Quilting Mojo

I seem to have lost my quilting mojo for the time being.  Not sure what is wrong... the new job with the census bureau, a problem with my depression meds, just general ennui, addiction to Evony... pick one.. pick any or all.  Whatever it is, I force myself to do a little from time to time, but I'm just not up to my usual speed, determination or inspiration.
I DID do something fun this last weekend - I went to Renaissance Faire.  I attended their 'Queen's College' and learned how to make batiks!  that was SO much fun... probably more fun than I've ever had before at Ren Faire, at least since my 'going in costume' days.  They had all these crafty classes, and if I'd been there sans husband, I could have stayed all day making things.  As it was, I only did the batik class.  We got to work on muslin and on silk... oh my... that was fun and really made me want to work with fabric again.  I hope I can carry that inspiration back home with me.
Today I am grateful for being alive.  'nuff said.

Gaga at Glendale

So I went a little gaga at the Glendale Quilt Show.  After swearing off spending money on quilting, too. 

I took a machine quilting class from Harriet Hargrave.  She's a hoot - had some great stories, and really made traditional quilting fearless.  I was amazed by her incredible quilting all done on her DSM.  She took a lot of the intimidation out of the process. 

Of course getting there was a total panic.... here's my story:  I was supposed to take classes at Glendale for all four days of the show.  Harriet's class (two days long) and two other one-day classes, plus a Saturday night class.  The two one-day classes were cancelled, and somehow I got it in my head that Harriet's class was on Saturday and Sunday.  I spent most of last week slowly prepping for Harriet's class, so I had SOME of the stuff we needed ready.  Still getting ready for the class, on Thursday morning at 8am, I cut out my show badge and looked at the letter that came with it.  The letter gave the dates of the class, which I glanced at but didn't pay much attention to... When I was done prepping for class, I sat down at the computer to fool around for a while.  This was 8am on Thursday. That's when I realized that 3/18 WAS Thursday, not Saturday.  I dropped everything, tossed a few more tools and supplies in a bag, ran off to shower and dress.  I grabbed a quick breakfast and raced off to Glendale. It was 8:30 am when I left the house, and I arrived, breathless, at 9am and slipped into the classroom.  I was already an hour late... sigh...  Not an auspicious start.. and I was embarrassed as hell walking in so late... but I made it...

Finally got into the swing of things by the time we started actually sewing, and on Friday, I brought the rest of the supplies I hadn't had time to gather up on Thursday.  I hate showing up unprepared for class.  So humliating.
Anyway, after two days of classes, I went back to the show on Saturday to actually attend the show itself, look at the quilts, and shop.

I fell off the no-fabric-buy wagon and bought two panels, a piece of cat fabric, a small piece of dark teal for the borders of my OBW quilt.  I also bought a kit of fabric that had bunnies, possums, raccoons, and squirrels - I'd been looking for this fabric for months and the only way they had it was in the kit, so now I have a kit I don't need that has fabric I wanted.  I bought a ruler and an iron cozy and a Laurel Burch bag, too. 
Most important, I had fun with Kathy and Debbie at the show.  We went to lunch at Momotaro's - awesome sushi.  And there were some really nice quilts at the quilt show, too. 

I'm glad I went.  I'm glad I'm home...

Today I am grateful for beauty in the world... in MY world... blue skies, the dark orange and pinks of sunset, the beautiful green of the trees that shade our house, for all the things that inspire what I do and what I love.

Work in Progress

So, after getting back from the Machine Quilter's Getaway in Trinidad, CA, I have been busy...
Playing Evony, sewing, avoiding practicing on the new longarm (more on that later), playing Evony, watching TV, reading, playing Evony.
I did finish my first rag quilt and took a class on One Block Wonder quilts - not quite finished, but the strips are sewn, now just have to sew them all together.
Here's my rag quilt, which I call 'Kitty Corners'.

