Stash Report 9-30-12 Down 16 2/3 For the Year

What?  Sunday again?  This week has gone by within a blink of an eye.

Stash report, OK ----   I am down by the amount for the backing of the Jack and Gourdy Throw A Party but I have not sandwiched it yet.  Just put the back together.

So that is positive.  I did make the big mouth pouch.  A small use, but a use.

And I am doing two blog hops where I will have a tutorial for the Leafs Me Happy with my Fall Leafs Me Alone! block.  Very very very small use here.

And the UR Priceless Coin Purse.  Oh So Totally AWESOME!  I would say a bad word here....it is so awesome!

Can't wait for that to happen so you can see how freaking awesome it is.

I think everyone I know will get one for Christmas.

But it only takes a tiny tiny tiny bit of fabric!  LOL.

And I will be at a retreat next week so I should be getting some bunches of fabric used up!

used this week	-5.83
used in Sept	-30.16
added this week	0
Add in Sept	29.5
Used YTD	-174.16
Added YTD	157.5
Stash reduction	-16.66

The FBI, Women and the Rain

Since I had a rather blah rainy day today, in which my big outdoor movie event and food truck event was canceled due to that same rain.....I thought i would give you a nice big laugh.

This, in fact, is from the women I went to high school with.  Remember my 40th reunion in May?  Well, they are women I would not mess with.  This is proof, that they would post a joke such as this on the Class Facebook page......enjoy...I am still laughing!

The FBI had an opening for an assassin. After all the background checks, interviews And testing were done, there were 3 finalists; Two men and a woman. For the final test, the FBI agents took one of The men to a large metal door and handed Him a gun. 'We must know that you will follow your Instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting In a chair .. . .. Kill her!!' The man said, 'You can't be serious. I could Never shoot my wife.' The agent said, 'Then you're not the right man For this job. Take your wife and go home.' The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was Quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes, 'I tried, But I can't kill my wife.' The agent said, 'You don't Have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.' Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the Same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the Gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one After another. They heard screaming, crashing, Banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was Quiet.. The door opened slowly and there stood the Woman, wiping the sweat from her brow. 'This gun is loaded with blanks' she said. 'I had to Beat him to death with the chair.' MORAL: Women are crazy. Don't mess with them

Two Quilts To Live In Texas

These quilts will go to a dear friend of mine who lives in Keller TX.  We met years and years ago over a couple of tri-colored dogs.  We crossed paths several times at activities, the local clubs were very active back then because we all worked hard to set things up.  No so much today, no one sets up picnics or club things anymore.

We hiked together, we went to Fun Day Picnics, had weight pulls and we showed our beautiful dogs at shows all over the south and southwest.  Now, both of our dogs are gone, crossed that Rainbow Bridge, taking a piece of our hearts with them.
But the friendship remained, and we still talk every once in a while.  When I am in the Dallas area I call and try to see her.

And I can think of no better place to send my quilts than to my dear friend in Texas.

The Merlot Grapevine was made in 2006 in response to a challenge issued by a local guild.  We were to take a block and change it by adding a line or subtracting a line.  The new block would be used in a quilt we were to design.  When I made the change in my block, it looked like a grapevine trellis to me, hence the grapes.  I am not the best applique person, but they have stayed on all these years!

The Christmas quilt was a fun way to use up my pieces.  On the back of this Christmas quilt I used a large piece of fabric that has Swissy pups dressed in sweaters, like they really need sweaters!

Have happy  thoughts of me and the Swissys when you snuggle up with my quilts.

glen

Putting Positive Thoughts To Work

I got an email from my buddy Danielle with some good advice.  She puts out these thoughts that sort of go against the grain of what is being thought of as politically correct right now.

She says successful people never apologize for being successful.  We will always be too much of something (loud, soft, rich, better at sewing a seam) for someone, but that should not change who we are.

If you make a mistake, certainly apologize, but never for a success or who you are.  I felt that was very thought provoking.  Don't you like what she has to say? I thought if we stop apologizing or feeling guilty for being successful, then we can open up to becoming more successful and stop being stressed for being successful!  Whew!  Maybe I will get more done?

Obviously I don't know how to spell successful, I left out a c in each one of the boogers.

In other news.......

