Revising New Year's Resolutions

Well, I see that my New Year's resolution has already been broken. How easy it is to make but so hard to keep. Maybe I should revise the resolution to, "I will write something at least twice a month." If I can continue doing that then increase postings to once a week. I think my life is probably too boring to post something every day.

I am just finishing up sending out prizes to the winners from our OhioQuilters first Stay-at-Home Retreat (from now on to be referred to as SAHR). The retreat was a huge success and could not have been on a better weekend. The weather was terrible. It was cold and icky outside. I was more than happy to be bundled up in a my natty old sweat clothes, spending the weekend sewing. Hopefully, we can come up with a plan to continue the SAHR's on a regular basis, perhaps quarterly.

Slowly Putting Christmas Aware

I spent the day putting Christmas away. I had planned to whittle down the amount of decorations that I would store. I couldn't bring myself to do it . So many of the ornaments have sentimental value. That is what happens when you collect items for 45 years. Six large totes of decorations to tuck away in the crawl space.

I displayed 5 Christmas trees this year. To be exact two large, one inside and one outside, a medium size tree and two table top trees. I still had four trees stored in the basement that I didn't include in this year's decoration. Maybe I will use more of them next Christmas.

The Best of Intentions

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been several months since I last posted. The Holidays have come and gone. I spent today packing the Christmas decorations away. I still have a lot to do. Hopefully, I can finish tomorrow.

 I finally have my sewing stuff in the basement but still need to organize everything. Suddenly the basement is too small to hold my supplies so I need to purge. My OhioQuilters Yahoo group is having a stay-at-home retreat January 20, 21, and 22. I am missing my quilting group and am looking forward to some girl-time plus quilting even if it means "seeing" each other online. I need to have the basement cleaned and organized before the retreat so I can post a picture of my "clean" work area.

I am looking forward to a great new year. My goal this year is to finish as many of my UFO's as possible. It is time to put them to bed (get it?).

Fall is in the Air

Time is passing by too quickly. Already signs of fall are in the air. Last Saturday we watched Layla and Olivia play soccer and it was 97 degrees. This Saturday we watched Alexie play and needed a jacket. At least it is cooler. Cool I can live with. Hot, no.
I am hoping to spend this weekend cleaning the basement so I can move my sewing downstairs. The basement will allow more room for my supplies and more space to organize everything. Then to master the longarm. I really need to get those quilts finished.

Time Flies By

I cannot believe it is now the end of May. I have so much that I need to do and no energy to do anything. I thought once I retired I would be able to get to all of the things that I wanted to do. It is easy to put off doing something because "I have all the time in the world." Then in what seems an instant weeks have passed by and nothing has been accomplished.

I haven't spent anytime sewing since the retreat in Berlin which was the last weekend in April. Will that's not quite true. Yesterday I had a last minute request for a skirt from my granddaughter, Alexie. Her third grade class was doing the biographies of famous people. The children were to dress as the person they were representing. Alexie's subject was Helen Keller. Fortunately, she already had a blouse that worked so I found a piece of polyester that I bought years ago and made a long skirt for her. Jack and I attended her class this afternoon and the kids gave their presentations. They were so cute and did great jobs of portraying their characters.

But, I digress. I plan to enjoy this weekend and spend time with family. The Asian Festival is going on so tomorrow Jack and I plan to take Alexie and Ian to Franklin Park for the festival. I like the opportunity to see other cultures and I think the grandkids will enjoy it.


My plan is to get back into the sewing room next week and sort through the several projects that I have in progress and make a plan to complete them. I start something and then start something else. I think I have at least six or seven quilt tops in various stages. It is time to get them done.

So Many Quilts, So Little Time

I wish I could say I have been too busy quilting to take the time to keep my blog up-to-date. Life keeps getting in the way. I did finish the Christmas BOW that Bianca so graciously hosted. That is, I finished the top. One day it will get quilted. I still have to assemble the BOM that Carolyn C. hosted last year. The blocks have been on my design wall for months just waiting. Inspiration may strike at any time and I will be ready.

Week 8's BOW

What a challenge and I thought Week 6's was hard. Like anything just read carefully and follow the directions. Bianca did a great job with the instructions.

Catching Up

I am behind on my Christmas Quilt BOWs. Today I decided that I would complete all three. Quit after doing two of the blocks. Will finish the third block tomorrow. The quilt is going to be beautiful. I hope that I can get it finished well before Christmas.

Week 6 BOW

Week 7 BOW

Sure I Am A Procrastinator But....

I really had these blocks done in a timely manner but was having difficulty uploading the pictures. I am pleased with all of the blocks. They each offered unique challenges. I thought I would like to do a quilt using the pattern for August's BOM. Now I know there isn't anyway I would tackle that.

