Okperi's Place

Designer BOM,Patterns, Other Stuff

2008-07-18T20:03:00.025-05:00

Have you ever had a disjointed week where you never found your groove? I am raising my hand high on that one this week! I think it is because the moon has been full.

Started off with Dr's appt, the main word there is EXERCISE! I told them they tell me that every year, why don't you just not subject me to all of that blood work and save us all some time and trouble and just call me and say, "The Doctor says EXERCISE".

I have some rheumatoid arthritis markers showing up and they want me to go to a specialist for tests. All I can say is ^&*!!!! I won't go where they want to send me because it is downtown so they are going to send me to their first choice, but I can't get in until October or so. So of course the last 3 days I have hurt all over my overweight body! Even the fat is aching! Other than that everything is fine. Low cholesterol, low blood pressure, etc, the picture of health.

Then to the eye doc on Thursday and I am scheduled for my right eye cataract removal on the 29th of this month. I will be so glad when all of that is over.

A friend of mine woke me up at noon, told me to get my lazy *** out of bed and meet her for lunch, so I did. Then I had a Starbucks Green Tea Frap with Raspberry Syrup....ooooh..that should add some time to my exercise routine for sure!

So here I have deposited myself in my chair for most of the afternoon and then to make this an official screwed up week, Aud and I went to get some KFC. All healthy stuff here, right?

Anyway, what I am getting at is this. I am looking at Quilt Stores on the internet, and of course I usually end up at The Fat Quarter Shop. This time was no exception. Have you ever just wanted to spend a little money just because you haven't lately? lol....well, that's where I was and I decided to look at her patterns.

If you haven't looked at the pattern section on Kimberly's web site you need to treat yourself to that. She has patterns buried in there that I have never seen anywhere else. Not only does she have patterns for "real" quilts, lol, but there is even a separate section for charm patterns. I should have stuck to looking at fabric! There are some neat, neat patterns in there, like this one and this one (not a good picture but the pattern has definite possibilities) and this one (great for all of the Moda scraps we all have) , this one , this one , this one and don't forget all of the Miss Rosie's . There are patterns in there for paper dolls and any and every kind of bag and purse and tote. I know this sounds like a commercial but I really found some great patterns on there, and you can actually SEE them, which I can't say the same about a lot of places. It was very soothing to be able to just sit and look at them and decide which ones I "couldn't live without".

Of course I did manage to pick up some fabric while I was at it. Have to make my monthly payment for Emma's college, you know, lol. As Sharon would say, "I'm just sayin!"

Did manage to get a little bit done this week so far.
Block Two in the Designer BOM I am doing from The Fat Quarter Shop. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt if the first two blocks are any indication.

These are some more of my batik blocks I am working on. Running out of wall space, lol.
I guess that is all for now. Have a great weekend!!!

A Little Quilting Going on Here!

2008-07-14T00:42:00.014-05:00

I am so excited! I have actually gotten a little quilting done this week. My quilting room looks like a complete disaster. I took a picture of it and decided it was too bad to look at, lol. I never let it get so cluttered. I have actually hung up another design wall 20 x 40 in an area I found on a wall, and made a "hanging design wall", which is pictured further down. I have so much up on the main design wall right now I am running out of room and I don't want to take anything down at the moment, don't have time, lol.

This is Peace and Plenty Block 11.

I have started my batik quilt I wanted to do and here is one of the blocks.

Another block from the batik quilt.

Others from the batik quilt. I have already changed the one with the pink in it, lol, I don't like it. It feels so good to finally be working with batiks again. I love all of the colors in them.

Moving right along with my Web Sampler, I have the house and its border done. I still have so much to do, not sure it will be finished by Sept 1 after all.

Here's another view along with all the "stuff" that is scattered everywhere.

And here is my hanging design wall. I have a hook over the door, so I just took a hanger and pinned some batting on it and then pinned the batting to a hanger and put the blocks on. Just think you could have lots of hanger design walls, lol.

And, I put my Janome Platinum in a new sewing table that I purchased from SewEzi. Their website is http://www.seweziusa.com/ . I am so pleased with this table. It folds flat, has wheels, a carrying handle, and a "suitcase" type slip cover to store or take it in. They custom fit the acrylic inserts to your machine and I ordered this one day and it was here 3 days later. It is just the right size too. Just thought I would mention this in case one of you is looking for a portable solution to a table.

Aud has shingles and is having a tough time with them which is not good. I got an all clear on my cancer which makes 2 years out, and I have an appointment with the eye doc on Thursday. My eye has improved enough I am hoping she will schedule the right eye so I can get through the eye bit before something else on me goes haywire, lol.