And my OBW (the strip along the bottom is the original fabric):

This weekend I'm taking a class on Heirloom Machine Quilting from Harriet Hargrave.  So, the rest of the week will be prepping for that class.

Oh, and here's my 'quick star quilt' from Jan Krentz's book.  I made this on a quilting cruise I took last April.

I've been kinda depressed of late, which is why I haven't practiced on my longarm or updated the blog.  I hope to pull out of it and do more soon.  The leak in the upstairs plumbing, gophers on the lawn, broken dryers... sometimes it all seems too much.  Why me?

Today I am grateful for friends.  If I didn't have Debbie and Kathy and Marlyn, and yes, even Joe, I think I'd go out of my mind.

Professional Longarm Quilter?

I swore I was buying this machine for my own personal use only.  I was going to quilt my own quilts... So I agreed to quilt a couple of charity quilts for practice.  I thought it would be good for me to experiment and practice on these quilts, as they don't need to be 'show quality' perfect.  I was quite pleased with my results, being they were the first real quilts I had done on the longarm.  (Up until now, I've just been practicing on waste muslin).  I took those charity quilts to my quilting class, mostly to return them to the classmate who made the tops.  She didn't attend class that day, but I showed them during show & tell time just because, well, I did DO the quilting, after all. 

Well, needless to say, another classmate liked them and asked me to do a quilt for her.  I don't know WHAT I was thinking, but I agreed to do it.  We didn't discuss a price - I figured I'd do this one for the practice too, but I should at least charge her for the thread... maybe $20?  This quilt is for her grandson, not an anonymous charity quilt.

I feel like I've abandoned a personal commitment to myself by agreeing to do this, but I couldn't say no.  It was something of a challenge too.  She had hand-basted the entire quilt with thick polyester batting.  The quilt had places where the blocks weren't even sewn together... and there was no extra backing or batting - they were both cut to the same size as the top.  Still - I managed to load it.  I stared at it for a good hour trying to get up the courage to start quilting.  What to put in the sashing and borders?  How to quilt the blocks?  But finally I started to quilt it... and now it's done!

Whether she actually pays me or we just call it a wash for my practice, I've done a quilt for someone else... I feel like a professional whether money changes hands or not.  I want to dance.. and cry...

I have so many tops of my own that I haven't started on yet.  Will I have the same courage to start those?  Will I care more (to the point of overwhelming fear?)  Or will I feel freer to let loose with creativity on my own quilts?

Today I am grateful for a body that even though it doesn't look the way I'd like, at least still does all the things I demand of it.  There are so many accidents and diseases and conditions that render people unable to control or move their bodies the way they'd like, or in some cases not at all.  The amazing network of interconnected systems that is the human body is a marvel.  I am thankful mine still works.

Road to California

I spent 3 days at Road to California... had a mostly great time.  I went with some girlfriends of mine.  Five of us shared 2 hotel rooms not far from each other in the same hotel.

The show itself was a lot of fun - the quilts were beautiful.  I had a lot of difficulty choosing my favorite.  It didn't seem like quite as MANY quilts as at previous Road shows, but they were all amazing.  A few really stood out though - one was called 'The Quilt Show', a pictorial quilt of viewers at a quilt show, looking at the quilts - which were all little real 'quilt-lets' done in miniature, including a crazy quilt.   Another that really impressed me was 'Medea Escaping' - an amazing pictorial quilt with an beautifully rendered dragon.  'Seasonal Sisters', a cooperative quilt made by three quilters across the world from each other also impressed me a lot.  There was a pictorial quilt of a prowling puma that I loved.

... and then there were the vendors.  Now that I have a longarm, I look at the vendors completely differently.  Booths I passed by with little interest before are now completely riveting.  And I bought two pieces of fabric - one as a gift and one a sepia hand-dye for a special project... that was it!  Usually I come home with a lot of fabric.  This isn't to say I didn't buy things... I spent way too much on thread, and a little on some plastic rulers for the longarm... and a little on jewelry.

