new blog address...

Ah... I have been attempting to keep up with two blogs.  Now I realize that two blogs equals aproximately one blog too many....  My favorite writings are the random stories that I tell about playing trombone, my kids, the misbehavin' pets and (yup) quilty stuff.  My other blog contains nutty stories about all of the above.  This blog is.... ummmm.... just quilty stuff.  Hmmm... guess which blog won *that* little tug-o-war???  So... good news, bad news.  Bad first, just 'cause I like to get it out of the way.  No more "quilting with katie" blog.  Bummer.  But please do join me over at http://happythought42day.blogspot.com/  I'm still writing!  And still quilting!  Hope I'll see some of you over at happy thoughts!

Have a great day!

 

Lucie...

I miss you.

Posies and sewing and stuff...

Just a quick photo of our happy, summer table!  This photo makes me grin!  Our front porch is my very favorite room of the house!  We spend happy hours visiting with friends and family, eating dinners, playing board games, and reading out here!  Dontcha love the goofy sunflower???  It showed up on our porch sometime during the day on my birthday!  No note, just a silly antenae topper in the pot.  (One of my buddies and I swap car decorations regularly.  She knew it would make me laugh!)  And do you see the little tomatoes?  We are gathering about 20 of those little guys each day now!  And the bigger tomatoes are beginning to turn red, too!

 

This was a fun surprise!  My aunt gave us this plant last year.  My grandfather started the original plant!  So when my aunt moved, she gave (cuttings?) to any nieces/nephews who were interested in growing one.  I am... ummmm... not a gardener.  This bush looked pretty sad this spring & we thought perhaps I managed to kill it over the winter.  Well... ok... we were *sure* I managed to kill it.  But it revived!  Now we have this gorgeous flower... and about a dozen more buds to follow!

Ok... y'all don't follow this blog for posies.  Really... I have been sewing again!  Honest!

Yesterday it poured all day.  What a wonderful excuse to prod the sewing machine back into action!  Kiddo #2 and her buddy worked on their "Sassy Bag" purses (pattern by Lazy Girl Designs) the other day.  Kiddo 2 was *almost* finished.  And she was out camping with Kiddo 1 and a bunch of their friends.  So I popped the last pieces together.  Scratch one project off the list!

Then I worked on Kiddo #3's back-to-school backpack.  That would be otherwise known as the fourth  "Kick-butt-awesome-backpack."  (We just make these bags up.  They are a larger version of the little packs shown earlier this spring.  Soooo... no pattern available... yet!)

 

Kiddo 3 was thrilled and walked around for an hour or so with her new pack on her back!  She loved looking in the mirror and checking out her new big-girl look!

Then I worked on lunch sacks requested by a neighbor for back-to-school.  Those are 3/4 finished, so no photos yet.  And they are another "no-pattern-available-yet" item....  Hmmm... sounds like I need to stop sewing for a little while and start writing...

Have a happy day!

Two more backpacks!

Two more backpacks finished!  Here is oldest kiddo holding her backpack (green, white, black) and youngest sister's backpack (orange and purple)...  And now it is WWWWWAAAAAYYYYY late and time for bed!  Yawn....

Happy sewing!

Kiddo #2 finished her backpack tonight!  (Kiddo #1 got distracted by a phone call from a BOY... geeze!)

I love how sassy and independent this kiddo is!  Her bag just screams individuality!

Happy sewing!  Two more bags to post soon!

Firing up the sewing machine!

Yup... the calendar turned!  Thoughts of sewing are seeping back into my brain.  The girls all need new backpacks for school.  And they all want the colorful, homemade kind.  (Pictured is oldest kiddo's now-wearing-out-and-needs-replacing backpack.)  We have little piles of fabric waiting to be made into backpacks.  And Kiddo #2 has a favorite purse that is threadbare.  One of her friends also loves the purse...  So we are planning a slumber party sew-in soon.  I LOVE this purse pattern, by the way!  "Sassy Bag" by Lazy Gal designs.  Each purse is made with three fat quarters.  (Two little piles of fat quarters and the pattern are on the right-hand side of the photo.)  And... I've seen Schnibbles EVERYWHERE in blogland lately.  Soooo... I finally picked up the book.  Now if I could just find the time to actually crack it open....