The only other thing I know worth noting is I have a new LG HDTV that is just super. I never knew TV could look so good, lol. I am watching stuff I never watched before because it is so sharp. We have other HDTVs in the house, but this one is in my room and I am like a kid with a new toy, lol.

I guess that is all from me for this week. I keep saying I am going to post more frequently but that just "ain't happening" at the moment.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead of them!

Catching Up

2008-07-06T20:08:00.018-05:00

Hello, everybody. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. It was certainly hot enough here. I tried to stay in the a/c as much as possible. Not a lot of quilty stuff going on around here so I haven't posted lately, but I finally decided I better at least say something. I am doing some quilting stuff, but nothing that is showable yet. Just bits and pieces of things. And the Piece and Plenty takes lots of time, but I am working on that. Will post a picture of one block pretty soon. I am almost finished with it.

My version of what I took a class in on Saturday. It is called Mirrored Silhouettes. Of course I didn't finish it, I never do, lol.

This is the sample of the wall hanging I was looking at to do mine.

It's a few days late, but what is on your bed for July? This is my patriotic quilt that I made about 3 years ago (I think). It has hand embroidery, hand piecing, paper piecing, and plain old piecing. The quilting was done by a lady from Missouri named Penny Roberts and she did an absolutely wonderful job on it.

This is Roger and Laurie and Aud. Laurie is Keith's mother and is married to Roger. He is from Nepal and is one of the nicest and sweetest people I have ever known. Some of our young men could take lessons from him, that's for sure. Keith is very fortunate to have him in his life.

Here's Keith again, hasn't changed much in a month, lol, but he and family stopped by. It was good to see him, and he didn't have his Rock Band with him , lol.

Aud in the front yard pulling weeds (I only see one though, lol)

Apricot Lilies in the back yard

Asian Lilies, these things are about 4 feet tall.

What a Way to Spend a Sunday

2008-06-22T18:00:00.013-05:00

I never did like rock and roll. Actually, I couldn’t stand it when I was young, and it still really grates on my nerves. The reason I am telling you this is because I am sitting here with a splitting headache that I have had off and on all week, listening to my grandson that is spending the day with me (he is 15 and lives in Dallas) playing Rock Guitar on his 360.

I made him watch the soccer semi final game and this is my reward, lol. I told him I must love him a lot to put up with that “s*&*”, lol. My ears are ringing. We will not smile until our braces come off he tells me, lol.

I have to show you these also. Some of the new lilies. I think I bought small ones for this whole bed.

And here are my favorite red lilies. They are so vibrant and deep, and when they die and you take the dead blooms off there is a red residue in your hand, the color is so intense.

A closeup of the white ones with a lavender ring inside of them. So very pretty and dainty looking.

The large bush you see in the background is a Banksia Rose. It bloomed a little this year, but next year there should be blooms all over it. We planted this 3 years ago, and it has taken it this long to get going. The soil in that corner of the yard is awful. If any of you remember Sharon had a picture of a tree with yellow roses all over it several months ago. Well that was a Banksia Rose. Hopefully mine will look like that next year.

And that is all for today. It is quiet right now, we are through with the Rock Guitar and just playing Halo on the 360; I can stand that, lol. His mother is on her way so he will be leaving shortly. I hate to see him go, I only see him about 3 or 4 times a year.

I hope all have a great week!

Quilty Things Going On and More Yard

2008-06-21T23:09:00.021-05:00

These are pictures of some of the lilies blooming this week. The red ones called Red Volunteers seem to be in every bed, lol, I think they are living up to their name. They sure do mulitply fast.

This is block 1 of the Designer BOM from The Fat Quarter Shop. Of course I cut the background wrong and had to substitute, lol, I guess that is why I have a stash, huh. I got the finishing kit with the first block and this is going to be a very pretty quilt when it is done!

Making progress on the Piece and Plenty. I am loving this quilt, but goodness, there are a lot of hours in it. These are blocks 9 and 10. For some reason I have skipped 8, so I am working on that one now.

I finally got the 12 main blocks finished for the Web Sampler. Now to start on the house for the middle of it.

The latest batiks to enter the house, lol.

I am starting a new quilt soon that will be using batiks and I had them scattered everywhere so I decided I would see if I could sort them out. Ha! You see how far I got, but at least they are out of my closet and on a table so I can see what I have. And, I have too many, so I am not going to buy any more, lol.

Quilty Things and Yard Update

2008-06-10T22:00:00.021-05:00

I really do quilt if anyone is curious. It is taking me a while to get back in the groove, but I am accomplishing some things. I have changed the quilt on the bed for the month. Have you changed yours lately?
This is Hemming House. I love this fabric collection and it looks perfect in this pattern.