I did get a big mouth pouch made.  It started as a square 12 wide by 8 deep.  Isn't it huge?  I love it.  And what I like is that I can see in the darned thing.  Even though the inside turned out a bit darker than I thought it would, I can still see all the stuff in there.

The zipper is done a bit differently, this is one side of it, neat and closed, and the other side sort of hangs off to give you a good grip on the thing when you go to close it.

I like that.

Remember when........

Remember when......

we had a lot of fun doing the zig zag quilts together?  Well, if you loved them, check this out:

http://twiddletails.blogspot.com/2012/09/free-pattern.html

Her surf and sand quilt is gorgeous!

Oh, and to let you know how much I actually got done today:

1.  went to grocery store and got sour cream ---- but I ate the sour cream with the rest of the bag of potato chips I had in there for supper when Frank was late and stopped off and got a hamburger for himself.  So now I STILL need sour cream for the enchiladas I will make for tomorrow night.

2.  went to Hobby Lobby and got a ripper, a tape measureer to put in the pouch I wanted to make for the machines.  I did get the red cotton thread to start the quilting on the blue jean quilt but I nearly forgot and had to get out of line to go back and pick it up

3.  made a wide mouth pouch with a really cool zipper tha is big enough to fit most of the special items that go with a machine.  I could have made two more for the other machines, but McGee was being a nut case and chewing on everyting in sight.  He ate the hoodie I made for him and started on DiNozzo's hoodie.  (they wear snoods when they eat to keep their ears out of the food) (Chloe's ears don't go in her food form some reason, only the boys).   He gummed up and spit on DiNozzo's so I just washed them all and now they are drying for the morning.

Such a puppy.  He goes in for his first heartworm tx early next week.  I don't know how I am going to keep him down!

glen

To Do List for Today

Not that I will get everything done, but I wanted to make a to do list for today.  Most of it involves sewing something, so it is good for you to see this.  And I want you to all marvel at how "organized" I am, at least for this morning.

I have for a long time, wanted to make pouches for each of the machines I have.  I want to have all the accessories and necessary items for each machine in a kit of sorts.  but I have never gotten around to making them.  I have developed a nice idea that each machine should be color coded and thus, all its stuff will make it back into the right pouch.  Or like, if I am going to a retreat and want to bring a specific machine, I can just pick up the right color pouch and have ALL the stuff I need.

Not that it has ever happened before that I actually have all the stuff I need when I go to a retreat.  Everyone knows that I have a great husband who has no problem bringing whatever I need, provided he can find it in my very messy and totally unorganized quilt room.  He has even brought stuff for OTHER people.  He is just that nice of a guy.

1.  I need to make three color coded pouches large enough to hole a whole set of stuff for each machine.

I am doing three blog hops.  One of which will be when I am on a retreat in two weeks.  So I need to have everything set up for that one, and the next one at least begun and scheduled.

2.  Do the tutorial for Leafs Me Happy for my post and link to the tutorial.  I have it completed, I just need to make my leaf in fall colors to comply with the theme.  Not a problem as they are pretty easy to do!  And I love them.

Betty Jean called me yesterday and asked if I could make a quilt for her little girl who is going to turn 2 in a couple of months.  LOL.  She is good, she didn't call me the week before!  I made the baby girl a quilt when she was born and she takes it everywhere!  I love it.  That is the perfect quilt!

Maylee back

Maylee's Baby Quilt

I have some ideas but I don't have her email address.  I did give her mine, and ask her to send me some of her ideas that she likes, but I have not heard from her yet.  I am chafing at the bit wanting to get started on something for her.  And I just had the idea to include one of her shirts and one of Dennis' shirts as well!  My, am I smart or what?

The picture was taken 7-11

3.  Get Betty Jean's email and exchange some baby quilt ideas with her.

I have this blue jean quilt, remember that?  I bought some red cotton to quilt it with but I have not been able to find that stuff anywhere.  So I guess it is time to buy more, it has been nearly 7 months now.  Maybe more than that.  Yep.  Maybe I need to section it to make two quilts.  This was only 4 pairs of blue jeans and the infamous dockers Frank asked me if I could do anything with.  See that hilarious story here.

