My Secret Non Crafty Addiction....Shhhh...don't tell

Anyone, besides me, remember this contestant from last years American Idol? That's right boys and girls. I'm an American Idol addict. I missed the first several years of it. Then we adopted our two kids and the fun began. They, of course, just had to watch it. I, of course, got caught up in it and the rest is history. I will have to pat myself on the back though as I have picked the winner from the beginning three years in a row. It's so sad to think I spend my time this way. When this one was on here, my online friend, Jess, just had to make me this pic. Yep....she's hot alright.

Can you tell my mood has lifted. I had three hours of sleep and now I'm just goofy. I would sew some, but then I'd just have to rip it all out due to lack of concentration skills. Perhaps a nap is in order ... because .... yes.....the new season of "Lost" starts tonight and I want to be upright and paying attention when it does. I think I might have to check out the new show "Eli Stone" too and see if it's worth my Tivo time. Most televison is so lousy that I don't bother, but every once in a while.....something comes along.....

Basement is dry today. I'm just taking it a day at a time. I have most of the paperwork gathered for the adjustor and can mail that in on Monday. I'm waiting a few days to make sure nothing else is wrecked. Tony, my accountant will be here Saturday to do some tax stuff for me. I think I'll invite him for dinner to make up for freaking him out on the phone yesterday. He's such a nice guy, divorced, about 35-38ish, tall, not bad looking either. He needs a good woman because his exwife was nuts. Not run of the mill "goofy". Full fledged, over the edge, lights are on and no one is home....NUTS! Funny story time: We (my company) did some work at his home for him one time and he was also in the middle of doing some dry wall stuff. His wife came home and couldn't find her cat. She called me screaming that we had closed the cat up in the walls. First, we don't do drywall. We do heating and cooling. Second, the cat was not in the walls. She went nuts on me....she was going to sue me, blah blah blah.... I hung up on her and called Tony. He went home and she had knocked down every wall on one floor of their home with a sledgehammer looking for the cat. The cat was upstairs in her bed the whole time. The woman was nuts. Wouldn't he just die if he knew I was telling this stuff? LOL

I'm off now...daughter just got home from school. Mom time now.....then a nap.......

Quilter's Puzzle

Yep, I forgot I bought a quilt pattern at Joanns the other day. I did though. I just think this looks so cute. I took it to our little crafty women's group that meets at our church building on Tuesday nights and they all want to make it. So.... here's the plan for us. We are going to pick a Saturday in February, undecided which one yet, and meet at the bldg and all make it together. Won't that be so much fun? I can hardly wait. I worked on my Jacob's Ladder blocks last night and I have several more made now. There were only four of us, but we are all about quality, not quantity. On my way home last night, I was thinking, why didn't I take my camera and put those girls/women/ladies...whatever....on my little bloggie thingie....I'll have to remember to do that next week. The girls/women/ladies might not like pics, but they know I'm a pushy woman anyway.

Hey...and to top off my day today....my basement flooded ... again! Just had the well line dug up and replaced on the 15th and all the equipment down there for a week after that sucking the basement dry and now....it flooded again. I'm not even sweating it. I called my insurance adjuster, called the well company....who are down there now. It appears they didn't "seal" the inside of the wall well enough and it leaked. DUHHHHHH....really??? no kidding? Oops....sarcasm....sorry! More wet stuff to wash yet again. I've trying to have the attitude: "Will it even matter in 10 years?" Nope, it won't. I sound good now, but a few hours ago, I was on the phone with my accountant, who is a friend, and I had a complete meltdown. I don't think he's ever heard or seen me cry and I think I freaked him out. I did call him back after I composed myself. He told me it scared him because I am such a tough woman. He didn't think I could cry. Well now...the way I see it...he now knows that I am actually human. I have feelings.....ahahhahahaaaa, but I didn't realize that people see me that way. I am tough. I own a company that is a predominately male field. It's a heating and cooling company in case you wondered. Carrier Dealer.

Ahhh....it gets better.....the well guy just told me he can smell gas outside my house. How nice. Now let's go call the power company. Will it matter in 10 years? Only if my house blows up...ahahhahaaaa.....

I feel the breaking point cracking as I type......

It's all Kristie's fault.....

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I saw her beautiful quilt she posted here: http://quiltingcowgirl.blogspot.com/2008/01/its-started.html
and that was all it took. No, mine is not exactly the same, but it was as close as I could come. Thanks Kristie! I think I'll take these with me tomorrow night to work on with my church group of crafty women. I've got a bunch of FQ's in the same color family and I think I'll use them for this one.

Also, about the new mat I bought today that I posted a pic of earlier, It RAWKS! I didn't realize how bad mine was until now. And...being double sided, it's like I got two mats for the price of one and 40% off at that. It's been a good day!

