Not much action here

Part of the problem with blogging is that you really have to have something to say, eh? Or better yet, something to show. Work has been busy and full of drama, so I pretty much collapse at night after eating a too-late dinner. In no particular order, I have managed to:

• make it to both Kinko's and the post office to mail Linda J. some patterns I promised her too long ago
• say goodbye forever to Uncle Sam’s harassment about my 2007 taxes
• wonder how someone who makes so little can owe so much
• update my résumé
• and again, since no one needs a two-page résumé
• apply for a new job
• mourn the loss of youthful energy
• bake a 14-lb ham, just because it was on sale
• wonder why I didn’t have it cut in half
• make some cheesy potatoes to go with
• take some of both to my elderly neighbor
• resist the urge (so far) to drive 1.5 hours to a 50% off fabric sale
• fill online shopping baskets with fabric
• delete said baskets

• pick up my knitting
• admire the fact that I finally made it past the cast-on, toe-up, with circular needles
• realize I knit too tightly

• watch (good movie—wish I’d read the book)

• watch (like some books I read, I think I have to watch the whole thing to find the redeeming value—it took me days and I still didn’t find it)

• order a charm pack to go with this quilt because I got a little carried away with cutting (the kit was a generous give-away by Miss Rosie’s owner) last Fall

• audition backgrounds for these blocks

No fabric in, none out!

I hope you all have a great, productive week.

Sheila

MishMash

Just a quick post as I'm running late to work. I'm down 0.4# this week which, thankfully, wasn't a gain! I've invested in some rubberband exercise thingys for those days when we're covered in ice or snow, and some Biggest Loser DVDs. The thing that amazed me most about my Daily Plate this week is that, even though I never add salt to my food, my sodium content is almost consistently 75% higher than it should be.

No fabric in or out last week... another good thing, because I sure was tempted by some sales I saw online. And I heard about one at a quilt shop in this state where everything is 50% off in February. Friday = Payday = Road Trip!


Here's my older grandson's big-boy-bed quilt. My nemesis I should say. I wasn't thrilled with making him a rag quilt to begin with, but I did it because that's what his mother wanted... and to fit a long twin bed with a 9"-deep mattress. I slogged my way through this monster, and they thought it was way too big so, if I could, cut it down to make a smaller quilt for his bed and a carry-along or two from the rest. Of course, with all that batting already stitched inside it was a mess--either continue to rag it and pull the batting from the edges, or bind it. Finally, I decided to bind it. THEM. This is the bed-sized one, and he got a carry along a few weeks back. UGH. But a done ugh, nonetheless. I still have a 3-block by 7-block piece left that I'll turn into a stuffed animals quilt for his bed, but not for awhile.

MissMad's Cobblestone quilt

 

The cobblestone pattern is my go-to (read: lack of imagination) quilt. Here's one I made for MissMad's 1st birthday last April. Unfortunately, she only got the top at that time. The quilt was finished and bound in July... but there were some boo-boos in my quilting (HQ rental). By then I was deep in the throes of GMan's big-boy quilt, so MissMad's got set aside. Well, she finally got the quilt last week. I was trying for the old-fashioned look and, while I love the quilt, it's a little *old* looking for a little girl. I think I'll try something brighter for her 2nd birthday... and a finished quilt this time.

The top was made from one jelly roll--Moda Daydreams line, I think--and it measures 48x60. The back is a soothing lite aqua stripe, and I thought the striped binding incorporated all the colors of the quilt. Although I didn't really care for the binding when it was done, there was no way I was taking it off.

Off to meet the accountant at work, and back home to quilt shortly... I hope!

Take care,
Sheila

Happy Groundhog Day!

It's been a crazy week on the work front. The boss has been on vacation and we've had another person quit, so everything tends to just get backed up while I put out fires. I feel as though we're always working in crisis mode.

Nothing new on the quilting front; nothing in, nothing out. I'm still attaching bindings that I cut two weeks ago. Did you know I'm a very slow binder? Very. I did get a long overdue quilt delivered, but all the fabric was accounted for in May '08. I forgot to get a finished picture of it, too, so I hope my son was able to do so.


Nothing new on the weight loss front; at least I'm holding steady. Thank goodness for my OXO Salad Spinner, a variety of organic lettuce and tomatoes, and a rotisserie chicken from Sam's. I can eat lunch all week for about $10.

What have I been, doing. Hmmm. We got an inch or so of ice and several inches of snow earlier in the week, so going anywhere but work has been hit or miss. There are very few times it's a necessity to go anywhere when it takes an hour to dig the car out! I had to borrow a neighbor's ice scraper to break into my car that first day; now I carry one with me. Thankfully I only live 4 miles from work.

I've been sewing down binding at night, so I watched a movie my son raved about -Into the Wild- one night and Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits Live dvd on another. Friday I watched the kids, which wore me out! Yesterday was a Grantman-n-Nana day at Chuck E. Cheese's which was an interesting experience because he was a bit afraid to try most of the stuff. It's changed a lot; age 2.5 is probably a little young and he'll enjoy it more when he's older. But we'll always have the memories.

Yesterday was also a beautiful, sunny, 40+degree day and I think we all needed that. It reminded me that seasonal affective disorder is very real, and I need to make the effort to get outside for something other than getting to and from my car to go to work!

Life is like Groundhog Day, ya know? I've come to adopt this as my personal metaphor. Every single, stinkin' day you get the chance to do it all over again and try to get it right. Whatever 'it' is for you. Whatever 'right' is for you. Stashbusting. Weight loss. Job search. Letting go of the past. Taking another step in the direction of your dreams. Anything and everything, do it again and again until it's right for you.

Happy Groundhog Day.

February 1 Stash Report

Fabric Added: -0- yards
Fabric Added YTD: -0- yards

Fabric Used this Week: -0- yards
Fabric Used Year to Date: -5- yards