4.  So I need to head to Hobby Lobby or Joann's to get red perle cotton for hand quilting.

The stupid cute little boy dog McGee rolled in something dead two days ago.  Frank stood there and laughed at him, positioning his shoulder to get maximum coverage.  And I mean dead like in Casey Anthony's trunk dead.  Boy did he smell bad.  I washed him off with some antibacterial spray from the kitchen.  No good.  I took kitchen detergent and washed him up and down his back.  No good.

Then I took some Nature's Miracle Dog Shampoo designed to get out the most stubborn basset smell, and it was no good even!  So about every 6 hours I wash him down with something else.  This morning he is  better.  But the remnant of the smell occasionally wafts in my direction.  He thinks he smells wonderful.  As does DiNozzo, he keeps going over to McGee and smelling up and down his back.  Two peas in a pod, those two are.  I am sure the REAL DiNozzo would be making fun of poor McGee by now.  Maybe he is, you never know what dogs are saying to each other.

5.  Wash McGee.  Again.

I need to cook tonight.  Chicken.  We had meat loaf for the last two days so I need chicken now.  I am thinking something Mexican, maybe chicken enchiladas.  I ate the sour cream I bought for it when I ate the flat pretzel chips the other day.  It was good and I kept saying, only one more, I need this for the enchiladas........you know how that goes.

6.  Take chicken out to defrost.  And put my recipe up for you to enjoy.  And ge more sour cream.

I am sure there is more, but if I don't get out and do some of this, the day will be gone.

glen

Post #2000 Winner

In 2000 BC Stonehennge was completed and the Twin Dynnasty began in Egypt.  In 2000 AD the census in the United States told us we had
281,421,906 people in the country, 13.2% more than the 1990 census.

And now we have passed the 2000 mark here at Quilts And Dogs!

We have a winner!  I always want to say, we have a wiener!  LOL. But Sophie is not a wiener.

We can always use some new friends so check out her blog and her new house at

http://sophiejunction.blogspot.com/

Where she has a great set of freebie blocks and tips and techniques.

Sophie, you win the pattern from Me and My Sister designs called Hula Hoops.  How 'bout that?  Just send me your snail mail addy at obed101(at)cox.net

And thanks to all the peop,e who took the time to post 2000 posts back to me.  I love you all!!!

glen

I have invented the Glenda Maneuver

Nearly at a winner for the 2000th post!  Get your post in there and see if you win!  SOON!

I am also a winner because I finished the quilting on Lockblocks this morning.  And I had a very interesting thing happen to me on the last row.

No, I did not run out of thread, or bobbin, as you would think.  This was the most odd situation.  I am sure, like REALLY sure, you have never had this happen to you, I think I invented this.  In fact, I will call it the Glenda Maneuver.  But it will most likely never happen to you, so don't worry too much.

I was quilting the very last row.  When I get to that row I will put a row of pins very very close to the edge of the top to hold down any movement of the top edge.  I have had it fold over and get caught in the quilting, so I try to take the precaution against that happening.

I used the large yellow headed pins so I could see them, sort of, out of the very bottom of my eye.  My Panto Shelf is up top and I really can't see where I am actually sewing when the machine is moving over the panto lines.  Every once in a while I will stop and sight where I am close to a pin, move it if i have to.

But I must not have been paying too much attention, when WHAM! I hit a pin.  Of course the needle broke and there was a loud knocking noise associated with things not being right.  So I take the needle out and change it.  I cut the pin out from the quilt, it was pretty well sewn in there.  The pin is not even bent!

I set the stitching line again and start.  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.  I stop.  Something ain't right.  I check the set of the needle, turn the machine off and on again.  Looks good.

BANG BANG BANG!  Oh, oh.  I take the needle out and re-set it.  Turn the machine off and on again.  I  move the machine to another position and run my hand under the needle area under the quilt but nothing feels amiss.

Come on, I have 1/2 of a row to finish the darned thing!  Actually I said @#$%^&*()_

I start off again and it seems the noise is a bit quieter.  And I notice it is not really interfering with the quilting part, so I cautiously finish out the row and take the quilt off the rails.

As I move the quilt over the rail, I hear a metallic clang.  Never having heard that before in that room associated with a quilt, I look at everything I think could have done it.  Nothing jumps out.

