most of the day working on my colorwash hunter star. It's a large wall hanging beach scene. The bottom half is water and shore and the top half is sky. Yesterday I finally got the bottom half all arranged and fused in place. Now I only have another squillion squares and HSTs to cut and place for the sky! LOL Once I finally get all that done the sewing part should be a snap.

Donna