My loan officer hates me...

If she doesn't, I would be surprised. I am going to make an offer on a property very close to where I am currently living. I think I have asked the loan officer for 3 (or maybe 4) good faith estimates so that I know how much I will be spending on the house based on a couple of different scenarios. I am sure that she hopes this is the last time I bug her. I was a loan officer several years ago. I would have hated me!

Working...

I didn't spend the whole day sewing but I have finally made a dent in the stars quilt along.
The only one I had made prior was the first star on the second row. I am using a lot of 3 Sisters for Moda prints. There is some "Seaside Rose", "Faded Memories" and bits and pieces of pastels from my scrap box. When it is completed there will be a fair amount of open white spaces so this one will give me opportunity to practice some big, fat, wonky feathers. I generally use "Warm & Natural" batting but I think I will try some wool batting this time. I have heard wonderful things about how it quilts and how it drapes.

On another subject, what the heck am I doing wrong when I photograph my quilts? My camera has 8 megapixels so I know it is capable of clear shots. Sometimes they are clear and other times they are fuzzy. I just took great shots of my grandchildren. The pictures I just took of my blocks are horrible...and I took several. Anyone have a suggestion...or two? I'll stop whining now...

I HAD very good intentions...

I was going to do the Quiltathon today. Before and after I looked at a couple of houses. Well, I didn't sew before I went house touring and afterward I decided to swing buy Martin's Fabric Barn and choose some flat folds to make wheelchair lap robes. Then I stopped at the library, picked up a few new books to read, the latest Fons & Porter magazine, a couple of DVDs and came home. It was time for lunch so that took another 20 minutes. After lunch I sat down and looked over the magazine and dozed off on the couch...can you tell I wasn't enthralled with the mag? When I woke up, another hour had slipped away so I decided to give in to my lazy self and therefore I have done absolutely no sewing today.

Tomorrow is another day...

It's vewy, vewy quiet...

My son, DIL and grandchildren left yesterday morning sometime after I went to work. I kissed a row of little faces as they sat on the couch enthralled by some sort of cartoon. That is always the hardest part - saying goodbye to the children. They change so much until the next time I see them. Chad and Amy don't change much...though I have been surprised at the silver threads I am beginning to see in MY baby's hair!

At any rate, I left to the sounds of a filled home with toys and "stuff" everywhere. I returned to neat and orderly and quiet.

I think I like the noise and the mess better...

The best reason to make a quilt

Here are my granddaughters - Bella (6) on the left and Emily (10) on the right.


They are snuggled up under one of the quilts in my living room. I made this quilt on retreat at Bear Hollow 2 years ago. I keep it thrown on my couch in the living room. Having it there so that my girls could cuddle under it on a chilly (!) June morning is just about the best reason to have made it!

Shalotte, North Carolina

I just noticed that someone from Shalotte, North Carolina checked out my blog. My family has been vacationing at Holden Beach for more than 20 years. My former husband's family had vacationed and owned homes there since the early 50s. So...this post is directed to you, whomever you are! Please send me a comment...I would love to hear from you!!

Ants, crazy cat and family

First - the ants...my collective nemesis. The are sneaking in under the front door. I have been spraying with some (no doubt toxic) ant spray. Some of the ants come through staggering around and then collapse. (I love that!) Some others just don't seem to notice. Maybe they are coming from some other point of entry. I am now going to purchase Terro Ant Bait traps. They will take the bait back to the colony on their nasty little feet and kill the rest. (Hee hee hee...)

Next - the crazy cat. She gets weird whenever I use a bleach spray to clean counter tops or my kitchen floor. One sniff of the spray and she appears, waiting for me to finish. As soon as I walk away, she rolls all over the cleaned surface. She acts like she does around catnip. Very strange. This morning I used some kind of Swiffer wet cleaning pad to quickly mop my tile floors. I found her creeping toward the floor, making "I love you" noises and then rolling on the just cleaned floor. I will admit to enjoying a clean floor but nothing like this!