Last Three BOWs'

Week 3's BOW

Week 4's BOW

Week 5's BOW

Last Three BOM's - Finally

July's BOM

August's BOM

September's BOM

Home Again

Made it back from Las Vegas late last night. Jack and I had a great week there (didn't win but didn't lose more than we had planned). This time we stayed downtown on Fremont Street at The Fitzgerald. It was a totally different experience than previous trips where we stayed on the Strip. The hotel was very comfortable and well maintained. Their slots paid some then took back more; gave you back some and then claimed it all.

Vegas is a great place to people-watch. You see all kinds. Of course I made a lot of "new friends". I talked to people everywhere I went. It is lots of fun learning where others are from. I met one particularly nice young man on the bus. He was there with the Special Olympics. I'm not exactly sure what his handicap was. You could tell he was somewhat challenged but he had no trouble talking to me. He got really excited when I told him I was from Ohio. He immediately replied that he was a Buckeye fan and that he would love to see the Buckeyes play. He knew that a Buckeye was a nut but said that he had never seen one. I promised that I would send him one. (He lives in Irvine, California.) Isn't it amazing how a chance encounter with someone can make a great impression on you?

When I saw Bianca's posting for this week's block I started missing my sewing machine. It didn't help when Carolyn posted this month's block. Come Monday I am going to have to get real busy to get caught up.

Ta Dah.

I finally finished this week's BOW after lots of unsewing. Next week I will pay more attention to detail.

Another Week - Gone

What a week! The time is going by way too fast. I love sleeping in, the house staying clean, and time to do whatever I want.

I tried working on the 2nd BOW for Bianca's Christmas Quilt. First of all, I cut the fabric wrong and had to redo that. Then I sewed the fabric together but not in the right sequence. So, being too lazy to pick out the stitches and resewing them correctly I chose to cut out new pieces. AND...of course, sewed them together wrong. I think I have lost the use of my right brain. (I lost the use of my left brain a long time ago.)

Jack is watching the Buckeyes so I think I will go back to the sewing room and attempt to correctly assemble the block as Bianca intended it to be done. Wish me luck.

What Happened to This Week

It happened again. I totally lost this week. Where do the days disappear to? I spent Tuesday working on my quilt blocks. Wednesday I cleaned. That evening Jack and I went downtown to PromoWest for the Hospital's Years of Service Dinner. The Hospital certainly knows how to throw a great party.

Thursday, I went to Circleville to the Good Time Quilters Guild's Annual Quilt Show. I love seeing all of the beautiful quilts. The ladies are certainly talented. I went on to Chillicothe to Creations Sew Clever. I was able to put a hold on a piece of material I had been looking for. The irony was that Rita had the bolt of material with her at the Quilt Show in Circleville. I hadn't noticed the fabric while I was there. Fortunately, they will hold the material for me to pick up next Saturday.

1st Block of Bianca's BOW Christmas Quilt

Here is the 1st block of my Christmas Quilt. Can't wait to see how it will turn out.

July's BOM for the OhioQuilters

Here is July's BOM

Baby Steps

Today begins my fifth week of retirement. I spent the day cleaning my bedroom. Taking baby steps. I threw away a lot of stuff but still have lots that I need to get rid of. It took ten years to accumulate the clutter after we moved here. Hopefully, I can get rid of the mess faster than that.

What Happened to Summer

I woke up this morning to the realization that summer passed me by. What happened! In May I was looking forward to retirement. Well, I retired July 30, 2010. It has been a month and I am just beginning to settle into a routine.

So much has occurred in this last month. Week 1 we had our three youngest granddaughters spend a few days with us. Week 2 I was fortunate to get to spend several days at a quilting retreat. I had a wonderful time hanging out with a great group of ladies who like to sew as much as I do. Unfortunately, week 3 my dad passed away. He was in very poor health and I think just gave up once he realized he would have to remain in an extended care facility. As for week 4, I can't tell you what happened. It just went by in a flash. Weird, how that happens.

We went to Jackson today to visit my father-in-law. We also went to the cemetery. Hopefully, it will cool down a little and Jack and I can get to the yard work. The weeds are taking over.

Blogging Is Hard

I am not the best blogger in the world. By the time I have a few minutes to post updates I am too tired. Can't wait for retirement from the "working world". I want to do my kind of work and that is making quilts. Once I put the 9-5 routine behind me I will have the energy to devote to making more quilts including (drum roll here) actually fully completing quilts. Jack says my collection hanging over the upstairs bannister does not qualify me as a quilter.

I worked on two "Quilts for Kids" and two for the James' Stitching Sisters this past weekend at a wonderful quilting retreat in Berlin, Ohio. The group consists of a bunch of wonderfully talented ladies. There were many beautiful quilts in progress. I hope some of that talent rubs off on me. I can't wait for next year.