Fall is here....yeah !

Well it's fall finally!  I love this time of year.  The colors and smells are the best of the year.  I have to start cleaning this evening now that the kids are gone for the week. Get the house ready for the Holidays.  That way there's not that much to do thoughout and I can enjoy the time with the family.  I can't believe how time is flying...I guess we're having fun...lol  I hope that the DH gets to my sewing room this weekend as well.  It needs shelves and some more rearrangement.  I can't wait till we get the electrical cords and lights on the mid arm so Anna and I can play...hehe

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!  Kiddos get lots of candy and I hope you parents check it closely as there are some sickos out there.  I don't have trick or treaters at my house anymore.  The bowling alley is where you'll find me this year.  It just so happens to be on my league night this year.  I have only made one quilt so far and kept it for myself and you guessed it a Halloween theme one...lol

Long time no see....sorry

Well it's hump day yeah!!! Just coming off a trip to the mountatins this past weekend. The DH and I went to Piegon Forge without kids and no work talk for a GREAT weekend.  We both needed it badly. While we were there we went to the Hatfield and McCoy dinner show.  It is fun and good food as well. When you get there your picture is taken.  There are different settings outside as well but it was too dark when we got there for those.  The one they took of us inside is shown. 

I guess I better get to work on Christmas stuff if I'm going to have things done by then. Till next time HAPPY QUILTING!!!!

Will there be an early Fall?

WOW....has the mornings been cool and great lately!!  We're going into my favorite time of year...Fall.  I just love the bright colors, the aromas of fresh harvests and feel of the crisp air.  I can't wait for it to officially get here.  It also starts more quilting time since the summer is always so busy with things to do outside. Now that our overtime is slacking off maybe I can get on here more and possibly post more pictures....lol

My first Long Arm Quilter....

Hey everyone...sorry it's been so long since last post.  When working 72 hrs a week it's hard to remember everything...lol 

My best friend Anna and I have been dreaming for quite some time of a long arm quilting machine.  Well upon browsing his favorite site craigslist.com at lunch my husband and I found this baby listed and I grabbed it. This is the picture from the listing.  It's a Husqvarna Viking Mega Quilter, not too fancy but I love it and I just wanted a basic machine to learn on. She extends from 5ft to 10ft. She came with a bunch of extra goodies along with an extension table. I can't wait to set it back up and play.....

Rain-rain....rain and working way too much overtime...

Well sorry it's been so long since last blog but a girl has to just get away sometimes.  We went on vacation to Lake Tahoe for a week.  For the past few months I have been working 65+ hours a week, canning jam and working on the house so there has been little time for anything else.

We have had a run of bad luck right in the middle of all this as well.  First John flips his baby (aka his Jeep) on his way to our house for fireworks and then Billy and Josh were in a wreck 2 days ago.  On top of all this Jay has to go to the hospital yesterday.  One good thing came out of this couple weeks is that we are expecting a new grandbaby in March....yeah.

WOW the sunshine is nice.... but it's been too long between posts....

Sorry for the very long delay between posts but computer problems and life in general gets in the way sometimes.  There has been a bunch of sewing going on in the middle of this roller coaster.  I have completed 2 kiddo quilts, a welcome sign for the home and in the middle of the Hospitality house quilt for quilt guild due in just couple weeks...eeek!

The hospitality house is a place near the hospital in Oak Ridge, TN where patients can stay while having the treatments needed and not have to travel so much over long distances. Each year my quilt guild, The Ritzy Thimble Quilters, memebers donate quilts for this wonderful cause.  There is a different theme every year and the theme this year is memory quilts.  I will post a picture of mine when finished that way you can have a visual of the story I tell about it. 

I promise I won't stay gone so long. Until then enjoy this picture of the newest addition to the family.... baby Landon with granddaughter McKenna and proud Papaw.

 

Those pre quilt making chores...and new grandchildren

Before you get to the fun things about quilting you have to do those tedious little things I like to refer to as chores...cutting and stripping.  I've done a lot of that this weekend. I had a pile of what I call hunks (the left over pieces of fat quarters from block making) and decided it was time to strip them down to use in a variety of things I have going on at the moment.  I cut them down to 4x4 squares for a recycled blue jeans quilt I started and even cut some 2 1/2 inch strips for some of my Quiltville UFOs. I ended with some 2x2 squares for the leader/ender and cathedral window projects. 