I fold the quilt up and eat lunch.  Let the dogs out.  Decide to take photos outside.  I move the quilt to the metal bench.  Clang.  How odd.  I hold the quilt up, feel around the edges, it was way too loud for a pin, but I check the edges anyway.  Nothing.  I shake my head and wonder what the heck is making that sound.

I take the quilt out to the wooden deck for more photos.  GLONK.....sounds less metallic but definitely a bang.  What?  Huh? No idea.

 I fold up the quilt and leave for a meeting.  I come home, so does Frank, I say look at the quilt.  He opens it up, and admires it as only a husband whose wife has made thirty thousand quilts that all look the same to him that just sit in every corner of the house at any given time.

Not being satisfied, I open it out and lo, and behold......this is what I find, sewn into the back of the quilt.

I am amazed that it stayed on in all the places I took it.  I would never have looked in the grass, on the deck or on the patio for it.

glen:  I have perfected the Glenda Maneuver!

Making a Pantograph for Quilting

My design wall was full this week, but I worked hard and finished two of the quilts on which I was working.  I am now ready to quilt them.  The Pumpkins will have to take second place for the quicker and easier Lockblocks.  But first, I needed a quilting design for it.

1998 comments at 4 pm on Sunday!  #2000 gets a prize!

I am cheap.  And I want things NOW!  So I figure out how to make them myself.  This is how I made the pantograph with which I will quilt the Lockblocks quilt.

First off, you have to have an idea of what you want to use as a quilting motif.  I wanted a simple design, that would fit in my space, and yet speak to the quilt pattern as a unique individual piece.  And I kept seeing loops!

I practiced loops with my fingers while we drove to lunch.  Keep it simple, I kept saying.  By the time we reached the Londoner with it's English Tea and scones I had a design ready.

Now to make it fit the quilt.  The color blocks are 4 inches square finished which means I had a 4 inch space to deal with and the center of which would be at the 2 inch mark.

I cut pieces of sheet paper 4 inches in width to get 2 strips from each page.  I did use my rotary cutter, the blade has a nick in it and I wasn't too worried about dulling it.

Hopefully you can see the pencil marks, they are pretty lightfor a reason.  So I can erase the not so great lines.




Here is your only math.  Take your time and think about it and you will be fine.  I marked off in pencil some registration marks.  The seams were 4 inches apart, block center is at two inches and I wanted at least 1/4 inch from both the top and the bottom.  The short loop would be half the size of the larger loop so I measured 2 inches across the center of the paper.

I needed something to create nicely rounded corners.  Fray Check!  On the center line of each block would be the tall loop.  The seam would be the short loop.  I used the same Fray Check bottle to create the short loop as well.

Then I connected the loops with lines using light pencil lines.  When the loops looked lopsided, and they all did, I redrew a new line before I erased the old.  I often had to redraw lines several times to get the section to look even.  Continue working with each loop until you really like it.

I used a permanent marker to darken the lines for tracing.  Then I carefully traced enough pages to cover the width of the quilt I was working on.

It is important to keep the pages straight so I used my 24 inch long 6 inch wide ruler as a straight edge and taped the entire length of the page edges together back and front to make the seams flat.  Make sure the loop on the end of one and the beginning of the next are approx 2 inches apart or your design will fail.  If you have problems with your design once you get ready to quilt, you can always cut your panto paper and reset it to the correct proportions, but it is easier to do it correctly at first.  (ask me how I know that!!)

When you put the pantograph on the shelf, mine is in front and above my quilt, it is easier to make sure the lines will be straight if you work carefully and precisely.

This one took me about 35 minutes to complete.

Fast, simple and cheap.  And it says LeLeLeLeLe........I should call this one Lelell.

Prize Count Down! Two Ways to Win!

Saturday at 2 pm we had 1992 comments.  Waiting for #2000!  Will you be the lucky one?

And we had 908 published posts.  We are waiting for the people who comment on #1000 to go into the pot for a drawing!

Two lucky ways to win!

And I have joined in the UR Priceless Blog Hop.  We get to do a wonderful coin purse and share it with you!  I am so excited.  Watch for the big reveal on my day.  Meanwhile I also have the Leafs Me Alone....no......whatever it is.......the leaf Blog Hop coming up.  I have a wonderful tutorial for you, my sweets.  And Wicked!  Ah!  So Wicked!  Another Blog Hop of Halloween blocks!  Can't wait for that one!

