Stitching Sunday

Here's part of the ornament set for Santa at the beach...not quite done.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilting for Slow Stitching Sunday. Can't wait to check out what others are working on today.

I'm also checking out flights to Houston for the quilt show. I thought there was a conflict with my husband's schedule but there isn't! My husband even called one of our friend's in Houston and hit them up to host me. I'm sure I'll get to see many members of the immediate Bailey family before I head to Paris. My biggest challenge will be Houston traffic but hopefully it will be kind of like riding a bike...it will come back to me. Might be time for me try out GPS in the rental car.

I've heard from several of you that you are going to be there also...I may have to wear a funny hat so you can find me in the sea of ladies. 

First Snow

Not Ready!

Show and Tell

Yesterday's Breakfast Club had a small attendance. It's that time of the year when several of our regular attendees fly south for the winter. It gave us all more room to work but there isn't as much show and tell to share.

I'll start with the biggest quilt first. This is a "Curious George," quilt Kathy made for her grandson.

Kathy also got started on this Halloween quilt she will have quilted up in time for trick-or-treaters. It was a charm kit and the mouth is mega sized rick rack.

Jane brought in her finished, "Sidelights." Gorgeous!

Here is Julie Ann with a fun piece that is a quilt as you go technique. You top stitch the pieces onto a background that is already set up with the backing and batting. 

Megan attended the Valdez Quilt Show (I need to attend it one of these years) and took several classes. She is making two of these wonderful runners for Christmas gifts. Here's one in mainly red.

And her blue version.

She also made this notebook cover from scrap strips.

That reminded Barb she had made a notebook cover in Bernina Club. They learned felting, using a pintuck foot and of course those decorative stitches. 

Seems I have recruited another collector of Santa cross stitch ornaments!!! Barb is hooked...she's got several more Santa kits in her stash.

And here's a preview of the quilt for November's Breakfast Club. The quilt on the left is made with 2 1/2" squares and the one of the right is 2" squares. 

New Comments

I am happy to say I have had some new folks leave comments...but some are set up as "no reply bloggers," so I can't respond...which makes me very sad. I mistakenly had myself set up as a no reply blogger until I read about needing to change my settings on Sew Many Ways. Just click the link and it will take you to a bookmarked page that addresses making your email address available (only to the blog's host when you leave a comment.) If you have a gmail account the "no reply blogger" is the default setting so it has to be changed by you.

Someone has commented recently asking me questions about constructing a Bucilla stocking and I can't help since she is set up as "no reply blogger." It's so frustrating to me! I very much want to help. 

Mini Quilt Retreat

Today is Breakfast Club. It feels like it got here very fast but I think that is because I went to the quilt store a couple of times since last month's class. I'm taking a UFO strip quilt to tackle. This month's pattern looks very easy and is fat quarter friendly but I spent about an hour in the studio last night trying to pull together fabrics and finally gave up...there just weren't enough creative brain cells available. The fumes from the wet glue on the wood flooring that's been pulled up was also starting to bother me.

Dogs in Transition

I swapped out dogs last night and got Tonka back...he saw me and ran for my truck...apparently he wanted to make sure he was coming home with me. He is the one of my two dogs that has the hardest time with "change." Jenny was very excited to get into the other car and head to her new home for a few days. It has really helped me to only have one dog at a time as I try to get house stuff done.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

My fortune cookie from last night said, "You will travel far and wide for both pleasure and work." DUH! Tell me something I don't know!

Before I can get on a plane to go anywhere there are a few chores. The wood floor has to come up in the sewing room. The diagnosis...improper installation...our bad. 

Doesn't look good. In order to use the boards again the glue would have to be removed...easiest would be to shave off or plane the back side. I don't see that ever happening in my schedule. I think it would be best to get the floor cleaned up down to bare concrete and put carpet down next summer. Done. Time left for quilting!!!!

It wasn't all bad today. The heads are hung.