This is my challenge quilt I did with Cindy, Lisa, and Nicole. I really do like the way it turned out.

This is the BOM that Kimberly has decided to tease us with for this year. I think it is made from the fabric I can see behind the picture of the quilt, and it is gorgeous! I have signed up and am looking forward to September when it starts!

As if I didn't have enough to do, I started another BOM that has been going on a couple of months . This is a Bits n Pieces pattern, but the picture I took of the pattern is not any good, so this is a picture of the BOM that I took at the quilt store. This quilt store is not online yet, but is in the general area of OKC.

Along the way I managed to take a class in making a rope bowl. I had the wrong day down for the class, and the store owner called me, so I didn't get there until the class was half over, but I did manage to make a small bowl and I got the idea of how it is made. This was kind of fun and I want to make some more.

Ok, these last 3 pictures are yard updates. In spite of getting brown spots when I put down weed and feed because I didn't do it right, the yard is finally green and most of the flowers in the front are blooming except for the Azaleas. They will bloom again in the fall.

New pink lilies that have bloomed in the back, the red ones were mismarked I think, lol, and that is why they ended up in this bed.

And these are the lily plants that I planted 3 weeks ago. If you look closely you can see how much they have grown.

Hope your week is going well!

Pictures of My Yard

2008-06-07T00:59:00.016-05:00

I got the last of my lilies planted tonight, finished up by flashlight, lol. It is getting too hot to do any planting, but I haven't been able to do much during the regular planting season with my eyes like they were then. Anyway, the yard is showing itself off in bits and pieces. These are my favorite for the last few days.
Not sure what these lilies are called, but they are multiplying at a rapid rate.

This is my rabbit that hides in the flower beds, lol.

Peonies from a few weeks back. They don't bloom long, but here again, at least they are starting to grow some.

More of the lily "farm" in the back.

My amarylis has finally bloomed completely. It won't last over a couple of days and then it will be gone, but it is so gorgeous while it is blooming.

Closeup of the white lilies

This is the bed I planted the lilies in tonight. Pulled up some of this stuff because I am not sure what it is, but Miss Muffet is hiding behind the roses, which are blooming again.

And that's all for now I think. I will try to get my quilt stuff I have done posted in the next day or two. Hope everyone is off to a good start for the weekend!

It Certainly is Bright Out Here!!

2008-06-02T21:46:00.032-05:00

So this is what it looks like in the sun. I feel like I have been on an extended walkabout, only, in my case, it would probably be called a sleepabout. I want to thank everyone who has inquired as to my eyes and how I am doing. I am much much better. Not healed completely; there is still some inflammation going on. I have an interim pair of glasses with updated lens and that has helped.

So far not much sewing going on; I am trying, and I am sure gettting good at ripping. lol. I do have some quilty things to show, but today is just gardening and grandchildren.

When we moved into this house 6 years ago there was only a patch of bedraggled orange lilies in an overgrown area in the back side yard. I had 2 weeks to find a house and this was the one that suited us the best for the criteria we needed.

The yard we left behind in Texas was just beautiful. We had moved into a new house there and I had landscaped the yard over a period of about 5 years or so and I had planted flowers etc out the wazoo. I still miss that yard. Anyway, all that to say that this yard has taken lots of patience, trial and error, and downright screaming to get it to the point it is at. I am still not finished, but some of it is coming together.

These are some of the mature lilies I planted 2 years ago. They will bloom in another month. And we always plant geraniums in these long narrow pots every year.

These are 22 new lilies plants I just received. I order my daylilies from Oakes Daylily Farm in Tennessee. They are always huge and I have never had any problems with them. This bed will have mostly pinks and purples in it. I don't know whether they will bloom this year or not, but at least they are in the ground.

Verbena in the front by the walk. Planted last year and has really grown.

This is in the front yard. The Stellas are going great guns and that pink flower is an Amarylis. I love them. In Houston I had about 10 of them. They aren't supposed to grow here, but I stuck one in the ground 2 years ago after it had bloomed in the house, and lo and behold, it is blooming! I am still jumping up and down. It hasn't fully opened yet, I will take another picture soon. This bed has lilies and Gerber daisies and some some other stuff I don't remember, lol.

This is the beginning of my irises. I order 6 from Better Homes and Gardens last year, and this one was the first to pop out. They have finished blooming for the year, but I am going to try to plant some more for next year.

This is the orange lily mecca. We have transplanted lilies twice now, and they are so thick I need to do it again. Some of them are almost 5 feet tall.