More soon!  The oldest girls and I are working on "kick-butt-awesome-backpacks" today while the little girls play at Nana and Boppa's house!

Happy sewing!

Ok... I'm a wuss...  I don't show people my sketchbook.  Tooooooo messy!  This is where I bang down thoughts, one after another.  Ideas.  Little surges of inspiration.  Notes.  Colors.  But I did sit down with the thing this morning.  Rather covered the gamut of seasons.  There are some Christmas ideas.  And patriotic ideas.  Kiddo #1 liked those.  Oh... did I say I don't show people my sketchbook?  I break that rule for my kiddos....  My favorite bits are some fall-time sketches, though.  I'm itching to fire up that sewing machine.  Oooops!  It is almost eleven and we have company coming.  Dang!  The house isn't clean yet.  No sewing right now for me.... 

Have a creative day!

Easing back into creativity....

Ok... I took the plastic wrap off a sketchbook today.  Does that count for creative effort?  Or do I actually have to write in the thing???  I'm thinking I need to draw a big line through three or four pages just to break the ice.  An empty sketch pad is intimidating.  Perhaps I should just leave it on the kitchen table with pencils next to it... daughter #3 would happily make some marks in it to get me started!

   Ummm... I need to unearth the sewing machine, too.  The mending pile got out of hand again.  Mending is not very stimulating.  It has not given me a single creative urge yet!

But the calendar has flipped to August.  Something about August stirs the creative cobwebs.  A few days ago, I pulled out a pattern to make for a friend.  I even had a creative thought skitter across my consciousness last night.  I'll jot it down in that sketchbook as soon as kiddo #3 personalizes a couple of pages! 

Ok... with my creativity at a summer low, here is daughter #3 filling in for me!  Acadia loves books and photos and stickers... so she sure was thrilled when I dug out her scrapbooking toys for some work on her summer album!  Here she is showing her things to Grammie!  (And Wiggles is in the background wondering if photos are edible...)

I'm in Florida for a few days with hubby and kiddo #4!

Have a happy day!  And I *promise* some quilting soon :o)

Summer slacker....

Summer is here and I am enjoying long, lazy days with the kiddos.  Or wildly busy, chaotic, fun days with the kiddos.  Either way, with the kiddos seems to be the opperative word.  Which, loosely translated, means I haven't designed a blasted thing in July....  It's a quirky phenomenon.  I start to go a little flat when I'm not exercising some creativity. 

I'm also at a bit of a crossroads with my work.  Although I love most of the current projects, I feel like I'm done with them.  Ready to move on with something else.  So, I'm considering breaking up the book proposal and submitting magazine articles instead.  Or self-publishing individual patterns.  But maybe that is not a decision to make while feeling flat? 

In the meantime, I'm going to dig out that sketch pad and start working on something new.  Try to carve out an hour or so a day to work on getting my zest back.  While, of course, still enjoying lots of summer with the kiddos!
 
(The previous post links to a longer bit of writing and several summer photos on my other blog.)
Have a happy day!      

Happy Thought for Today: A mix of news...

Happy Thought for Today: A mix of news...: "Ok... I'm 'fessing up. I've been neglecting this little blog. Too much fun in the sun. We recently got back from Maine where, among other..."

Just 'cause she's cute!

Just wanted you all to meet my little quilting buddy!  This is Fudgie, one of a pair of guinea pigs that live right next to my "office".  Yes... these would be the guinea piggies that get hay all over my books.  Fudgie squeaks and talks to me while I work.  She loves to snuff my hands and can smell a carrot from 40 feet away.  Piglet, the other guinea pig, is a shy gentleman.  When the camera comes out, he turns away and we get butt photos.  He seems happy to let Fudgie do the squeaking for both of them!

Sooooo... have I been working since we got home from Maine?  Nope.  Not much!  I'm spending the lion's share of my days carting kiddos around to work and friends houses!  Oh... and trying to keep up with the mess that seems to accompany kids home for the summer.  Did I mention that I LOVE SUMMER???

Have a happy day!

I broke the rules...

Quilting purists might want to avert their eyes.  Or squeeze them tight shut.  While sticking fingers in their ears and singing "lalalalala" and quickly clicking the "next blog" button.  Anyone sensitive to quilt mistreatment won't want to read the rest of this post...