Scrappy Bargello, Anyone?

Anyone else planning on doing this? I'm thinking it sounds like fun. Last I heard, the plan is to all start on it about 1:00 p.m. I DO NOT watch football. The duck and I DO NOT want to be in the same room with this showing football. Not a chance. I'll be in the living room, enjoying anything else.

I did a bit of shopping today. I hate grocery shopping with a passion. For that reason, I have two refrigerators, two upright freezers and three pantries. I shop about once every three or four months. I have a friend who raises cattle, so I get fresh beef, a side at a time. I have a customer who raises pigs, so I get those from him. I can't even think about eating beef from the grocery store after eating the fresh beef. Anyway, back to my day.... I found a bit of time, yeah, just a bit....to stop at Joann's. And I bought.....

A new mat by Gingher. I used my 40% off coupon for this. I needed a new one really badly and this one looks quite nice.

And...it's double sided. It's yellow on the other side.

Then I got a bit of fabric......And a new magazine....There's a blue quilt in it that I would love to make. I would post the pic of the page, but with all the talk about copywriting stuff, I think I'll just let you wonder or go look for it.

All in all, a good day. I've got our little crafty church group get together tomorrow night and it might be just the right time for starting some cutting. I've also bought two tins of 20 fat quarters that I just love and I have the Turning Twenty pattern. Maybe I'll work on that one tomorrow night. So many quilts, so little time to make them all......

Happy quilting......

Fair Warning...This post is not quilty!!!

Got this in an email today and it's just made me giggle all day long. I know...you're thinking..."Wow, there is a woman with way too much time on her hands." Perhaps you're right. I'm still not over the whole Monica/Bill/Hillary thing. I do miss all the jokes it caused. It was such a wonderful time for me...giggles daily.

Want another giggle? I like this one too... although it does step on my own toes a bit....not that I drink tequila.....

Maxine was driving down the street in a sweat because she had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up toward heaven, she said, 'Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up sex and tequila.'Miraculously, a parking place appeared.She looked up again and said, 'Never mind. I found one.'

Ok, that's all for my comic routine for today. I didn't sew today due to church and Sunday dinner. But...the day isn't over....I'll head that way now....

Happy quilting!

Today's Project

Well, it hit me that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. To top that off, my hubby and I have an anniversary at the end of February. It's always such a problem trying to find something to get each other. His standby is jewelry. Yeah, that sounds great, but we have a friend who is a jeweler and gives hubby a great discount. It's hubby's easy "out". Still...it does work for me....I do love a nice piece of gold with a diamond or ten attached...ahahhahaaa

Spring, summer and fall, my hubby goes dirtbiking in northern Michigan with a group of guys from our church. We have a cabin and ten acres on the AuSable River up there, but they like to go to the Upper Penninsula to ride sometimes. When they do, they sleep in a closed snowmobile trailer. Not my idea of a good time, but they like it. Since they go in spring and fall, the nights can get pretty cold, so I've decided to make Vern (not his real name, just something I call him, he refers to me as Ester for no good reason, too) a dirtbiking weekend quilt. He likes blue, so blue it is. Nothing too girly since it's for his "man" weekends. Here it is....

I know...the fabric is flowers and leaves, but it is blue. I'm thinking I'll have to find some dark blue for borders. He takes a cot to sleep on and it's long and skinny so I made it longer than normal and not really wide. Remember, it is a dirty trailer that they haul dirtbikes and junk in all the time. It's not like he'll worry in the least about getting it dirty and oil on it and ... oh man, what was I thinking? Ok....it's for him...he'll like it....it's washable. The panic attack is over now.

I found the pattern here: http://www.quiltville.com/delmts.shtml . It's another of Bonnies patterns. Thank goodness for her and her website. I'd be lost without it, I'm afraid. Thanks to her mystery quilt, I'm feeling much more confident about my piecing. Amen to that!

Oh, and the duck likes it.....

Finally! I decided....

what to do with my Road to Insanity One Inch at a Time....


I'm setting the blocks in 3/4 inch strips of black and white polka dot fabric. Why, you ask? Because I can....ahahhahaa I just like the look of it. I wanted something and I couldn't decide and to be very honest, you people didn't help. Not two of ya chose the same color to set the blocks in. I always appreciate your input though. So, we started our quilting/sewing/crafting group up again at church. On Tuesday nights some of us women meet there and work on whatever we want to work on. It's a fun time. Sharon came up with the idea of setting them in a very small strip of black fabric and I liked the look of it. So.....what do ya think?
I've really enjoyed working on these little pieces. I'm just as suprised that I did enjoy it.