I will post pictures soon - my software got corrupted, so I have to find something new to crop and edit them.

Today is Monday and it was POURING rain all day... the kind of rain people call 'driving'... it was coming in hard all day, at strange angles because of the wind.  Lightning wasn't visible but the thunder was evidence it was there.  Suddenly at three or so in the afternoon, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared, the sun came out (leaving a lovely rainbow).  It's 4:30 now, and I hope it stays dry until my DH gets home from work with dinner and Starbucks.  We have forecasts for heavy rain for the rest of the week.  We need it badly to mitigate this drought we are in, but I worry about my loved ones out in the rain.  (Me, I stayed home and played with my longarm all day).

I am grateful today for rain.  Water is in such short supply in southern California right now, and we really need to fill our reservoirs.  Rain makes rainbows and makes our hills green and lush.  Rain fills our arroyos and rivers and leaves the air smelling clean and fresh.  Rain brings life.  Life is good.

Deliverance!

My longarm has been delivered!  It arrived this afternoon.  Tomorrow morning is setup and training time, followed by an afternoon for me to enjoy the machine.  Then more training on Sunday morning.  I'm really looking forward to the whole process... and terrified at the same time.  I hope this isn't all too much for me.

Today, I am grateful for the healing powers of rest.  My DH has been home with the flu all day, poor thing.  But he's feeling better now than he did this morning, so I'm hoping he will be over this soon.  Isn't it a wonder how miraculously our own bodies can heal themselves of so many things. 

Mystery Solved

Okay, I'm slow. It's already the 4th but I'm finally done with the center of the quilt. The first border is cut, but not on yet.  I have to say I love how it came out.  It's very different from most mystery quilts.  Not so traditional "all-over-patterny".  There is a star-like sparkle to it.  I almost wish I'd done it in light colors on a dark background... I think that star-like quality would have been enhanced.  While I love the quilt, I wasn't so thrilled with the process.  This was probably because of my own ennui, but still, I'm not sure I'd want to make a repeat of the quilt.  I sure would be interested in experimenting in EQ with this pattern though.  My husband even likes it, and he's kinda just neutral on most things. This mystery was from Kris Dreissen and more can be seen at Quiltbug.

It's pretty - I like how the colors work together, but I'm not sure the inspiration fabric looks right for the border... maybe I'll use it for the backing and find something else for the front of the quilt. As an inspiration it was awesome - with plums and greens and rosey-pinks and blues and creams - but somehow it just doesn't GO with any of the fabrics it inspired. How does THAT happen?

My longarm should be delivered on Friday - they are shipping fast freight at their expense due to scheduling difficulties with the set-up.

Today I am grateful for naps. We learn to rebel against them early, when we think we've outgrown them and our parents don't agree. I didn't learn the value of naps again til I had a child and I'd nap while he did - some days, this was my only rest. To this day, I still take naps. My cats remind me constantly of the value of naps.

Mysterious Disappointment

HAPPY NEW YEAR to anyone and everyone who stops by and sees this. May 2010 bring you peace, happiness and fulfillment.

That said, I hope you had a great New Year's Eve. I went to two parties, had fun at both. Rang in the new year with some games, some fun, some new acquaintances and very little alcohol (yay! - I'm a very cheap drunk... doesn't take much to get me liquored up. a glass and a half of wine and I was reeling. DH drove home).

I had been looking forward for three weeks to a New Year's Day mystery quilt online. I got all my prep work done in advance... chose fabrics, did the pre-mystery cutting and sewing. I was REALLY excited about doing this - passed up on some other activities just to do this quilt. I don't always like mysteries, but I really liked the one Kris at quiltbug.com did last year, so I was really pumped about this one. It had paper-piecing, which I love to do, and I chose colors from my stash that I like working with - plums and purples.