I have a gorgeous antique quilt.  Beautifully hand sewn and hand quilted.  Oh!  I love this quilt!  We use it for a background for numberous family photos.

Have I mentioned lately that we have a new washer?  And that it is a front loader?  No little bar thingy sticking up in the center to catch on quilty fabrics...

I think I heard screaming as I mentioned an antique quilt and the washing machine...  Was someone sensitive  still reading?

  Please forgive me....  The quilt was greasy feeling.  I bought it from a run-down antique store.  The dubious recent past of this beauty was still clinging to its fibers.

Sigh.

Really... I wanted it to feel nice.

Yup... I broke the rules.  Threw it in.  Gentle cycle with regular detergent.  I even dried it.  In the dryer.

Please don't tell the quilt police.

But it is nice and snuggly now.

I hope the quilt purists recover....

The rest of the cast and who dunnit

So....  some more characters from the crazy murder mystery!  "Char Broil," Millie's chef, was briefly under suspicion when it was uncovered that he was being blackmailed by the deceased.

 

Cameron Tripod, young and bitter photographer, believed that Millie Cash (the deceased) had caused the death of his mother.  He was also plotting with one twin against the other for the inheritance... and didn't want Millie out of the way until there was a sole inheritor.

Ann O. Ying, the chief competitor, may have been involved with the disappearances of previous competitors.

Ann's model "DD" (yup... my dad) and his hair and makeup assistant, Belle Chesnought, were a mighty crafty pair.  Belle got most of the table settings into that big purse by the end of the evening.  And DD was hiding under an assumed identity because he (she?) was wanted for assault in several states.  Oh,  just a side note, my dad is not at all short....  Does that give any clue to Belle's (daughter #2's) height???

And Cindy R. Ella, the frazzled assistant from whom Millie has been stealing designs for the past dozen or so years.  (Aka, daughter #1 who planned this whole evening!)

SOOOOOOO.....

WHO DUNNIT????

This crafty pair...

Ron Dewing, the security guard who was sole beneficiary of a $1,000,000 life insurance policy AND...

in a surprise twist, MILLIE HERSELF!  The deceased was actually Ima Heckler, the gypsy.  Millie stuck around (disguised as Ima) to wait for the insurance policy to arrive.  Hmmmm... better be careful around oldest daughter's boyfriend and my middle sister!

Whew!

What a fun and whacky evening!

Have a happy day!

Vacation continues....

Did I mention that my family is rather... goofy?  My oldest daughter (top row, third from left) planned a murder mystery dinner for 15.  Yup... FIFTEEN!  Our night of hilarity is a favorite for the neighborhood!  Our upstairs neighbors came out and snapped pictures.  For us... and plenty of their own!  We slowed the traffic down for a few minutes...  My dad (the vivacious redhead in the front row) stole the show as he flaunted his new wardrobe!

 

Yup... that's my dad!

Oldest kiddo really outdid herself.  The cast list includes "Ima Heckler," "Ron Dewing," "Lottie Cash," "Flo O. Cash," "Lawrence Suit," "Pat Prime" (NOT "Past Prime"... no matter how many times my husband said it!), "Ann O. Ying," "Char Broil"....  and one of my favorites...

"Cici the monkey!"  Yup... my little one with extensive special needs had her own part!  "Cici" loved dressing up and sitting with all the goofy people for the mystery!  And when she wandered away from the table (not until nearly the third act!), she spent several minutes squealing happily at her reflection in the hall mirror!

Oh!  Here are lovely twin sisters to the deceased!  Before they found out that one of them was plotting to "kill" the other over the inheritance.  Well... what was left of the inheritance after my dear husband, the financial advisor from Vegas, got his hands on it....

Oh... and the wasted fortune wasn't left to the twins after all...  It was left to "Kay Nein" of a yappy dog rescue society.  Too bad Kay didn't really love dogs...

We also had in attendance a competitor with a nasty temper, "Ann O. Ying", and her model "DD" (my dad), and her (his?) sticky-fingered hair and makeup artist, "Belle Chesnought",  a tough and boozed up security guard, a disgruntled (and black-mailed) chef, a bitter photographer, an overworked assistant, and a traveling gypsy who had overstayed her welcome.