Last (but certainly not least!) - Chad and his family plus my oldest granddaughter arrive late this afternoon. There is a big family event on Saturday afternoon. Since everyone was supposed to be here, my mother organized a photo shoot on Saturday morning with a noted photographer in our area. Because my youngest son and DIL cannot come now due to work commitments, the group photo will not be complete but such is life. Maybe we can Photoshop them in!

Here's what I did yesterday...First is the flimsy of the banner. There is a white strip on the far right but the top blended into my design wall.


I finally finished putting the binding on my Mom's quilt. I managed to also get the label on the back so it really IS finished!


Here is a close up of the quilting. I am pretty happy...this was free motion on the LA and stitch in the ditch on my Janome.


I won't be able to sew for a few days. My oldest son, his family and my eldest granddaughter are coming for a long weekend. I have to clean the studio since that is where the girls will be sleeping. Everything has to be moved around (and three sewing machines need to go to the storage room). Now I will just have to remember where I put everything!

By the way...

With reference to my posting on Saturday, I lined up the plants (VBG!) and did get the flimsy of the patriotic banner done yesterday. If I had my camera at the office I would show you!

Finally, I can sleep again...

I just heard from my realtor. The seller doesn't want to fix anything "major". I am signing a sales release today. I guess this wasn't the house for me. I will "keep hope alive" as I know there must be one out there that is perfect for me!

Another project

Y'all know I have "Quilters ADD"...and I have a bunch of projects in process right now. I picked up a magazine at the library and found this in the latest "Sewing Savy". I never have the fabric I need in my stash...NEVER...so I was forced to make a trip to Burkholder's. I didn't want traditional red, white and blue and I am not going to put the cheesy birds and "USA" on the banner. I am going to make wonky stars to applique on the blue.


This should go together really quickly but I have said that before and been completely mistaken! Maybe if the plants (edited 6/16: "plants are in alignment"??!! How the hell would plants get aligned?! I scare me...I meant PLANETS!!)are in alignment I will have it finished to show you tomorrow.

Tagged!!

Cathy tagged me so here are my answers to the questions.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was working for a large East Coast computer services integrator in Virginia Beach, Virginia and enjoying my brand new granddaughter.

2. What are 5 things on my list to do today?
1. Call my realtor. 2. Update a spreadsheet at work. 3. Call Pam about the weekend. 4. Finish sewing down the binding on Mom's quilt. 5. Pick up some variegated purple thread.

3.What snacks do I enjoy?
Seaweed wrapped rice crackers, cashews, Swiss cheese with grapes, dark chocolate

4. What would I do if I was a billionaire?
Buy my mother the house she really wants, buy myself a house on the beach in North Carolina, a condo in Pennsylvania and a house on the Puget Sound in Washington. I would set up trust funds for my grandchildren, give large chunks of money to my children and tithe to my church. I would contribute to autism reseach. I would obviously quit my job, spend my time traveling between my properties and children and quilt like a crazy woman! How in the world do you live when you are a billionaire? Too much responsibility when you have that much money!

5.Where have I lived?
Pennsylvania - North Carolina - Pennsylvania - Japan - Virginia - Alabama - Kansas - Hawaii - Virginia - Washington - Pennsylvania. Too complicated to get into cities and towns! I am an Army brat.

There you go - more than you care to know! I am not going to tag anyone. If you read this and want to play, feel free!!

House Inspection

The house inspection was today. It was so bad that I can't even talk about it. Thank goodness I spent the money on an inspector! Bottom line is that unless the seller comes up with about $25,000 (!!!) in repairs, I am not going anywhere!

I couldn't make myself go in to the office after the inspection. I came home and put on my jammies. (Picture pathetic!)

I am going to a wine and cheese tasting this evening. I will probably taste more wine than cheese...