I don't really know what happened, but I just lost all my initiative about halfway through the early morning. Step two of the mystery was just cutting background fabric and I barely got that done. Step three was some more paper-piecing - but it was strip piecing, so not very complex. I cut the strips, and it took me HOURS to get just the first two strips sewn. That started about 9 am this morning. It's now after midnight on the 2nd and I JUST finished that step... There are 5 more steps I haven't even started on.

I still want to make this quilt... I haven't lost my desire... but I feel so SLOW... what happened to all my excitement and resolve and ambition? I dunno... I even went out for a walk and a Starbucks at 8 am and still couldn't get any energy going. I just want to cry...

It certainly wasn't the fault of the quilt designer.. This looks like it's going to make a really pretty quilt... It's totally an internal thing. I don't know what's wrong...

Maybe, despite my desire to make this quilt, I'm feeling angsty about traditional piecing. There's this part of me that loves piecing (esp. paper-piecing). I love the precision of making NYBs and lone stars and even log cabins. There's another piece of me that longs to make more art quilts... just paint fabric and applique and make landscapes and be more evocative with color and mood. I don't get much chance to indulge that part of myself as often as I'd like, but lately I've been feeling very neglectful of that need to express the inner me a bit more.

None of this of course even brings up the heavy weight of looming deadlines, quilty and otherwise. I'm sure those have been nibbling away at my enjoyment of and initiative for new projects.

Ah well - I WILL finish it... finishing things is one of my resolves for the year. Doesn't mean I'll finish EVERYTHING, but I will finish this quilt top at least.

Restated, my Resolutions for this year are:

1. Finish the requirements to get my adult school credential
2. Catalog all my WIPs, PIGs and WHIMMs
3. Prioritize all my WIPs, PIGs and WHIMMs
4. Be on time for appointments and classes.
5. Finish AT LEAST one project for every new one I start.
6. Take at least one trip every 2 months with my DH, even if it's just for a weekend getaway.

Now... what I'm grateful for: creaky knees, painful hips, sore muscles... all of which are much preferable to the alternative... no knees, broken hips, MS or worse ... I may be getting older and showing all the signs, but at least I have all the parts, they all work, and are, despite their age, relatively healthy.

Bob Bob Bobbin Along...

Sometimes I hate making bobbins. They always run out at the most inopportune times and I don't have one of those machines that warns me when my bobbin is getting low. I do most of my piecing with grey thread, and when I make a bobbin, I tend to make 3 or 4, but I still have to stop to change them.... sigh. Sometimes it's not a big deal. Unfortunately a lot of my work is chain piecing and I can sew 40 or 50 items without bobbin thread before I realize I've run out. That's a pain in the ass at the best of times... but when you're paper piecing, it's a LOT worse... your paper is already perforated and sometimes a second time through actually separates the sections.

So... what brought this up was that I'm preparing for the New Year's Day Mystery at Quiltbug. This is a paper-pieced mystery and, yeah, I did about half of the pieces without bobbin thread. Sigh.

My mood wasn't enhanced by the fact that we'd just gotten back from about 16 hours of driving in 2 days. (Up to see my DMIL and DFIL for the holiday). It was a lovely visit but OH, that drive! We usually stay a few days when we go, but this time we drove up on the 24th and back on the 25th... bleah!

On an up note, we are looking forward to seeing Avatar at the IMAX tonight. That should be good.

We've been invited to a couple of NYE parties... one is gonna be a drunken brawl, the other is a Wii Party. I think we'll make a short appearance at the brawl and then go play Wii. Games are more our style than TML (too much liquor). I guess I won't be doing any NYE mysteries... just NYD.

It's going to be a busy few months after that... I've got so many quilty commitments: The new longarm, Road to California in January, Machine Quilter's Conference in February, Glendale Quilt Show in March... and potentially a retreat in April. In addition, I'm hosting my minigroup in January and hosting a mini-sew-in for them in February in my home. I have to finish two quilts for an upcoming show... one of which is partially done... the other isn't even started yet. HELP! The more I think about how much I've gotta do, the more that little nagging sense of panic starts to set in. But sometimes it's that panic that motivates too...