Just as I have progress in the quilting world Scott's son Jay had a baby boy yesterday.  His name is Landon Scott Harrison. Of course there will be quilts for both the grandchildren finished soon.  McKenna's Raggedy Ann and Andy just needs quilting and binding and now I know Landon is definitely our little boy he will get one too.

Sorry it's been so long...sick of being sick

Now that I feel better I have some things ready for block drawing and memory quilt due at upcoming guild meetings.  I even had a chance to play on my embroidery machine I got for Christmas.  I have to practice so I can get embroidery done for my bowling teams shirts we're wearing to Reno in June.  Can't say that for long because of the nice weather I will be outside more as the days get longer the work load increases...lol

Loads of stuff going on....

Sorry it's been so long between posts.  We've had lots of  things going on around the house lately but let's not get into that we're just glad it's over.  I have been organizing my sewing room and moving things around so much even the DH is lost in some rooms.  I guess you could say I have started my Spring cleaning a little early.

On the quilting front I'm getting to sew some more since making time for myself and I finally got my blocks ready for Thimbleberries tonight.  I even baked a chocolate chip cake from the Block Party book for extra Thimbleberries bucks...lol

Lots going on these days...another countdown!!!

I'm on a countdown to when my son John who is in the Marine Corp. will be home for good.  I have lots to get done for his return to civilian life as in getting the house ready he's staying in being the biggy.  I have not been around him very much for most his adult life as he joined the Marines and was off just 2 months after graduating high school.  Just have to get used to having him around now but I'm going to LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!!

Now I have to get my normal house work done so I can sew on blocks that are due for my guild meeting Tuesday night and cut some more fabric for scrappy quilts.  Off to the sewing room for some fun for a change.

There she blows...2 more days to roadtrip!!!

All I can say about this morning is "WOW."  The wind is so strong and it's unseasonably warm.    We're going from in the 60's this morning to expecting snow flurries by late tonight. Are we sure it's January?

I have almost all the fabric cut for the class this weekend but I've decided by toss of a coin to do 2 matching lap quilts.   I'm only taking fabric for one but cutting it all at once...why do things twice?  I can't wait to get there and have some fun!!!

Icy day on the Hill...

Who says you have to be miserable cooped up with a DH in bad weather?  I'm not for sure...he likes to clean.  We got 2 rooms cleaned up and no fussing involved..yeah!!! While he's in the mood to help I'm getting the kitchen organized. We have tomorrow for that and then I get a cut and sew day in MY room Sunday.  I guess I'll post some pics on Monday if I can figure out how...lol

Life gets in the way sometimes...

Does it seem like each time you have a quilt night planned something comes up out of the blue and keeps you from what you love?  It happens to me alot more now that I have deadlines to meet on cutting fabric and completing unfinished projects.  I'll get a handle on that I hope this week if the bad weather that is supposed to move in will help with my schedule of getting things done.  One can only hope....

9 Days and Counting Down....

My best friend Anna and I are going to a class by Bonnie Hunter on Feb 2 and I can't wait for the road trip.  I still have some cutting to do for class but Scrappy Mountain Majesty will be a hoot as all of Bonnie's classes are.  If you ever get a chance to take a quilting class do so.  You meet people from all walks of life and make some friendships that last a lifetime.  You can also learn alot from one another too.

Not enough time....

Have you ever had a four day weekend and feel there is still not enough time for all that's on the to do list?  Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get all on my list done ever...lol  After working all day moving furniture,cleaning and rearranging things it's off to watch a movie with the hubby and family then relax.  I guess I'll have to help him some tomorrow if it's nice outside but then I'll have time for some quilt related things for myself in the afternoon or evening....yeah!

Fresh year and fresh list of UFO's

Welcome to my first blog.  I've got a fresh list of UFO's and some traveling planned for this year.  Follow along as we complete them together. My quilt guild, Ritzy Thimble Quilter's of Oak Ridge, TN has a challenge involving completing them for chances of prizes.