Oh... and the deceased's aging top model who was in danger of being fired... (yup, that would be me!)

 

Ah... not quilting yet.  But we sure are having fun!

Have a great week!

Our crazy crew...

No quilting this week... but plenty of fun!

Brink of Sanity

Honest, I haven't charged over the brink of sanity and dropped off the face of New Hampshire yet :o) Although the end of the school year gives me a running start, should I decide to take leave of my senses.... Our days have been a flurry of field trips, paperwork, end-of-year celebrations, and getting ready for 8th grade graduation for kiddo #2. Whew! Sewing has definitely taken a back seat lately. Perhaps I should buckle the sewing machine into the seat in case I veer perilously close to that sanity brink?

With kiddos home for the summer beginning TOMORROW, I did take some time last week to get *organized*. Fabric is safely tucked into the drawers of that new ironing board/stackable drawers arrangement. (Ugh! You don't even want to know how long I spent ironing, folding, and attempting some semblance of order...) I also waded through stacks and piles of books, papers, magazines, kids toys, etc., to unearth my "office" space. Added a couple of book shelves and a magazine rack (with a liner to match the new ironing board!). And, gee... how many months did this little brainstorm take??? I finally moved the guinea pig hay to the *other* side of their cage. Ummm... six months of hay falling all over my quilting books and office space. Can we say I must be a bit befuddled to let it continue for so long when it took five minutes to swap the water bottles and hay feeder??? (Guinea pigs and aforementioned hay are just to the left of the "office" picture...)

Sewing has been mostly personal this week... teacher gifts! Our extra-special kiddo has two wonderful friends that work with her every day at school. These women are fantastic!!! Always happy, patient, and enthusiastic! They go to all kiddo's concerts and events so that she can participate. They have admired kiddo's lunch sacks... it was fun to make and stuff special bags for them! And I have finally jotted down the pattern in two sizes. So, I guess I have sqeezed in a bit of book-proposal work. With a little tweaking, it will be ready to add to the pile of proposal....

Well... gotta run to pick up our 8th grader and bring her to lunch! Happy sewing! And STAY TUNED!!! I'm planning my first give-away in a few days :o)

Goofy kitty bag!

Look! My buddy, Lucie, sent me photos of the goofy kitty bag. Grown up. Sort of....

I've been busy enjoying the rain this weekend! A great excuse to stay inside and play with fabric! Photos and more coming soon... yes, I *will* remember to take photos myself this time :o)

Happy sewing :o)

From this.... to this!

(Note to Don... please do not read anything in parenthesis.) (You already are, aren't you?)

Ok... my sewing space has been a disaster for months and it's time to get organized! For the past year, my sewing machine has been in our livingroom and my *fabric* has been either stuffed in a box in the closet upstairs or squashed into a big bag in the loft area above our garage. When I pulled out a new project to work on, I had to scrounge around looking for the right fabrics in various bins. Did I mention that there WAS no order to the fabric in either location? Then, after cutting the fabric, I USED TO toss the scraps into a box under the computer. Said box WAS overflowing.... Oh! I've been cutting at the kitchen table and ironing on a teenie weenie little 14" ironing board. Both cutting and ironing spaces WERE too low and I wound up with a tired back when I did much of either chore. And the ironing board WAS, well, less than inspiring to look at....

Soooo... we have this great open area in front of our window where we had our Christmas tree last year. Usually, our two rocking chairs sit in that space during the summer. But, somehow, they have spent very little time tucked into their corner since Christmas. Maybe *fabric* could live there outside of the holiday season??? I bought stackable drawers at Walmart... and they stacked up to a perfect ironing board height!

Next came the hard part... convincing my dear (sometimes cranky, ahem...) husband that we could build an ironing board. He rolled his eyes at me a bit, but came through the door the next day carrying a piece of plywood 20" by 38 1/2". He'd even carefully rounded the edges. (If any of you have the chance to see this ironing board in person, please notice the beautifully rounded edges even though they are covered up with two layers of batting and a piece of fabric. He'll secretly be glowing under the eyeball rolling...) AND he helped me use those giant, scary staples to attatch the batting and fabric. (Ok... I'm really not scared of the big stapler, but don't tell him!)