I hope I don't motivate myself into an asylum...

Today I am grateful for owning a reliable car (and a husband who helps me keep it that way - mostly by nagging a bit, but it works), for CalTrans, for the I5, for good friends and good health, and especially for a new year with all the new hope and new possibilities that it could bring.

Finishing Touches

Today I finished another quilt top... Which adds yet one more item to my UFO pile. It's getting bigger... and bigger... I have no idea how many I have now, but it's far too many... Some of them are PIGs, some are WHIMMs, most are simply basic UFOs...

I have had no ambition to actually QUILT anything lately. I feel guilty about it, like I'm letting someone down, but really when I think about it, I'm not. So they sit awhile. And I AM expecting my longarm to be delivered in January. I will probably have more inspiration to quilt when it arrives. I'd better, or my husband may kill me or divorce me. I bought it, I damn well better USE it.

I am afraid I'll be too intimidated by it. I think he thinks so too. I guess I've gotta prove him wrong.

I am excited about it, but I'm a little scared of the whole thing the closer to delivery date this gets... What if it's all too much for me? What if I'm not good at it? What if... what if... what if?

I've always been terrified of the 'what ifs' in life. I'm surprised I ever got married, or had a child or bought a house... those are all big ones...

Well... I've come this far... too late to back out now. Onward and Upward... Excelsior!

Today I am grateful for weather. Does that sound stupid? Maybe to folks from outside socal, it does... but we rarely have weather here... we have climate. It's hot, warm or cool, but rarely do we have 'weather'... real, changeable, day to day changes. Clouds & precipitation aren't the norm here... we get clear skies or overcast, that's about it. Tomorrow we are supposed to have clouds, with maybe some rain, high winds and really cold temps. Finally - more sweater weather! I love wearing sweaters! I think I'll light a fire, sew, and pray for rain.

The Coming Year

I think that, while I will never be a perfect housekeeper... in fact I'll never be much of one at all... the massive clutter problem is under control at last. I've managed to keep the house relatively clutter free since the organizers finished over a month ago. We are keeping things from piling up, dealing with stuff when it comes in the house, generally keeping clutter under control. We have places for things and things go in their places. Finally, I have a home that we can enjoy, and visitors can enjoy as well. My mother would be proud of me, at last.

As for the coming year, I've already started planning ahead... There are a lot of things I'd like to do this year. I never place much stock in New Years Resolutions - they are usually quickly forgotten and rarely kept. Still, I have plans for the New Year. Here are my plans, so far. (No doubt they will be added to/modified as time goes on).

1. Finish the requirements to get my adult school credential
2. Catalog all my WIPs, PIGs and WHIMMs
3. Prioritize all my WIPs, PIGs and WHIMMs
4. Be on time for appointments and classes.
5. Finish AT LEAST one project for every new one I start.
6. Take at least one trip every 2 months with my DH, even if it's just for a weekend getaway.

I still intend to keep up with my 'gratitude' posts. Is it true that being grateful changes your outlook? I dunno... I'm still practicing it. Sometimes it's hard to think of something I'm grateful for that doesn't seem petty and self-serving or trite. It's supposed to get easier, the more you do it. So far, not so much... still.. here goes:

Today I am grateful for a husband who cooks. He not only enjoys it, he's good at it too. I'm very lucky.

...and more rain...

It's still raining steadily and is supposed to continue through tomorrow. I hope it does... I am just LOVING all this rain.

Tonight I get to drive into Santa Monica to visit a dear friend, go out to dinner, and hopefully see a movie.

Finished my settings for the Saturday Sampler and now working on borders, so something accomplished at least. I hope I can have at least the inner border done by the time I leave for SM this afternoon.

I participated in my first quilted post card exchange this season. I sent out two postcards and have received one of the two I'm expecting. It's beautiful - machine embroidered with a fantastic scalloped stitched edge. I hope they like the ones I sent out. Only mailed them on Thursday, so not sure when they will arrive at their destinations. I can't wait to see my second one. Maybe next exchange, I'll do more than one group. I love getting mail!