Stash Report - LILO  (Lots In/Lots Out)

Even with the Remember Me Auction I am ahead still!  Yes!  Good fabric Management.

used this week	-17.08
used in Sept	24.33
added this week	28.5
Add in Sept	29.5
Used YTD	-168.33
Added YTD	157.5
Stash reduction	-10.83

This is Lockblocks by Janice Lowenthal.  I won it in the Auction for $18 as already cut blocks.  Total fabric was about 6 yards used but it came with two extra yards that didn't go anywhere.  Weird greens.  And the rest of the usage was quilt backs for both the Ellies and Lockblocks.

Good Work If You Can Get It

Saturday (why is my keyboard wet?)  Maybe I don't want to know.

I have completed a top I won at the Auction on Tuesday.  It brought in 8 yards of fabric but I used 6 yards in the quilt.  I think they stuck some random yard pieces in there that just didn't go with it.  And I am using up a purple batik flower for the backing along with a piece of purple butterfly fabric from Pat's stash.

I worked all day yesterday and again after we walked the dogs at 9:30 pm.  Did I mention we have grand-dog Hugeaux with us as well?  See him sleeping angelically on the studio bed?  Talk about a mess, four dogs are a bit much.  (But still, why is my keyboard wet?)

The purple batik flower was purchased at $2 a yard and I bought 5 yards of it.  And I am using all 5 plus that butterfly piece.  It is not the "perfect" piece for the back but it will be OK.  The person who gets it will not be concerned with matchy matchy stuff.

I want to get the back pieced together and the whole thing put on the quilt frame.  I think I want to do some great looping circles for which I will have to invent a pantograph.  Or purchase one and wait for it to come in.  That would certainly delay the quilt going on the frame.  I have to think about that while I am putting the back together.


The Pattern is called Lockblocks and is a pattern from a local designer, Janice Lowenthal.  It came to me all cut in precise pieces that went together so easily.  In fact, it was the easiest quilt I have ever put together.   That says something about my cutting, doesn't it.  I just don't do neat.

I would not have chosen this pattern to do, but in the end I liked it.  Like I said, it was simple and quick and went together with not a problem.  Well, there were two vertical rows I switched the colors in and had to rip and redo the color placement.

glen:  have you noticed I seem to be collecting brown and white spotted dogs?

The Most Shocking Pictures of the Week

Me in high school in 1972

Carrie yesterday.........

Friday - Eat a Quilt Book Day

Is it something Friday???  Seems like every day is something.  Design Wall Monday, Tool Time Tuesday, One Flower Wednesday, Thursday Show Off,  Sit and Sew Saturday, Stash Report Sunday.

Maybe this can be Friday Fake Out!

Tell me you are working on something but in reality you are playing at the dog park!  LOL  I don't do dog parks because of the high potential for transmitting diseases like Ehrlichia (Ehrlichiae are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected tick) all kinds of dog worms and kennel cough (Bordetella bronchiseptica. - which is transmitted by sneezing or breathing on each other).  It is the doggy flu of the canine world.  My vet says since the dog parks have opened up, he has seen an increase in all these problems.  Good and bad, a lot of people use them.  

Because my dogs are in the company of other dogs, every 6 mohths they get a bordetella vaccine, but like the human flu vaccine, it does not cover every possible infection.  So it is easier for me to not frequent dog parks where there is a high potential for them to encounter bad stuff.  

McGee wants Friday to be called:  Eat a Good Book Day.  Can you guess which one he ate?  THe most expensive book in my collection.  The one I paid full price for.  The one with all the patterns in the pull out pages.

Yep, Karen Stone.  Shall I kill him now?  His life hangs by a thread.

glen

Paperweight Top is Done!

Now to think of backing and quilting!  This is wonderful.  I am hoping it lays straight.  (fingers and toes crossed).  There are so many not so straightway seams and no square edges anywhere.  When I pieced a background and a circle I made sure it laid flat and ironed it.  Some I set with starch, but I think the starch was messing with my allergies and causing my eyes to swell.  So I left it alone and just used the heady steam.

I like it a lot.

I went from this:






To this:












To this:













To this:  Do they look alike!