Oh! The fabric! I tried to convince myself that a nice, quiet fabric would fit the decor of our cozy, country livingroom. You know... braided rug, rocking chairs, wooden cabinets. But I *LOVE* this Kaffe Fassett print. So cheery! And I'll spend several hours some days staring at it. (Ok, ok... so I didn't try terribly hard to talk myself into a boring fabric :o)

When we finished the ironing board, I realized that my cutting mat fit beautifully on the top of it! It takes up about 2/3 of the board space, leaving plenty of room to iron small pieces on the side. When my husband (of great wisdom... this is in parenthesis so that it doesn't go to his head) heard that I was going to put the cutting board on the ironing board, he objected and said that I might nick the ironing board. I reassured him that I have never run off the edge of the cutting mat.

Yesterday, I happily spent several hours cutting fabric. (Until I nicked the edge of my new board. A tiny little 1/2" nick that has already been repaired and hardly shows.) (That was in parenthesis, Don!)

Happy sewing! I'll have some fun stuff to post soon! Just have to sew together yesterday's cutting :o)

mending...

Quilting and mending are *not* related. One I look forward to eagerly. I carefully plan my week around a block of time dedicated to bonding with scraps of fabric. I try to snag some extra moments to try new fabric combinations or sketch another design. The other, I am quite adept at avoiding. I've had this bed spread, three shirts and a pair of shorts waiting for my attention for a couple of months now. It's a good thing my daughter needed the shorts hemmed for a Memorial Day parade. My inertia has finally been overcome and the pile of mending is gone! Oh... and my mom has been waiting for me to return her bed spread from that black hole called my mending pile....

Yes! I finally did something with that fun kitty fabric I found a few months ago. But did I remember to take pictures of the darned bag before sending it off??? Nope. Aurgh!!!! Somebody save me from myself! It was only hanging on a door knob for a week waiting to be wrapped!!!

Here is a photo of the bag in progress... I paired the goofy kitties with some fun batiks in autumn hues. And added a grommet to the front flap with a large, pretty bead. In an attempt to make a grown-up bag. It still fell a bit shy of grown-up, but it is interesting. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it since I neglected my camera :o)

Ok, ok, ok... that lasted a long time....

Well... I went to take the summer off and GUESS WHAT??? Several people found this silly blog at once. And I was invited to join a fashion-blog group. Through this quilty-dorky blog. Me?!? Fashion?!? My look is, "SO-TOTALLY-DORK-I-HEAR-SNICKERING!" Well... *THAT* was a short-lived vacation :o) Sooooo... the newly appointed fashion-dork will continue to dispense trivial bits of non-information. Just got to get that sewing machine up and running again....

summer off!

Ok... I'm a little early, but I'll be taking the summer off from this blog. (OK, OK, OK... scratch that... See next post...) With the girls home, I get very little sewing time. And the end of the school year is so filled with concerts, sporting events, end-of-school field trips, appointments, and substitute teaching that I seem to have run out of time already. (Yada, yada, yada... do you feel sorry for me yet?) I will continue my other blog, http://happythought42day.blogspot.com/ This is a random collection of mostly up-beat thoughts. Please check it out :o) And if you enjoy my ramblings, click on the "follow this blog" button on the side column. I do love knowing that you are reading! Thank you :o)

Happy ten-year-old with her new backpack!

Shannon is thrilled with the orange fabric bundle I found for her at Tumbleweeds Quilt Shop. She can barely wait for me to cut the bundle up and make her backpack. I'm thinking it needs to brighten our table for a week or so first....

love this quilt shop!!!!

I've been waiting all year to get back to this shop! The girls and I checked out Tumbleweeds Quilt Shop in Barnstable last year on our way off the cape. I was blown away by all the amazing fabrics... Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Valorie Wells. And the books. Hundreds of them!

Last year, I was expecting an average quilt shop... There were so many amazing fabrics, I didn't know where to begin! I also had three kiddos waiting for me (not so very patiently). And it was the end of vacation. Guess how much money I had left for shopping?

This year, Tumbleweeds was a PLANNED visit! While my aunt took two of the girls swimming and sight-seeing, Maggie, HER BOOK, and I went to this amazing quilt store! See all those holes in the Kaffe Fassett fabric wall? Those bolts are on the cutting table :o) What a gorgeous pile of fabric... so glad it's coming home to New Hampshire!