Today I am grateful for good health. So many people are sick this time of year. It doesn't matter if it's H1N1, seasonal flu, cold, or something more serious, any sickness just drains you. My best friend has a cold in the middle of the tumult of the first stages of divorce. She is laid up at home while her husband is in the process of moving out. I cannot imagine dealing with such a thing while feeling so low already. My heart just aches for her. The news is full of horrible health threats this time of year... so many young folks falling ill or even dying of H1N1 respiratory effects. While I am not without the aches and pains of aging, I am in relative good health and I cannot be thankful enough for it. I think too many of us, in the turmoil of our busy day to day lives, forget what a blessing it is to have our health.

Don't Let the Rain Come Down

We were promised rain... but it never arrived... sigh. We NEED some rain here... but at least it snowed in the mountains, which means we may have some water next summer.

On an upnote, the lack of rain means that I got my solartubes installed in studio and kitchen yesterday. It was amazing sewing and working in there with all the light! I loved it! I now feel like a quilt artist with a studio, not just a quilter with a sewing area.

My only really big project left for the studio is shelves for books and magazines and a place for a tv... the little tv in there that I have to share with the kitchen on a swivel stand is no longer adequate. Analysts are saying there will be equal or better deals to those on Black Friday in the coming weeks, so I'll be watching and waiting to pounce.

Longarm is supposed to be delivered Jan 9th... I hope... and then I go to Road to California the weekend after. Somewhere in there, I will get to start quilting! I can't wait.

Today I am thankful for my friends and family, and again for Starbucks coffee (can't get enough of thankfulness for triple espresso goodness).

Giving Thanks

So for days I've been agonizing over the menu, the process, the logistics of hosting dinner for 15 people... To the point of having nightmares about it all... you know, the kind where you walk out, carrying the lovely turkey on a platter, trip and make a total disaster of the crowning moment.

Anyway, there were no terrible debacles and all went well... everyone got along, the food was incredible... but mostly the company was wonderful... I wish I could save this moment in time forever. I am spent, my feet ache, my kitchen is a total disaster, but it was FUN...

I gave one of my favorite quilts to one of my favorite people. I made this quilt for my parents, and they are both gone now. I have so much of who they were in my home, and this was a chance to share a little of that with a dear friend who loved them, too. I know she will treasure it with the force of all the memories and love she shared with my folks. What better place for it to be?

Today I am grateful for so much. Mostly I am grateful for the chance to apologize for old mistakes, and the grace to accept apologies as well, and in so doing, heal old wounds and reconnect with old friends.

A Touch of Class

Today I took a class from Tammie Bowser in making mosaic quilts. I did a picture of my dad, who passed away a couple of years ago. The picture looks just like him, though the colors are a bit odd... It was a lot of fun, I haven't taken a 'technique class' in far too long, and I love learning new things.

I am grateful today for the human capacity to learn something new, no matter how old I get. I am grateful for good friends and good company to learn with. And I'm grateful to patient and knowledgable teachers.

Full Speed Arrears... Retreating!

I am busy preparing to leave on a 4 day quilting retreat.  I'm not folding fabric (much).  I'm not putting things away in my spiffy new cabinets... I am instead prepping all the parts for the placemats I'm making for thanksgiving dinner, and getting my tools together for a trip to the seashore and 4 days of nothing but quilting in my pajamas.

I did hear from my shipper today and my new china cabinet should be arriving on Weds or Thurs.  I hope it'll be Weds, because I'll be leaving for the retreat on Thurs midday.  Would be all kinds of suck for it to come Thurs afternoon after I was on the road.  I told the shipper this, and he said he'd make all effort to arrive here on Weds.  We shall see...

Tonight I ran D&D for my husband and friends, and tomorrow I am going to play some D&D at a friend's house in Pasadena.  Nothing like a little re-direction to focus your drive...  Maybe Monday I'll get back to finishing my prep for retreat.

