janetsue2

Aunix

2010-06-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is Aunix he is eleven years old . One of his kidneys has died and has stones in it . We inherited him when Toby went to college. During his junior year he became ours. He is really attached to my husband, Randy so this is really hard for him. He is the most self assured cat that I have ever known. He has had a pretty much perfect life and has never been abused or treated harsh in any way. He is vey vocal and tells us exactly what he wants when he wants it.

Painting, new backsplash, new counter and more...

2010-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

I watched sweet little Krayden this week on Monday and Tuesday. He was running a little temp so I sat and held him a lot of the time. It is wonderful being a grandma. He is eight months old now. Crawling everywhere and starting to climb and pull himself up. His mommy and daddy are so good with him. It is a joy to watch them. They are going to have another baby in late December to the first of January 2011. I can hardly wait!!

Now,
Back to my blog title. I have been painting my kitchen cabinets white and put on new red ceramic knobs. We purchased the tile for the back splash (sunset red) glass one inch tiles last weekend. i can't believe how long it takes to choose all the stuff when you remodel anything and then we are doing the work so it will take longer since we aren't professionals. ha Ha!It will be lovely when it is done. I started removing the old tiles in the wee hours of the morning. So far so good. We will order the new counter top this weekend. It is a dark charcoalish (I know not a real word)black laminate and I am so excited about it.

Ruthie from threadsofmine quilted two small quilts made from scrappy one patch tumbler blocks for me this past month. I'm giving them to my dil, Ashleys little nieces and I quilted one that is 80" X 80" done in batiks. It is for our oldest grandson, Clay. I haven't made him a quilt since he was around five years old so it was way past time. They are all bound and I'm putting the labels on this weekend.

I have three more quilt tops finished and ready to be quilted. The backings and bindings need pressed. One is blue and white 2 1/2" squares and 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles with black Scottie dogs and the name Gavin appliqued on. It is for my new little nephew adopted in January 2010.
Another is a top that I finished at retreat in Shipshewana 8 1/2" squares with a focal fabric of pastel colored salt box houses, and then a cheater quilt with black borders for Nolan, my dil's nephew. It is the panel with plane, train, boats, cars, bicycle, and etc with black sashing in between the blocks and rows. I am on Ruthie's waiting list to be done on Mable.

I finished my studio for the most part but it is rather messy right now. When I get it straightened then I'll take pictures and post them on here.

When my boys were young I couldn't wait for them to grow up.
I'm not doing that with the grandsons. I am savoring every moment with them. Already the oldest is fifteen years and Krayden is past eight months. Where has the time gone?

2010 Quilt Guild Retreats

2010-03-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! 2010. Can you believe that it is already almost April 2010. I went to two quilt guild retreats this month. One was at PineView Resort in Monticello, IN and the other in Shipshewana, IN at the Farmstead Inn. I have had a blast at both. I worked on and finished a number of projects and the best of all was hanging out with friends and making some new friends.

I started watching our grandson, Krayden when his mommy had to go back to work. I watch him on Mondays most of the time. Sometimes other days too! He is adorable and such a little bundle of love.

For Valentines Day my husband and oldest son helped lay a new vinyl tile floor in my studio. It is soo much better. I'll post some before and after pictures soon. I can now sew, cut, and press in my room. I absolutely love it!

Until later,
Janet

A Rose in Bloom November 2009

2009-11-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures on November 15th. Can you believe a blooming rose in the middle of November?
I noticed a bud a few weeks ago and then I noticed it in bloom. My friend, Ruthie threadsofmine.blogspot.com told me I should share it on my blog.

Ruthie has some pictures of four quilt that I quilted on Friday. They are now bound and ready to mail to: quiltforkids.org

Downey sponsored kits to made into quilts for this organization. I made three of their kits and made two of my own. A number of members of Common Threads Quilt Guild in Lafayette, IN
have finished kits and sent them back.

The Baby Shower

2009-11-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

2009-11-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ashley, Toby, & Krayden

2009-11-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Krayden is our new grandson born on September 29, 2009. he weighed 9lbs., 14oz.

Toby & Krayden

2009-11-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

Where Has The Time Gone?