The bear rug is also up...my handy man did this while I was at Jazzercise this morning.

Lots of other wildlife metal sculptures got hung also...no quilts. I do have one huge wall in our bedroom reserved for a quilt...no dead animals are allowed in my studio or the bedroom...only cute Bernese Mountain Dogs that are very much alive. 

Tomorrow I get my hair done...thank goodness...I could use a visit to my favorite psychiatrist.  

Speaking of mental health...

I did check on the Houston quilt show dates...you know...there really is a chance I can work this in as part of my trek to France. Houston is "on the way," to Paris when you look at a world map. The quilt show is November 1-4. An extra suitcase would definitely need to be purchased in Houston because I need a lot of fabric therapy. I've got family and friends I can hit up for a place to stay! Can you feel my giddiness?

Design Wall Monday

I was going to skip Design Wall Monday...house issues have me "swamped." But...I actually finished a top so it's time for a little pat on the back. All those house problems will still be here when I get done taking this break.

Here's the kit I have been working on since June. I tried valiantly not to purchase any more of the border fabric but I got to a point where it just wasn't working for me so off to the quilt store I went. At that point, buying a half a yard of fabric was worth my time and money to get it done.  

This is a big quilt...99x99...bigger than a queen. 

Maybe you noticed it looks bumpy...

More building drama.

I guess the waterfall from my dripping dishwasher line has left me with a ruined wood floor. It is horribly warped. Every day it looks worse.

My advice...don't put wood flooring in your basement because water makes it's way down. Our last basement had tile and carpeting. We did have a pipe break one winter...water ever where but the tile was fine. (We hadn't put the carpet yet.) I had another leak in the boiler room that reach into the tiled hallway...no big deal.

Tomorrow, my new best friend, Jeff the handyman, will pull up the boards and we'll see if anything else is going on between the wood and the cement floor. Not expecting to find any real problems...maybe the moisture barrier that was painted on the cement has a tear. Jeff tells me concrete is actually a porous surface that takes 80 years to cure. Who knew? That sure makes me look at all buildings and roads a little differently...now I really won't be able to sleep at night!

And to put it lightly...it's been rather wet in our state lately. It's official...we broke another weather record in 2012...most snow and rainfall for a year! I think there is moss growing behind my ears.

Friday night I was depressed because ultimately this new crisis means I won't be turning on my longarm next summer...cuz I'll be putting in new flooring. You can bet I'm going with carpet and tile. 

And where was my knight in shining armor? Flying a trip between Germany and Calgary. The life of a pilot's wife...stuff always happens when they are gone.

I need trip somewhere...I'd love to go to the Houston quilt show...I wonder...might have to check the flight schedule later today. 

Dog Days

I haven't talked about Jenny and Tonka lately but as fate would have it...they will be together in a new home. My favorite vet tech who has watched them for me while I travel, lost one of her two male Bernese. Her boy with irritable bowel disease had an episode and then he went into bloat...which is pretty much what it sounds like...the stomach bloats. As I understand it, bloat is often fatal and with the IBD history, it was too much. Her other Bernese male, Moritz, has been battling lymphoma since November. He is doing remarkably well but there is a limit to the window for chemo treatments and he will soon be entering another hurdle. 

The dogs' new family has allowed me to keep them until close to the time I leave. It helps them have more time to deal with their boys and I love having Jenny and Tonka's company as long as I can. But we just started a new phase...the new famliy will take one of the dogs at a time to spend the weekend with them. They have some acreage they spend time on most weekends so the dogs have lots of room to roam.

Here's Tonka (on the left) with his buddy, Moritz.

His new family sent me this photo tonight...he's going to stay one more night with them. I am so happy to see him hanging with his friend. Tonka is the sweetest boy!

Look at all those pretty fall colors. The weather looks a little nicer where they are than it does at my house. I'm sure he's getting nice and worn out every day!

Poor Jenny had a much too quiet weekend with me.

Now I feel guilty...I think we had better go for a quick walk.