I love the retreats themselves, but the planning and logistics of taking everything I need without overloading is always stressful.  Whether it's a retreat, a cruise, a weekend vacation... I always take too much stuff.  I'd love to hear how others handle this issue....

Fabriholic Hell

I think I've finally entered fabriholic hell...  I have been folding and sorting fabric for days, and while I've obviously made a dent in the piles of stash bins, I think I've finally reached the saturation point where it's no longer fun to fondle and fold fabric. 

On an up-note, I did get to sew yesterday.   I went to class and finished one small part of a quilt I'm making (one block sewn and three blocks put together.  I also completed the current mystery block from Ula Lenz's website.  It's a ... whoops... that would be telling... I'll post a pic on flickr when she reveals the mystery. 

It was cathartic and healing and fun to sew for a while, surrounded by a whole gruop of like-minded ladies.

Yet somehow, it was not cathartic enough to inspire me to WANT to fold fabric when I got home. 

New Cabinets!

My new cabinets were delivered and installed yesterday!  I am thrilled with them... but daunted as well, for before me lies the task of refolding all my fabric, storing it by color, and figuring what to do with all the fabric that won't fit in the new shelves.

What's really funny is that the folks who built the cabinets are the husband and sons of a quilting friend.  She told me her husband doesn't think I can fill all those shelves... boy has he got a lot to learn.  He has no concept of the amount of fabric I own.

I JUST started on the browns, tans and creams.  I have done about 1/4th of a bin and filled about 1/4th of a shelf.  At this rate I will fill the shelves and still have about 10 bins left over.  sigh.... but it will all be more accessible and controllable... I hope.

Not to mention the fact that I can cycle out what I don't really love and sell the unloved fabric at a huge stash reduction sale next year.

I am getting the tile fixed on my countertops today from when I got my new stove installed... and I get to pick out paint color for the living room later today.  Maybe Friday we will have the painter return to do the work.  One room at a time is all I can afford right now.

Oh, and my dog hates the new floor... she can barely walk on it, poor thing.... all the slipping and sliding... and she can't sneak around any more cuz her claws click and clack on the laminate.  Poor old pup...  sometimes she just stands outside the door and looks pitifully at me, torn between wanting to come in and not wanting to walk on the floors.

Now all I need is, I don't know... TIME to actually SEW???

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato.... Floor

They started working on our new floors yesterday (Monday).  It was supposed to be a one day job... with another day or two for the stairs... Sunday, we finished packing up the last few things lying around on furniture and such.  We unplugged all the electronics, moved TVs and DVRs and such.  Monday morning we locked up  one cat in a bathroom and two more cats in the library.  Poor kitties were miserable all day with the noise and the strangeness of being locked up and all.  The installers didn't even get all the carpet up on the first day.... sigh.

Apparently our foundation is in very bad shape.  They ran into a problem with one of the old wood floors - it was laid down on and glued to tile underneath... and the tile was glued to the foundation... they had to chisel it off, leaving pits in the foundation.  Needless to say, there was a lot of cement being laid down to level everything off.  We slept in sleeping bags in bare rooms last night.   It was... less than pleasant.  Poor dog was locked in the master bedroom with a miserable cat.  Another cat stayed locked in the library (he wouldn't come out of hiding, he was so traumatized, poor thing), and the third cat slept in her usual room.

This morning, we locked up the cats again, and the installers pulled up the rest of the carpet and found more bad foundation.  They laid more cement to level it as much as they could, but said complete leveling was beyond what they could do.  I hope the floor lies flat, that's all... anyway...

It's 3pm and they have half the living room floor laid.  I really doubt they'll get any of the bedrooms started today, so not only will it be an uncomfortable night, it will be chilly and uncomfortable for the dog especially.  She hates her dog bed and the floors will all be hard.  She's gonna have to get used to sleeping on a dog bed really soon because I won't let her sleep on the sofas.