On a different note, I've gained one of my children again. My son has moved back in. It's a long story and I'm not up to explaining it, so, I just say this: We adopted him and he's a troubled kid. He was 10 when we got him and he's almost 18 now. He was abused pretty badly for those first 10 years of his life. We have him back because the courts decided it was best. Let's hope he's got his ducks in a row now.

Happy quilting to one and all.....

OOOOOPPPSS!

Ok...I laid it all out...I looked it all over. Then I took the pic and put it in my last blog and not one person said.... "Hey, Regina! You made a mistake in a block!" I couldn't even see it on the floor all laid out, but I can see it very plainly on the pic. That's weird. How come I can see it on here, and not in "real life"? Hmmmmm.....

I fixed it and now I'm going to put all the blocks together and then I'm gonna have a quilt top! Can you believe it? Me? Then....it's going on the frame and I'm going to figure out what the problem with the tension/thread...??? I've found some help files online that I'm going to try and figure that all out.

Regina

Carolina Crossroads

Just a few of my blocks laid out. Like the duck? Everytime I take a pic for the computer, my daughter starts in about that duck. "Put the duck in the picture". She's obsessed about the duck and that he get world wide coverage. Don't know why. Not even gonna ask. But...there that duck again. And....how did I do on my first mystery quilt? I'm busy patting myself on the back, not because of the quilt, but because I've stuck with it. Yipppeeee.....it really has been a whole lotta fun to do and to meet so many great women around the world who are working on it too.

Yeah....I did say 1.5" strips......

In answer to Jen's (http://cre8tivequilter.blogspot.com/) question of: "Are you NUTS??? Seriously? 1.5" strips? LOL. " I would say the answer it Uh huh....I think I am. I'm up to 15 blocks that are 8"x 8" big now. I think that's just a bit under 1000 one inch squares. I was thinking yesterday that I would frame each block, but now, I'm leaning towards just putting them all together without anything else. I'm also concerned about my sanity at this point. Mostly because I'm not tired of them yet. I even cut up more strips for a bigger variety of darks and lights. When will this madness end? LOL

On the water front.....ahahhahhaaa.....no pun was intended.... Miss Dig came this morning, late of course, as they were due here at 8 and arrived at 10, and marked my gas lines in the front yard with little yellow flags. Then the well men showed up with the heavy equipment and dug up the front yard. New pipe is in and I have water again. The insurance guy says they'll cover it after the deductible of course and that will help. I hope the carpet doesn't have to be replaced. Well, maybe I do. Maybe new flooring down there would be good? But this is really nice berber and I like it. On the other hand, nice hardwoods like I have in the family room would be nice too. Hmmmmm....... That's sounding nice but like too much work to me. Just to move everything out of there would be too much work. We'll just wait and see what the insurance guy has to say tomorrow.

Happy quilting......

Sooooooo.....you're new to quilting and decided to join in on an online mystery quilt adventure. Yep....calls for 1.5" strips.... so what do ya do? Cut up a billion or so 1.5" strips. Well, now I know that I didn't need to cut every scrap I had into 1.5" strips, but I did it anyway....

See that picture with the duck wearing a raincoat over there? Yep, that's what you do with all those 1.5" strips. Make em into 1" squares! Kinda cute, eh? Eight inch blocks now. Next I figure I'll frame all the blocks. Ahhh... but what color do I want to frame them with? Big question, huh?

So? Which color? Which one makes em go "pop"? I can't decide. Maybe I've looked at them too long. Now I need everyone to leave a comment and let me know your opinions. There's also the option of white too....so????

Now onto other things. My basement flooded. Yep, finished berber carpeted nice basement. Not just a little minor problem. Nope...that would be too easy. Had to be the well pipe that comes from the well in the front yard into the house. Leaking right at the interior foundation wall that it comes thru. The well man was here today. Insurance man is coming tomorrow (uh huh), Miss Dig will be here at 8 am to mark my gas lines and then the well guys will show up, dig up my front yard, replace the pipe and then take my retirement fund. Ok...not the whole retirement fund, but some of it. It could always be worse. I need to remember that. I've just been a bit blue for the last couple of weeks and whiny and poopy. Yep, poopy. I used to be on a lot of meds for the "blues". I don't take anything anymore. I do pray more. A lot more. Not saying that will work for everyone. It has made a major diffence for me. That's all I know. It doesn't mean the blue days don't come. But I do recognize them sooner and seem to be able to pull myself out of it. That's enuf about that....