2009-08-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have been to Silver Spring, MD, Shipshewana, IN, Columbus,OH since I last posted. I went to MD for a month to spend more time with my husband, the Auth's and did a bunch of hand work.
Shipshewana was Common Threads quilt retreat which I had a blast with Ruthie, Tammy, and Shelly. I can't wait until next year!
I finished the Gypsy Rose quilt and put the binding on two quilts.

Ruthie and I went to Columbus to the quilt show and we stayed with Denae's (Ruthie's daughter-in-law)parents.they are so nice. Denae is a sweetie too!

Last Sunday I went to Tammy's for a sewing day. I sewed 47 blocks for another quilt. I used charm squares and a jelly roll. It went really fast. Shellie was our personal presser.

We are having some work done on our house right now. This week they are doing Soffits, facia covers and then new seamless gutters. We are so excited. Heathcote Construction, INC. they have been in business for around 30 years.

I've got to run some errands so I'll be back another time.

I

Spring Is Almost Here and Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-04-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing up a storm. I finished a quilt for my sister and delivered it to her the day before Easter. Randy was home for the weekend and we went for a family Easter dinner. I told her, "Read this label and tell me what you think." When she got to the part that says made especially for: she started to cry and said "Oh Thank You". So everyone got to be there for her surprise. The quilt is named"Happy Squares". It was made with Moda's line Gypsy Rose. I used a jelly roll and a charm pack. With a few extras added to the mix. I quilted it at Ruthie's Quilting the Monday before. I used the Leafage pantograph.

I finished the Rossville block of the month quilt from last year. Ruthie quilted it with her Circle lord in fan pattern and it is beautiful. All I have left to do is sew the binding down on the back and put on a label.

The quilt that I made with Moda's line Maypole designed by april Cornell is almost finished. I used the free pattern that I got when I purchased the fabric. It turned out beautiful. Ruthie quilted and I hope to get the pictures put on here soon. i have the binding and label to do on the back.

I have the binding done on my king size redwork quilt. It's 108 X 108, 120 8" redwork blocks that I hand embroidered. I have to do the sleeve and put on the label which is printed and ready to apply. Ruthie did a dfantastic job quilting this quilt. It was a Christmas surprise for me. I absolutely love it!

If you go to Ruthie's blog www.threadsofmine@blogspot.com she has some pictures of my quilts.

I went to the quilt show in Chicago yesterday by bus there was a group of 42 of us. The show was lovely but it was so crowded. This is the second year that I've been to the Spring show.

My Unfinished Projects

2009-03-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get a list together for my UFO's.

1. Apple Tree and Ant Picnic Quilt.
2. Quilt of Valor Stripes
3. Quilt of Valor Pails sent to quilter
4. Carole's Dresden Plates
5. Double Delight
6. It's A Wrap
7. Gypsy rose almost finished, binding and label
8. Mother Goose Baby Quilt kit
9. Kit from Quilted Angel in Petaluma,CA
10. Doll Quilt Kit Carol Hopkins
11. Orange Slices
12. Two Patriotic panel quilts
13. Batik jelly roll and charm quilt
14. 11 It's All About Me Quilts blocks and sashing cut for one
15. Rickie's Wizard of OZ quilt
16. Joann's BOM Christmas quilt
17. Hidden Wells quilt
18. Red and yellow Welcome applique wallhanging
19. Four patch and snowball block quilt started in San Francisco,CA
20. Sleeve and label on King size redwork quilt.almost done
21. See, Hear, and Speak No Evil wallhanging needs quilted
22. Sweet in 30's fabric
23. Rug Hooked Apple rug
24. Needle punch sewing notions kit
25. simplify embroidery kit
26. Coffee and Chocolate wallhanging
27. Children bluework building a snowman
28. Tumbler block quilt
29. Bug Jar quilt
30. Mini Jars quilt
31. Cat's Stairway To Heaven

Unfinished list getting smaller?

2009-03-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today I took pictures of some finished projects.

Some mini jars from Miniatures quilts I started, 5 done and 10 to go. They are so cute!