I have pictures of the rooms with no carpets... hopefully I'll soon have pictures of the rooms with floors.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to upload any pictures here... I think I'll have to lower the resolution so they don't get rejected.

On a brighter note, I finished (REALLY finished) another quilt.  My best friend's birthday quilt is done.  I'm gonna surprise her with it soon.  Picture of this quilt should appear in the slideshow soon.  I tried a little sewing today amid the chaos (they're not reflooring the family room where my studio is).  Yet it was still hard to work - half the living room furniture and all the electronics are in the family room, not to mention cement dust everywhere.  I finished one block and some cutting, but I just couldn't work in there. 

On another note, my new china cabinet hasn't arrived yet... it was supposed to be here Monday or today.  I haven't got my 24 hour warning call yet, so I doubt it will be here tomorrow either... I hope they didn't forget me, though I have to say I'm glad they didn't deliver it before the dining room floor got finished.  I look forward to all this being done at last and we can get on with the business of clutterbusting, painting and just living...

And my adult son can move out of the house and I can have my new longarm delivered!


Oh and more good news... my husband wants my truck and said I can get a new car (originally he wanted a new truck).  I'm gonna be looking for a newer Baja, but maybe I'll get an Outback instead.  (We both love Subarus).  I wish they were still making the Baja... I'd buy one in a flash.  Anyone out there have a 2006 Baja they want to sell?

TGIF

So today was my first weekday in almost two weeks that OrganizeThis hasn't been here.  I miss the team (Shannon, Mary and Tina).  Still, I did some of my homework today - I sorted books.  I bound a quilt. I made a label for the quilt, put a hanging sleeve on it.  And it's only a week late for Kathy's birthday.  I made blocks for a BOM, a paper pieced mystery block, and I did a little walking and a little shopping.  I did a few changes on the blog so it displays only my own quilts on the main page slideshow. 

Tomorrow I have a BOM meeting in the morning, exercise in the park with our trainer at 9am, then off to the Conejo Guild quilt show for the rest of the day.  I hope I survive it! 

Sunday should be a day of rest, but the flooring installers are coming first thing Monday morning and we still have a few last minute things to move out of the rooms so they can work.  One day to do the house and I think he said another day for the stairs. 

Not sure when, but the cabinets for my studio should be done and ready for install any day now - he said two weeks and it's been almost that now.  Can't wait - I can put away all my fabric and have room to WORK in my studio.  New ceilings in there too, then the skylights in both studio and kitchen.  I think then it will be time to stop and enjoy the house for a while as it is before we start thinking about the interior paint.  (I know, I know - we should have painted first... but we might have never gotten to the floors if we'd done that... it might be months before we actually get to the painting, and these carpets have GOT TO GO!)...

I can't wait for my studio to be done and to be able to use the photo studio again soon to take pictures of the quilts... I missed out one show already this year because of inability to get a decent photo... next year for sure!

Oh... and I've discovered the joy of using a stiletto... I have always resisted using them, but I've come so close to sewing through a nail (and the finger underneath, and got to watch someone do that on Project Runway last episode), so while I was sewing all these tiny points, I figured wth, I'll try it... and WOW.. what was I waiting for??? what an idiot I am... I LOVE it... I may use it for everything from now on... sigh

AND I got to play with my new quilting toy today.  A friend recommended this thing called a gachunk?  anyway, came from theclipstore.com - large size... OMG... are these wonderful binding clips!  they stay in place, don't stick out from the edge like those hair clip thingies.... and just pull off when done.. It took about 30 of them to clip an entire wallhanging, but they are great!...  Had to share.

Talked to an old friend today.  She moved to South Carolina a few years ago and I miss her a lot.  Made tentative plans to go out to visit her in February.  I hope they are more than idle plans, I really do want to see her.  She saw me through some pretty dark times when my mother passed away, and she is just a comfortable, warm friend to be around.  I could use a hug from her, and to give one right back.  Soon, soon...