Misc. Stuff

Are praying mantis good bugs or bad bugs? I was working in the yard this morning an found these guys.

One was in the lantana, the other was in a pot with some not to green daisies. I might have to Google them after this post.

My hen and chick is blooming:

This is the first time it has bloomed.

I got the half square blocks for the first quadrant of my friendship triangles quilt squared up and laid out.


I think it is going to take me a while to sew this together.

My latest civil war blocks are done. Both really easy.

I like Ohio Stars.

And last but not least...the monster lives!

Now I need to learn how to tame the beast. Lessons learned so far:

1. Don't roll the quilt up too high or you get gaps in the quilting.

2. You are delusional if you think you don't need to practice A LOT.

3. You need to breathe every once in a while...holding your breath is not good.

I'm sure there will be more lessons to learn before I get to my first quilt.

Quick

Talk about customer service! I talked to a technical support person at the Grace Company on Wednesday morning, by Friday afternoon a new Sure Stitch Regulator was delivered. Wow. They tested it on site to ensure it works with my Juki 2000....does it work? Don't know. I'm not as fast or efficient as they are. Installing the first regulator was a pain in the keister. I'm not looking forward to taking it off and installing the new one.

Two new civil war blocks... one was exceptional easy and the other was exceptional difficult. Can you guess which was which?

Difficult Easy

I started out using Barbara Brackman's pattern and templates for the Confederate Rose block. I should have tweaked this one like I have a few of the other blocks, it would have been simpler to just make a square in a square in square block with cheater corners. Having said that, it is one of my favorite finished blocks.

On a side note: I got called in for jury duty today. It was a civil case, someone ran a red light that caused an accident. A passenger in one of the cars sued both drivers. I didn't get picked but it was interesting to watch the jury selection process.

Sew Eventful Weekend

Lots of sewing did and did not occur at my house this weekend.

On Saturday Dawn, Stacey and Nancy came over to sew. They were my motivation to get everything attached, plugged and pinned...


Nada, nothing...literally. I could get it working with the presser foot, but not the regulator. So disappointing. We tried everything, Googled everything, and no luck. So very disappointing. Does anyone in blogland have a Sure Stitch Regulator hooked up to a Juki 2000? Any suggestions?

To add to it all Fred peed on Stacey's sewing machine carrier and an ex-boyfriend was in the area and decided he wanted to visit even though I told him I had a house full of women sewing and it wasn't the best time. (I talk to him about once year and haven't seen him in 11 years.) His comment once he got here..."I didn't realize you were so into this stuff." Really?

I was so distracted I didn't take any pictures on Saturday. Stacey worked on friendship star blocks, Dawn worked with templates to make a complicated sunflower block and Nancy worked on making very colorful snowball blocks with Kaffe fabrics.

Yesterday was more relaxing. Nancy came back over and we watch p.s. I love you with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Now if Gerard Butler had stopped by on Saturday I would have kicked all those women out the door so fast they wouldn't have seen the boot coming. Good movie. A 5 Kleenex rating.

Nancy finished putting together the rows for this Just Can't Cut It (more Kaffe).


The picture doesn't do the quilt justice. It is SO bright and cheerful.

I've mention the charm packet challenge Nancy and I have going...here's where she is.

And this is where I am...


Hmmmm... doesn't look quite right does it.

Caught Up

Whoopee!!! I am finally caught up with my civil war blocks. I even got this week's block done.

I may Y triangles but I don't do Y seams or curves. So I adapted two blocks.

The Indian Puzzle block ends up a little blah (different fabric choices may have helped), but the Carolina Lily looks just as good as the original.

I Y Triangles

I have a few friends that will run away from a pattern with half square triangles...not me. I'm in the process of making this quilt with the charm squares Nancy gave me.


This quilt has a LOT of half square triangles. Kinda scary. But not for me. I'm using this method from Mary's blog Marin & Colusa.


How easy is this...sew four lines. Cut four times and get eight half square triangles.

Busy Saturday

My neighbor, Michele, does several missionary trips a year, lately she has focused on Haiti. She has worked at several orphanages and the stories she tells about the conditions at some of the orphanages would break your heart.

She will be going back in October. To help raise funds for her airplane fares she has garage sales. Friends, church members and neighbors donate items to the sale. I helped her set up yesterday (starting at 6:30 a.m.) and worked the sale until about 11:30. Look at all the people! It was like this from 7:00 a.m until after 2:00 p.m.

Do you have this problem? Every time I make my bed I end up with a large lump...

Such a silly girl.

I know, I know...

(This post is for Annie O who was looking high and low and around corners for me. Hi Annie!)

I've been a really bad blogger. I'd like to say I've been on vacation this past month but I'd be lying. I'm not allowed to lie. I have been lurking and leaving a few comments...does that count as blogging?

I did have a nice visit with my Mom. And got a little bit of sewing done.

Unfortunately I haven't done much since, so I'm very behind on my civil war blocks (again).

We took a quick trip to the coast and visited a place called Trees of Mystery. Interesting place. They had a sky trail gondola that took us up to the top of a mountain. Lots of pretty views.

I even got a decent scenic picture, that doesn't happen very often.

I've done a little bit of sewing since I got back...a very little bit.


Jazmine, a co-worker's daughter, made the above Brain Game. I thought it was very clever, I also think she has a future as a quilt designer.


I made this little quilt using her design and gave it to her. It was fun to make and she really liked it.

I've also been re-arranging furniture and assembling this monster.

I made the fabric leaders last weekend. I still have to finish installing the stitch regulator. I'm procrastinating because this thing scares the daylights out of me. Don't ask me why, I wouldn't be able to say.

Okay, that's it, now you know why I haven't blogged, not much going on around here.