Oh! The manager, Mary, has a blog! Check it out! http://tumbletalk.blogspot.com/ Or you can just click on tubletalk on my blog list to the left :o) That's her holding the orange bundle with the posie on top! Isn't that an uber-cute way to bundle the fabric? My ten-year-old had a bout of homesickness last night at bedtime (we're all getting ready to be home). I pulled out that bundle and showed Shannon "her new backpack". What smiles! She wants me to incorporate the flower and ribbon into her pack!

In the meantime, it sure makes a great bouquet on our table!

the backpack goes on vacation

Ok... one thing I love about this backpack is that it keeps my hands free for more important things :o)

free pattern

Ok... it is taking me a little longer than I anticipated to turn all my scribbles and sketches into finished patterns.... But the back pack is ready for a test run! I would love to have a bunch of you give this a try :o) Just send me an e-mail with your address. I can e-mail or snail-mail it to you. Please share your feedback with me... good and not-so-good :o) If I missed writing down any steps, I really would like to discover my error *before* sending the pattern to the publisher :o) And if you blog, I would love to have you share photos and comments as you give the pattern a try!

Oh! I am starting a second blog! This blog will remain primarily a quilting blog. If you've enjoyed my goofy-just-about-life musings, check out http://happythought42day.blogspot.com/ As always, I love followers and comments!

naming our puppy

Soooo... on April Fool's Day, we *really did* get a puppy :o) Since I was substitute teaching on April first, my dad picked her up for us. I talked with the man we were getting her from and worked out all the details. But I forgot to ask what her name was. All day long I wondered.... I hoped it would be something fun or quirky. But a good, basic name would be ok, too. The only kind of name that would really bother me would be the really-Disney-pink-froo-froo type of name like Princess or Fifi.

Hmmmmm... I should have known better! I pulled in the driveway and Dad introduced me to "PRECIOUS"! That's kind of *beyond* Disney-pink. That's like Disney-fuscia!!!! Uh oh... dilema! We spent a week gagging every time we said her name.

Luckily, she didn't seem to realize that she had this ultra-feminine-prissy-froo-froo name. She is a lab... all tongue and wiggle with not a bit of brain. Her back end overtakes her front end sometimes, sending her into a sideways wiggling scramble as her front end tries to catch up. When she moves quickly, her skin arrives abruptly a second or two behind her frame. She usually moves quickly, so her skin seems in a constant flux, wondering just where it should hang. And that tongue! 5:30 in the morning is such a happy time for our puppy! She takes a flying leap onto the bed, lands on me and starts licking any body part sticking out of the blankets. (The fact that I like 6:30 better dampens her enthusiasm *NOT ONE BIT!*)

But back to the name dilema.... After a week, we realized that our puppy came as readily to, "Goofy Dog," or, "Puppy," or, "Hey You," as she did to, "Precious". Maybe it was all that gagging? So we started trying on different names. The only trouble was that we were starting to get used to Precious. The gagging was just a little choke, not a full-out retching noise now. But, really, she is a LAB! No lab should be stuck with a Disney-esque name. And to watch her practically turning upside down wriggling with joy, front end and back end competing for the lead, she has not a stitch of ladylike refinement and dignity! Soooo... we compromised. She gets to keep, "Precious," but it is like that obnoxiously long, we-have-16-generations-of-Mathildas-first-name that gets shortened to an initial. "Precious," is now, "Precious Wiggles!" Or, "P-Wiggles," for short. (Very appropriate first initial when counting the number of new spots on the carpet...)

But all jesting aside, P-Wiggles is a joy! She rides with me each morning to bring the girls to school. And every morning, she is amazed and overjoyed to discover that we found our way home again! She spends the next 5 minutes wriggling and licking and running around the house and bouncing. Like I just pulled off some amazing magic trick! If I'm home, she follows me around, trying to lie on my feet. While I was cooking my oatmeal a couple of days ago, she moved and lay down in a new space three times in just a couple of minutes. "Sink or stove, Mom??? Make up your mind so I can get some rest!" And if I am gone for a couple of hours, she somehow goes into overdrive and stores up a week's worth of greeting. Ahhhhh! Puppy love :o)

Now if we could just teach her to tell time....