And then, poor Ms Katy has a broken arm. She fell off of a picnic table while playing. The ortho doc had to put 2 pins in her bones right above the elbow. She is going to be fine, but that has been quite an ordeal all the way around. I don't have a picture of her in her pink cast, but her mother has promised me one. And this is one of the things that has kept her mother from giving us a rundown on the CF Great Strides and a picture of the quilt winner. Hopefully soon. (Are you out there, Dana, and reading this?)

This is Jackson, my oldest grandson. He just graduated from highschool. I was trying to get a decent picture of him, but as grandsons are not good subjects for pictures, he wasn't allowing me to. So this will have to do. He is going on a Mediterranean Cruise this month and is very excited about it. He will be going to OU this fall so I will probably see a little more of him than I have been.

And that is enough dribble for one night. Hope everyone's week is going well!

Please Take a Moment......

2008-05-26T01:42:00.004-05:00

to honor those who have fallen and those that are now in harm's way. Say a prayer of thanks that they were and are there to protect us. May God bless them all.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2008-05-11T00:16:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to wish all Mothers, regardless of age or generation, a wonderful Happy Mother's Day! I hope it will be the beginning of a year full of joy for your whole family!

The Winner! And Cotton Candy

2008-05-09T23:49:00.008-05:00

Hello all - this is Dana posting on Mom’s blog. And the winner of Katy’s Hope II Quilt is -

Katia, from Edmond, Oklahoma!

She is a teacher at the girls’ school and an absolutely lovely person. More about her later!

I apologize for posting this so late in the day. I've been busy with Cotton Candy. But before I get to that I must say a huge “thank you” to everyone that purchased quilt chances. Thank you for supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and also for your kind comments and words of encouragement. Close to 1,000 tickets were purchased! That is huge! We also want to express our sincere gratitude to Cindy for making this beautiful quilt. Hers was truly a gift from the heart.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Great Strides walk for CF in Oklahoma City. It is an annual event and this year I had the bright idea of sponsoring a cotton candy booth. Which means I arranged to rent the machines, enlisted the help of high school students to run them, and will be setting up and tearing down tomorrow. Sounds fun, right?

Have you ever seen a cotton candy machine up close? They are HUGE, and I rented TWO of them! Luckily they did fit in my car. Of course, I didn’t want any surprises for the actual event, so once I got them home I set one up in our yard to test it out. Much to the delight of the girls…..

You can’t imagine the mess this stuff makes. After the test run, the machine had to be cleaned, disassembled, packed back into the car. Oh, and cleaning the machine correctly involves a pair of pliers. But yes, I am still married. DH might grumble a bit, but in our 20-some years together he has learned that I’m gonna do silly stuff like this and so in the end he always jumps in to help out. What a good sport!

You all have been so kind to let us hijack Mom’s blog for a bit and I promise it will be back to your regular programming soon. Mom got new glasses today and although she is still supposed to be resting her eyeballs, she can see much better. Many blessings to all of you!

Hello all - this is Dana's Mom posting. I was just going to write a note on "our" blog to tell everyone thank you and it was so wonderful to see the response from so many quilters and bloggers and other people who are helping to get rid of this awful disease. As Katy asked her mother the other day, "So when do we get a cure, Momma,

And many, many thanks to Cindy for the gorgeous qult. Dana said the lady was thrilled to pieces. She hasn't had time to present it to her, but told me she intends to do so on Monday and has promised pictures. I will hold her to it. I wanted to go to the actual drawing today but was not able to, and am hoping she told pictures of that.

I can actually see somewhat this evening. The left eye where the stitches are is still a little blurry but Doc says it will be a couple of weeks before that completely heals. I have temporary glasses to get me through to the first of June. By then my left eye should be ok again, hopefully.

I hope to get a post or two in soon and start catching up with everyone. Again, many many thanks to all of you bloggers who passed the word and bought tickets! I wish everyone could have won, but there's always next year! And hopefully soon, there will be a cure for Katy and all of the CF's. Hugs!!

Ooops!!!!!!................

2008-05-01T21:36:00.008-05:00

I was just laying there in the lala land of meds when I hear this very sorrowful sigh.....

and I am suddenly awake. All I can see is a little hole over my left eye and I know that I have a drape over my right eye.

Dr, what's wrong?

Well, we have a little problem, another sigh

What happened?

Sigh, Well, you must be mad at somebody, you were grinding your teeth and moving your head around, so I was sitting here waiting for you to settle down, which you did. And I started to make my incision and you jerked your head real hard.

So what happened?

Another sigh Well, I cut your iris by mistake and it just "squished" out. sigh

Now I am laying very still and not moving a muscle while I am asking her this.