This is a pattern from Lakadaisies. See, Hear, and Speak No Evil Redwork. This one is for a friend, Jan Ermel. She is Common Threads Quilt Guild president. Her husband passed away recently. I'll give it to her next week. She is at quilt camp this week.

This is a Blue Star Banner for my sister and her husband. They have two nephews in the war.

This is a See, Hear, and Speak No Evil done in Pinkwork. This one I made to go in our shabby chic bedroom.

I have made many wallhangings from this pattern for family and friends. I think twelve or thirteen so far.

This is a Bug Jar Quilt, pattern by Carol Hopkins. This one is called "Happy Bugs". It is for Ashlyn Taylor. Harry and Tammy Taylors youngest of three. It's a little late but I just finished the binding and label last night. I hope that she likes it. Ruthie quilted it at Ruthie's Quilting. It is a wonderful pattern. I have made eight quilts with this pattern.

This a doily that I purchased in Santa Clara, CA at an antique mall. I sewed it onto a gold cotton and had it custom framed at Hobby Lobby.The frame is a beautiful gold ceramic and the mat is a red silk. It turned out perfect. The picture doesn't do it justice. I had it framed in remembrance of the last time that Randy and I took a vacation to San Francisco, CA before my sweet grandma, Tillie passed away. It was two years ago that she passed on March 6th, 2007.

My DH will be home tommorow evening until Sunday morning. I can't wait to see him. It's been a month. We have missed each other so much since he took this job. Hopefully weather won't be a factor this time while he's travelling from Maryland. The last time he tried to come home the flights were cancelled because of bad weather.

Busy Sewing Day

2009-02-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

Today I went out to Quilters Harvest quilt storehttp://quiltersharvest.com/ Today was a Lasagna Supper sewing day. There were eight of us sewing on ufo's and newly started projects. I worked on a quilt from Modas line of fabric Gypsy Rose. I used a jelly roll and a charm pack. I finished 40 blocks and I have to make 20 more. The colors are beautiful. Maybe I'll work on it some more tomorrow. My DH was supposed to fly into Indy tonight but the flights were cancelled because of bad weather. We were both really disappointed that he couldn't come home.
I getting really tired so I'm going to cut this short and go to bed.

I finished the Maypole quilt, Rossville block of the month quilt, and a fleece and minkee blanket for me. I took them to Ruthies Quilting to be quilted along with a bug jar quilt for some friends daughter down in Bedford, IN. I have made 7 or 8 of these quilts. Young children love them because the colors are bright and cheerful.

Rebel Roses

2009-02-17T21:04:00.000-08:00

Have you been to ankastreasures.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/more-on-rebel-roses this new line of fabric is wonderful and this week they are giving away a bundle of fat quarters. Red is my favorite color along with brights. This is the perfect fabric for me. Go look at the patterns and the sample quilts on this blog. http://fatquartershop sent me an e-mail telling about this line.ankastreasures has kits that you can buy if your local quilt store doesn't have them.

I went to Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild tonight and before hand Ruthie and I went and tried a new restaurant across from West Lafayette library. It is called Qdoba, http://qdoba.com/ Mexican food and we both had the Three cheese chicken nachos. I had the mild salsa and Ruthie had the medium. Ruthie ate at this chain when she lived in colorado. We will be going there again. There was some fantastic show and tell tonight. We have many talented quilters.

Last weekend http://rossvillequilts.com/ had a retreat at Camp Tecumseh. I went for all day on Saturday. I finished two "Mini Charmer" bags by Penny Sturgis http://quiltsillustrated.com/ they were the samples I made for the two workshops we had last month. I also started the quilt "It's A Wrap" by Pieces of My Heart designed by Sandy Gervais.
The food at the camp was very good too! I left camp around 9pm to head for home and it was dark and I got lost and ended up in Reynolds, IN. I was about 30 minutes north of where I wanted to be. Thank goodness I made it back to Lafayette safe and sound.

Tonight when I got home from guild I started another quilt that I recently cut. It is a Moda http://modafabrics.com/ fabric called Maypole by April Cornell. The pattern was designed by Lisa Christensen for Moda. I bought my fabric at Rossville quilts.