When I first started this blog, I mentioned a friend, Sharon from our church congregation who quilts, beautifully, I might add. She gave of her time and we started meeting at the church building and she taught me so much. She rocks. She also works at Joann's Fabrics. Back in the fall, we quit getting together due to everyone's schedules. Tomorrow night we are starting it back up. Not a class, but some of us just get together and work on projects and have Sharon to answer all my ....ooops....I mean our questions. It's really nice. I just hope I can get all the well and insurance stuff done before 5:30 so that I can go. I have more 1.5" strips left ... ya know?

Happy quilting ......

Parrot...Grrrrrr

Ok...I promised a post about Purdue. Here he is. The bird from He(double toothpicks). I've tried to be friends with him, but he's having none of it. This has gone on for years too. You'd think I would have given up by now, but I'm no quitter. He's about 9 or 10 years old. He's in love with my daughter though. He's only happy when she is standing next to him or petting him. She takes him to her bedroom and they play hide and seek together. But, here's the problem.... She comes home from school each day and he can hear her and see her and then she has stuff to do and is not standing right there with him, so ... the screaming begins...and never ends til it's dark outside and I cover him up. Ahhhhh....the sreaming. Years of it....day after day. Do you know how loud these bid birds can scream? Trust me...it's loud. He's a double headed Amazon parrot. Very smart and they know exactly what they want and they want it NOW. He loves any pasta with any red sauce like goulash, spaghetti... When ya cover him up for the night, he groans and then in a pathetic voice he quietly says...."Help".... He can say a quite a bit like... How are you, I am fine, Wazup?. My daughter, Cyn, and I were watching a movie one day last summer and he was covered and every time I laughed at the movie....he did the same thing. He sounded so funny laughing along with me. He also says "Hello" each time the phone rings. He's really great in during the summer months. I have a screened room that you enter from the deck into the family room. These birds love the hot weather, so when he gets to live out there, he's happy. He greets guests and there is a lot of activity with the dogs and he enjoys that. I tried for a while to let him and the dogs get aquainted, it did not work. I just ended up bitten every time. The dogs surround him, he starts screaming, the dogs start barking, and then I end up missing a chunk of myself. I've given up on that plan. Well, that's it....the zoo at my house. I'm back to the quilting room now, which I rearranged yesterday and added some more shelving to. Got clue 6 of the http://quiltville.com/carolinacrossroadsmystery.shtml to finish. I'm enjoying this mystery way too much. I have a mountain of laundry and my bedroom is a disaster but no one in the house has complained yet, so....more piecing works for me......
Happy Quilting to one and all.....
Regina

Piecing Half Star Blocks

I love this! Absolutely love it! This mystery quilt has been so much fun. I am doing things I would have never dreamed of doing on my own. Yep, those are my 16 Ohio Star Blocks and 2 of my half Half Star Blocks. I might have chosen different fabric colors had I known the outcome, but I was not sure about the whole thing, so I really just used scraps and some FQs I had around. I'm so glad I decided to do this. I love getting to look at everyones choices on the yahoo site, too. Some amazing people out there!

I added a new person's blog to my list. Gypsy Quilter...take a look at her work when you get a chance. She is awesome! I hope to make such beautiful quilts myself one day. In the meantime...I'll just keep plugging along and hopefully gaining skills. Happy Quilting Ya'll!

Carolina Crossroads Step 6

TAAAA! DAAAAA!

That's right. I actually made an Ohio Star Block. And...after a lot of confusion on my part, it's even the right size! I am so thrilled to be doing this mystery quilt. I NEVER would have attempted this had I seen the pattern and size of pieces ahead of time, but the way Bonnie did it, just giving us a step at a time, made it so easy to work on. I hope I'll never be discouraged by a pattern again after this. Well, back to making blocks. Then onto the second part of step 6. Wish me luck! (Although I hope I won't need it)

I've been playing.....

This is it...I've been playing with fabric. Having fun with it too. May not turn out beautiful, but I've enjoyed it and it'll bring some color to my quest room. I've got lots more to do though....and it's been mindless work during my dready cold. I need things I don't have to think much about when my head is full of ... well... ewww!

Will post another pic when I get further on it. Rag quilts are sometimes just plain old fun......

Whew...Holidays finally over!

The Holidays are always wonderful, but I have to admit, I'm glad when they are over. I'm not one for all the "running around" they involve. My Aunt was here for a few weeks and it was nice to have her around. I wish she lived closer, but.....

I have been working on a project. http://quiltville.com/carolinacrossroadsmystery.shtml
I just finished step 4 and will begin step 5 today. I hope this turns out well, but I have my doubts. I've never worked with such small pieces before. We'll see in the end. Hope everyone is well and had a great Christmas and New Years. I'm so excited to start a new year and new projects.

And....thanks for all the comments I got about my dogs. I'll have to post one of my parrot soon.... Happy quilting......