So now what?

Sigh, well you are going to have to be very still while I fix this

ok

So I laid there and was very still and she slowly but surely repaired my iris that had "squished" out and replaced the lens that she was in there to do. The whole time she was sighing and telling me what a good surgical patient I was because I was being so still, and she was so upset that this had happened, and I kept telling her not to worry about it. I was more upset about her being upset than I was about the miscut, because I figured she could fix it, which she did. It really shook her up.

This is not supposed to happen during regular surgery;stuff like this happens only during trauma, and she sighed again..

I have no idea how long it took her to "fix" it all, but I was in the OR over 2 hours for a 15 minute operation, lol.

And bless her heart, she was a white as a sheet and really very upset.

This happened Tuesday, and Wednesday I was back in her office so she could see how my eye was. And, bless her heart, she sighed again and almost giggled when she looked in my eye, and then she said ooooh,, this looks great!

And apologized again, Everything was good, it would just take about a week or so before all of the trauma made to the cornea and iris cleared up.

Can you come back tomorrow so I can check the pressure?

Sure, I can't do anything else, might as well, lol. So back in there today and the eye pressure is very good, and it is healing and I can see a little more today than yesterday, thank goodness.

She used the model of the eye that was sitting there and showed me what she had to do. All I can say is wow! It is going to be at least a week, maybe longer before my eye returns to normal. I guess I will be doing a lot of sleeping.

As I told her, I can be very still, but I don't have a lot of patience and I am bored stiff. Tired of sleeping or resting with my eyes closed. If there are spelling mistakes in here, sorry about that. I am typing this a little at a time.

Thanks to everyone who has asked how I am, and to all who have contributed to CF through Katy's Voyagers. We still have 8 days before the drawing, so it isn't too late to get your donation in. I promise, you will have numbers, lol.

I know I owe people a lot of followups on emails; I don't think they will get done for the most part. I just can't see that long. I do however, appreciate every one of them.

Now I am going to get off of here and close my eyes. They are itching something fierce. I am taking benadryl to help with the itching, and puttind prednisone drops in my eyes every hour and 2 other kinds of drops in them 4 times a day. Such fun~~~

I hope everyone's week is going a little bit better than mine has so far!

Just A Quick Note

2008-04-28T00:07:00.010-05:00

Here's Pizza Girl herself, with her "shy" smile and dimples showing. She plays soccer. Watching 4 and 5 year olds play soccer is certainly a lesson in patience, lol.

I want to thank everyone who has made a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation on Katy's Voyagers account. It is absolutely fantastic the response you'll have made. As the old cliche says, "we can make a difference".

The drawing won't be held until May 9th, so don't forget to tell your friends if you haven't already. Someone has to win that quilt! lol

Please let me know if you have not gotten your numbers, or if you have questions that have not been answered.

I know Dana had some computer glitches earlier in the week, and I haven't talked to her for a couple of days.

I haven't done much sewing this week with my eyes in the shape they are in, but my first eye surgery will be this coming Tuesday. I am so excited, I am ready to be able to see decently again; the downside to this is the good eye is the first one to be operated on. The other eye won't get its surgery for 3 more weeks, which is a bummer. But it won't be long!

Usually about this time of the year Aud starts in on "it's time to plant", and we wait until it is hotter than you know what before we ever get anything in the ground. Well, since I can't see, it seemed like the perfect time to plant flowers and clean up flower beds, so that is what I have been doing for 3 days, and I still have about 2 hours left. Then the front will be good to go for the summer. I will get the young man that mows our yard to do the back next week end. I was very pleased to see my azaleas come back in spite of the harsh winter, and the hard work we have put in this yard the last 4 years is starting to pay off I think.

I have lots of lillies that need to be thinned out, so if anyone wants any, just stop by, lol. I can't seem to ever get to that for some reason. Anyway, I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the yard, it wasn't hot at all for a change. I am so sore I can hardly move, but I am going to take a couple of Tylenol and that should help.

As soon as I get through, I will post pictures. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Update: I have sent out raffle numbers to everyone who signed up through Monday evening! Thank you all so much for the overwhelming response. We are truly grateful for your support. Also, there was a slight complication on the eye surgery but the patient is resting comfortably and I know she will update you with her take on the day's events as soon as she can. Thanks again ~ Dana

Miss Katy and Cystic Fibrosis

2008-04-21T17:26:00.007-05:00

This is my sweet 4 year old, 5 in May, granddaughter who unfortunately has Cystic Fibrosis. There is no cure at the moment for this terrible disease, and if you are interested in the facts about it I have a link on the sidebar that will take you to the CF website, and a montage about Miss Katy.