This Saturday another guild I belong to Common Threads is having a sewing day at St. James Lutheran school. I hope to get lots of projects done. Maybe I'll even take some pictures to post on here. I love to get together with sewing friends and sew. It is nice to visit with people that you don't see very often or often enough.

My dh Randy got a job in Frederick, MD until December 31st, 2009. This is going to be a long year. I already miss him and he just left on Saturday. Today was his first day on the job.He is apartment hunting and in the mean time he is staying with our good friends Michael and Carole Auth in Silver Spring, MD. Michael and Carole lived in Lafayette until a couple of years ago. There aren't many pharmaceutical jobs in this area because of layoffs.
I'll tell you more later about this new adventure in our lives.

Fabric, Fabric, Everywhere

2009-01-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have been cutting fabric this month. Not much sewing but that is another story. I cut all of the fabric for Bonnie Hunters mystery quilt "Double Delight" http://quiltville.com/.

I bought a LARGE Tumbler Block acrylic template at the quilt show in Chicago last fall. I have cut blocks to make another QOV quilt. Ruthie at threadsofmine.blogspot.com bought the next size down has already cut her blocks and has pictures on her site.

Toby and Ashley came for dinner last night and their list of 75 things is completed.(for the quilts mentioned below.)
Tait came by today after work and his list is finished too. One of my sisters', Louann, was the first one finished with her list. Four down and nine to go. Each person is supposed to give a list of 75 favorite things/and or sayings from when they where children to present age.

I bought a pattern called "It's All About Me". I have started cuting the blocks for this. I have over 200 novelty fabrics. I plan on making 12 of these quilts. I'm calling them BigBoy/BigGirl quilts. For my three sons, daughters (wives of two sons), three sisters, brother, husband and grandson. They are all quilts for adults, my soon to be 14 grandson. I am in love with all of the novelty fabric avaiable. I got a package in the mail today from z&sfabrics.com. A total of 23 half yards of fabric all novelties. I need more feminine type fabrics and faith type fabrics. If you know of some that you noticed on line at a shop please let me know.

Ruthie and I were supposed to have our BOM from http://www.blogger.com/www.rossvillequilts.com
quilts done by tonight. I got a reprieve until next week because of bad weather. Ruthie's are done mine were lost and I found the blocks today. I have two blocks to cut and put together, besides sewing rows together. I do not know where I put the last two blocks thus, my quilt will only have eleven blocks. I'm not very good at designing quilts even with eq5. So, Ruthie came up with a layout of my blocks on point that I think is going to look really good. I have to have the top done at least by next Wednesday.

I'm planning on making my sil a Wizard Of Oz quilt. I dug out the fabrics that I have purchased. Now, I have to decide how to put all of the fabrics together. There are three lines of different WOOz fabrics. it will be a fun quilt. I'm going to either make it two sided or make two different quilts. I'll keep you posted.

I am way behind with reading blogs that I'm tracking and I'm new to Drankland and haven't logged on to it either. I've been reading instead of doing anything else. When I'm interested in a book I can't hardly put it down.

Until next time be safe, warm, and enjoy each day.
Janet

Getting Ready for a Busy Weekend

2009-01-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

Tmorrow night is one of my guild nights "Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild"West Lafayette, IN. Ruthie from threadsofmine and I will go out to eat somewhere. Our goal is to check out places that we haven't been to before. OTQG is located near the campus 0f Purdue University and sometimes the parking situation and weather will dictate where we will go last month it was Brunos.

This coming weekend January 10th we are having a "Mini Charmer" bag workshop. We hope that the weather will be mild. Participants will sign up tomorrow night. The pattern can be purchased at www.quiltsillustrated.com

This is a picture of part of my fabric stash. This fabric is yardage of a yard or more. The cubbies go all the way down to the floor and I have added more cubes since this picture was taken.There isn't room for the smaller amounts. I'm embarrassed for you to see the rest of the room. Ruthie and Carole A. have both helped me in this room. I have come to the conclusion that I have too much stuff for this small room. It's only 12X12.

Kitchen table to the left.

Living room

Everything was removed from other rooms and put into the "Studio" and it is a tad full!

I have all of the fabric in the living room for the "Double Delight" Bonnie Hunters mystery quilt from Quiltville.com.You can see how it's going to look by clicking on the links. I love it!