Treasure hunt

On Saturday in order to keep my mind off the fact that I was waiting to hear if my offer would be accepted, I went wandering with my sister. The first place we went was to "Garden Spot", a used furniture store. They have some new stuff but it is mostly junk. Their used furniture is incredible! I was thinking that I might buy a hutch for my new kitchen (I wasn't TOTALLY forgetting about the house deal!) and saw many that would be good possibilities. The candidates were mostly maple and easy enough to prime and paint. Average 3 door hutch with closed top? About $165! They are solid maple and many were Ethan Allen. I know that maple isn't popular but perfect for my application. After poking around there, we went toward Blue Ball out in Lancaster county and stopped at Carson's in the Cornfields. What a great shop! Lots of really pretty vignettes. Lots of architectural salvage. I see several sets of vintage shutters in my future! I also want a vintage gate in my garden for a "gate to nowhere". I got lots of great ideas but didn't spend any money.

As we were leaving their parking lot, Julie spotted a sign for "Furniture & Craft Shop". We decided to check it out. The shop was on a Amish farm. When we pulled up, a young girl about 13 or 14 came to greet us. The shop was thankfully air conditioned and had lots of goodies. I found this tea set (missing the pot but darling anyway)
There wasn't a price and when I asked the young woman she said, "Maybe $16?". OK - SOLD! I poked around some more and found this English ironstone pitcher and bowl. LOVE IT (and it will look fantastic on my antique wash stand.
That didn't have a price either so she said she had to check with her older sister. Big sis came it gave me another ridiculously low price and I said I would take it.

I think I am going to spend more time driving around Lancaster and Lebanon counties. The farms are beautiful and the shopping can't be beat!

Now what?

I bought a house...a house with 7 kitchen cabinets. I currently have 16 in my kitchen. What the heck am I going to do with all my stuff?!? The house was built in 1920. What did people do with their pots and pans and dishes and groceries? Where am I going to put my KitchenAid mixer and my coffee maker and my toaster? What do I do with my glass canisters and my cutting boards and my knives? Is this buyer's remorse or am I just in a panic?!?

The reason I made an offer on this house was because I could see myself living there. OK, I could see my new sewing studio (with 3 windows and tons of light!) and I could see how my four poster rice bed would fit in the master bedroom. The whole kitchen thing escaped me. Yes, I noticed the lack of cabinets but I wasn't focused on that. (I am a quilter, people!!)

AND NOW I HAVE TO PACK ALL MY STUFF! I HATE moving. It's OK when Mayflower shows up, puts all your stuff in a truck and moves it for you, but me moving myself? Oh, no! Boxes and paper and bubble wrap and tape...sheesh. The whole packing thing just freaks me out. Jen, I feel your pain!!

How hard is it to make a quilt?

So, my brother called me last night.

"Suzie, how hard is it to make a quilt?"

"Why? You planning on taking up quilting?"

"No, I was just thinking that I have a lot of old t-shirts from concerts and I can't wear them. I thought they would make a cool quilt."

"I can do that but I have one I need to make for Chad (son) first."

"OK, how soon can we start this? I'll help. Will it take more than a couple of hours?"

???!!!???

I think I will ask him to bring his shirts, let him help me cut them and iron on the interfacing and then see how much interest there is when I explain the rest of the process. I think that if it takes more than 2 hours for the the initial cutting and fusing he will quickly decide he doesn't want to help. And maybe, just maybe, he will gain a little respect for what I do!

(Sigh)...Goofy brother...

Just deleted my last posting

I couldn't figure out how to delete a particular comment so I deleted my entire last post. Some FOOL left a comment that was inappropriate...and also poorly written! For the time being, I have enabled comment moderation so that I can review comments. Sorry!

"Secret Project" revealed!

On Sunday, most of the "Society of Sexy Sisters" met for our monthly quilting/talking/eating session. As always, we had a great time. This time our hostess was Darlene. She is pictured below with our group's secret project. Each of the other women in our group made two blocks with focus fabric and whatever other fabric she had from her stash that was appropriate. This is the quilt Julie and I were working on when we went to the shore last weekend. Darlene was surprised and delighted with our "healing quilt" gift.



I wish now that I had taken a close up of the detail in the quilting. Julie and I put it on the LA on Saturday morning and finished it up in a couple of hours. I attached the binding on Sunday morning at 6am (!) and then we all took turns stitching the binding down after we gave it to Darlene. We are all pretty pleased with our collaborative effort.