A quilt raffle is going to be held on May 9th for the quilt you see pictured in my header. It was made by Cindy and donated for this fundraiser. Please pass the word in the land of blog, and feel free to link to the CF site or here. The link on the sidebar takes you to a donation page and tells you how to get your raffle numbers. Thank you so much!

Every donation, no matter what size, helps find a cure for this dreadful disease sooner than later.

Update: Thanks to Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop for doing an article on Katy on the Jolly Jabber! I really appreciate her and everyone else that has linked to the CF site. Bloggers are wonderful people!

Another update: You know, I am looking at this picture of Katy and thinking she sure does look like somebody, and it just dawned on me, the young kooky girl in October Road that works at the Pizza Parlor? Doesn't she look like her? LOL!!! And those toes aren't bruised, they are painted with green and blue polish! ROFLOL!!!

Helping the Economy and Other Matters

2008-04-19T21:29:00.034-05:00

Since I can't see worth a "you know what" to sew anything, I decided I would help the economy and spend money. But before I show you what I have been up to, I want to show you this.

This is one reason I never lose any weight. Aud whips up these pecan pies from scratch with Texas Pecans and they are always so good. Of course she puts twice as many pecans as the recipe calls for. DEE-licious!!!

My neighbor's redbud tree. Isn't it gorgeous?

This is the Maypole Fat Quarter bundle I ordered from The Fat Quarter Shop. Love, love, love this fabric.

And this is the pattern that I am going to make out of it. Both of these lovely items arrived from The Fat Quarter Shop this week.

My favorite book store, Amazon, delivered these two to me this week. Not real impressed with either one of them, but there are some interesting things in both. Hmm, that doesn't make much sense, but we quilters will know what we mean, right?

This is the backing for my Kaffe Fassett quilt. I ordered it from The Fat Quarter Shop a couple of days ago and lo and behold, of course, it is already here!

Here is my Kaffe Fassett quilt, ready to go to the quilter's. I was waiting on the backing. I think I can sew it together, that shouldn't be rocket science, right?

Here are some batiks I ordered from Stich-n-Frame just because they were the Thursday Sale items and I didn't think I had them. Out of the 7 I only had 2, not too bad, lol.

Isn't this a pretty pattern? I picked this up at The Savage Quilter. This is a new quilt store in Oklahoma City and it is very nice and inviting. The owner's name is Debby and she is very helpful. I couldn't resist this pattern, and it scares me...I think I am being drawn into 30's fabric!!! But there is no room in the inn for that kind of fabric! Hmmm...may have to do something to clear some room out. I also got the prarie paisley fabric there that I have a picture of further down.

This is the fq bundle of Sweet Romance that I got from Sharon. I have always regretted not buying this when it came out, so now I just have to decide what pattern to use to make it.

This is Prairie Paisley, of course. I am going to make that little patttern down in the corner. It is a neat pattern. You can buy it at The Fat Quarter Shop.
And this is my pincushion pattern I got at Oklahoma Quiltworks. It is made with tiny log cabin blocks and is paper pieced, which is not my favorite thing to do, but I love this pattern, and I want another homemade pincushion, lol. I am drooling for one. Now to find the time to make it.

Ok, that's all for now, folks. I am busting stash again, it jusn't isn't mine, lol.

Catching Up

2008-04-14T01:05:00.037-05:00

I went to see the Eye Doctor on Thursday and my cataracts are ready to be removed. They have gotten bad all of a sudden so it is time to do the surgery. I have an appointment with the surgeon in another 2 weeks to discuss the details, and then hopefully I can get them taken care of quickly. The detached retina situation is just that, a continuing situation. I have to be vigilant, lol.

I feel like a blob, just lolling around a lot, close work gives me a headache and I can't sew very long at a time without things getting blurry. Rather frustrating.

I got my Hemming House kit from Fat Quarter Shop and have started on that. Need to take a picture of the book so you can see what I am doing. It is going to be a beautiful quilt when I finish.

I am also finished with the blocks of my Kaffe quilt. Forgot to take a picture of them before I took them down to mark the rows. I want to get this to the quilter before my surgery.

This is Block 7 from Piece and Plenty, finished at last. This one took a while, but it sure did turn out well I thought. It has been the hardest for me so far.

This is Maypole from Moda. I am so in love with this fabric. This is a jelly roll and 2 charm packs, but I like it so much I have ordered the Fat Quarter bundle from The Fat Quarter Shop. I also ordered their Green Batiks and they are gorgeous, but I forgot to take a picture of them.

I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet, but I will find something. I guess you could say this is my Mary Englebreit fabric, lol.

Don't think I ever showed you this. It is called Antique Serenity. Isn't it gorgeous? Have no idea what I am going to make with it yet. I have collected most of the Serenity fabrics so far. They are a bit unusual and that appeals to me.

Last fall, Nicole asked everyone what was on their bed. I think we need to do that again. Have you put a spring quilt on your bed? This is from the Moda line Faded Memories, and the pattern is from Ms. Rosie. It is called Heart n Soul. While I was making it I had another name for it, lol. I made it bigger than the pattern called for and it has about 1500 pieces in it.

I was asked to tell about my Bull's Eye quilt. I saw this quilt made up about 2 months after I started quilting in my LQS. So I started collecting fabric pieces to go into it. Some of the fabric was from scraps and some I bought specifically for this quilt. About 3 years ago I guess I finally made it. I just wish I had made it larger. But, I am collecting fabric to make another one, lol.

This is the book that the pattern for Bull's Eye came from.

Let's Talk About Patterns

2008-04-07T22:33:00.008-05:00

How many times do you buy a pattern because the colors that the pattern is made with appeal to you? That is probably why you buy the majority of the patterns you buy, right? I think this is something that we as quilters have a tendency to do. So we buy pattern after pattern because it appeals to us colorwise, and before we know it, we have lots and lots of patterns. And when we look at them, a lot of them are variations of the same thing done in different colors.

I know I am extremely guilty of this. However, I have finally started to try to pay attention to what the pattern actually is about. What combinations of half square triangles, straight cuts, odd cuts that look difficult, etc. is a particular pattern composed of. Is it a combination that appeals to me, or is it the color. Is it difficult and time consuming and will I enjoy doing it even if I don't do it in the colors the pattern is done in. Or, is it simple, and I can do it quickly and feel like I have accomplished something with not much effort, and I don't have to use the colors shown in the pattern.

I think these are things all of us should think about when we buy a pattern. Some of them are done in color combinations that don't always apppeal to us or show the possibilities of them.

Here is a perfect example. When you first look at this pattern you automatically see reproductions of some era of quilting, and you may just love it. But if you don't like that era, you may pass this pattern by unless you really look at it. It has lots of movement and is basically an easy 2 block quilt with setting triangles, and would be terrific for lots of color combinations.

Here is this same quilt pattern done in brights. See what a difference the colors make? Look a little closer at patterns, you might find the perfect one that has just the elements you are looking for. See if you can picture yourself making this quilt. Is it too easy, is it too difficult, does it have an element you want to add to your quilt making skills? Do you get really excited about making the pattern? Or, are you just looking for a quick quilt to make because you “had to have” the fabric you bought. I think you will enjoy your quilting more if you think about these things before you invest your time and money.

And this is my take on patterns, what do you look for when you choose patterns?

Wednesday Sew-in at Quiltworks

2008-04-06T21:04:00.015-05:00

I haven't posted in several days. My eyes have been bothering me a lot and I have had them closed most of the time since Wednesday night when I started seeing ufos out of the right one. Today they are better, but tomorrow I am going to the eye doc if I can get in. Something is wrong, and I am hoping it is just acting up. He told me last year they were starting.

Oh, well, more of "the aging process", I guess.

Update: Went to eye doc. The cataract in my right eye is getting worse, my vision has changed, (lol, so what else is new) and my retina is trying to detach which is another thing that happens to you when you get older. The detached retina I just have to keep an eye on and hope it clears up or steadies. The cataract will probably have to be removed, and I go in for an update on Thursday afternoon, can't miss my Wednesday sew-in, and we will see dialate both eyes and see what needs to be done. Thanks to those of you that have posted here with your concerns.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have to show you my purchase for the week. Wonderful, wonderful batiks!!! I am going to use the one in the back for a background...it is just wonderful and will look super for what I have in mind. And look at that blue, I got some yardage of it, it is just yummy, and the green and gold isn't too shabby either, for that matter.

Every Wednesday from 9:30 to 4:30 there is a sew-in at Quiltworks in OKC. Most of the women that attend this have been coming to it for several years. I just started in February, but I know most of them and it is a lot of fun.

We laugh because the girls that work there always have something new to show us. If we like it they usually kit it and we buy all the kits before they get to the front of the store. Not really, but there is always something new and "have to have". An example is this one. It is going to be kitted and this will be the sample as soon as it gets bound. Isn't it gorgeous? Of course I don't remember what the fabric is, something like Sea and Sand maybe?

You can always call if you see anything you like. The walls you see here are in the classroom, but I believe you can get kits for about any of it if you like. Plus I have shown you some samples before.

The lady in blue (Verlinda) in the back and the lady in red (Charlcie) on the right work there. They are usually around to help us if we need it. And if they have time they work on samples while we are there. That is May oohing and ahhhing (in the yellow).

Isn't this cute?
This is the Barbara, the owner. She comes back and talks to us once in a while, and checks to see if we are doing ok. If there is something we want her to order in she is real good about accomodating us. See this scrumptious cake? One of the girls made it. It was wonderful, and had 3 different kinds of chocolate in it. Sorry, I don't remember now how she told us she made it. I will try to remember to get the recipe from her. Probably the best chocolate cake I have had in a while.
Some more of the quilts on the wall. See the Heart Crazies? The one on the right is a T Shirt quilt. This classroom is really wonderful. It will hold 18 people if they move out the big cutting tables in the middle. For the Wednesday group, there is usually a limit of 12, and most of the time all of the available places are taken.
I have managed to be pretty productive on the days I go. I have myKaffe Fassett blocks all ready to put together for my quilt. I will mark all of the blocks in each row to sew them together and do that at home. I don't have enough room up there to spread it all out.

And that is all for now. I hope the coming week is wonderful for everyone!

April Fool's Day

2008-04-01T10:59:00.013-05:00

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY

Here's wishing everyone a great, gaggy day!!

And Happy Birthday to my own April Fool's Day Birthday Boy, my grandson Keith. He is 15 today. Wow, how time flies. This picture was taken last fall.

And here he is when he was just a little squirt, lol.

Cookies!!!!!

2008-03-31T02:41:00.005-05:00

I think I have turned into a native Oklahoman. There are storms in the state this evening and I have had the dumb tv on for 5 hours watching this tornado watch and warning come ever closer and closer. We have had hail and lots of wind and rain, but thank goodness no tornado close by.

However there was one that touched down north of us not too far away. I have watched it go over the small town on the west side of OKC that my youngest daughter lives in and now I am watching it go over the town to the north my oldest daughter lives in. They are showing pictures of the damage that the tornado caused to the north. So far there are no deaths, thank goodness.

So, to keep my mind from going bonkers as I watch this wonderful spectable on tv , I have decided to tell you about my favorite storebought cookie . I never could get it in Houston during the summer, but I can't remember if it is available up here during the summer or not.

Anyway, I just love them to the point that when I buy a package of them, I know I will eat all 12 of them in the space of two days. This is the only cookie I have ever found in the grocery store that I will buy and know that I will enjoy it. When they are fresh, and this package was, they are so good, they just melt in your mouth. They are covered with dark chocolate, and there is a marshmellow type filling in it. Oooh, it is so good....I saved you one bite, but then I decided to eat it, lol. SO GOOD!!!!!

Now I ask you, what is your very favorite store bought cookie? Inquiring minds want to know!

Friday Shopping Report

2008-03-28T19:58:00.008-05:00

I love The Fat Quarter Shop.

It is always with mixed emotions I open her Monday or Friday email and then go to Kimberly's site and look around. She always has the newest fabric and just when you think you might be safe for a week or so, she springs something else on us, lol. Well, I think she has outdone herself this week. There are several things on there I have to have, and I want everyone else to be as tempted as I am.

Remember, we have to boost the economy, and we have a refund coming, which the IRS gurus have spent 41 million to tell us all we are going to get in May. There is something wrong with that picture, right?

The new Patchwork Party is going to start pretty soon and this is the finishing kit she has. Isn't it gorgeous? It makes me want the Prairie Paisley line more than ever. I am going to have to find something to make this line out of if I don't join the Patchwork Party.

I think I have found the perfect thing for quick Christmas presents! Check this out. There are four different ones, and they are reasonable and will be quick to make and if we get them now before she sells out of them they will be patiently waiting when we hit the panic button in November, lol.

Have you ever seen a batik quilt like this one? It is so fine looking. Just think, if I start it when it gets in I could have an Irish quilt for March 2009 ready to put on the bed.

Here's My Heart Quilt Kit is made from Hemming House and I just love, love, love it! It should be winging its way to me even as we speak. I was just checking all of the links and this seems to have disappeared. I bet she has sold all of them.

The other store you might like is The Cotton Club. They have something new called Berriangles. I got a sample of them and they look very interesting and easy. Might want to check them out.
http://www.cottonclub.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi .

I can always find fabric that I can't find anywhere else, like this . Isn't it gorgeous? And they have a great notion department and carry Aurifil thread in lots and lots of color.

Ok, that's all I am going to share with you this round. I have to get busy now.

Swan Lake

2008-03-26T23:07:00.004-05:00

This is absolutely amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqxSaW05p4