Another guild that I belong to "Common Threads" Lafayette, IN is having a Nickel Swap and I now have almost all twelve months cut in 5" squares and in ziplocs. I have to buy more turquoise and black on black fabric. I've been purchasing fabric on line along with my stash for the swap. There are over 30 participants. Ruthie nor I were expecting that many people in this swap. How fun will this be? When the swap is over we will have a Nickel Squares sewing workshop in 2010.We all love scrappy quilts, and the methods used to create them are usually very fast and
simple. Our Nickel Quilt Fabric Exchange is just that. It is based on Pat Speth’s books - Nickel
Quilts and More Nickel Quilts. Everyone will sometime over the next year purchase one of Pat's book.

On January 17th Ruthie and I will be having another "Mini Charmer" bag workshop. There are 35 members signed up for this one. I'm so excited to see all the bags that are made with charm packs or cut 5" squares.

January 3, 2009

2009-01-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that it is 2009! This year just flew by so fast.

I started Bonnie Hunters from http://quiltville.com/index.htmlNew Years mystery quilt. "Double Delight". I have all of the pieces cut out, but I haven't started piecing it yet. I thought I had enough pinks but I didn't have double pinks. So, I went out to http://www.quiltersharvestshop.com/ to get some more yesterday. Karen didn't have very many. Maybe I'll start sewing today. This is my first project of 2009.

I have been enjoying His Majesty aka: Truffles. We get a lot of joy having him with us. He is my baby and he adores me. He has been living with us

since April 2006. I inherited him from my grandma.He is from

San Francisco, CA he is twelve years old..

Ruthie from http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/ has a new granddaughter, Elizabeth Ann. Her daughter had three sons and no girls until Friday. I'm so excited for the whole family. Elizabeth is so cute.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Randy and our grandson, Clay drove to Jonesboro to have Christmas with my family. I had to stay home in bed to get well.They had a good time visiting and good food. Thankfully the weather was nice and the roads clear.

Today is Christmas Happy Birthday Jesus!

I didn't do too much today since I'm trying to get well. I called to wish my family and close friends a Merry Christmas and to find out if they are having a nice Christmas and staying warm.

My sister-in-law, Rickie spent last night with us and today my husband's dad and Sandra came to have dinner. They live in North Carolina and they came North to visit family and friends for the Holidays. It was good to see them. We usually see them once or twice a year. It is probably time for us to go South to visit them.

Saturday we will go to our middle son's home for Christmas gift exchange and dinner. I always look forward to being with them. When your children are grown their lives become so busy that you see less of them.

God Bless You and Keep You in his Loving Care!

Busy Making Gifts and Finishing UFO's

2008-12-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

This year has passed so fast. It's been a very busy time for us. After returning from Birmingham, AL in October, I have been spending time with my husband and family. I have almost completed my UFO'S that I had listed for Common Threads Quilt Guild. I went to Ruthie's Quilting and quilted a wall hanging, two table runners, and a challenge quilt for Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild.
They turned out pretty nice. I also finished a Blue Star Banner for my sister and brother-in-law.
I finished another See, Hear, and Speak No Evil in Redwork. the pattern is by Lakadaisies. I think it is number nine. Number ten is in my hoop now in Pinkwork. Most of these finished projects will go to family members for Christmas gifts. Look at the pictures in my previous posts to see the pictures.

We went to Mesa, Arizona for Thanksgiving to spend time with my youngest sister, two nephews, and our niece. I took supplies to introduce my niece to crocheting and embroidery. I had a surprise when we started our crochet lesson. My niece is left handed and I am right handed. I tried having her sit in front of me opposite and watching my hands and it didn't work. The booklet that I took was for right handed people. She did pretty good with the redwork. Now, I have to find another crochet book for left handers.

This week before Old Tippecanoe quilt Guild, Randy and I met Ruthie at Bruno's in West Lafayette for a very nice dinner. Randy had salmon and Ruthie and I had a very nice fruit spinach salad. Mine with no spinach and romaine lettuce instead. (I don't like raw spinach).

We exchanged gifts with each other and I was so surprised when I opened my gift from Ruthie! It was my king size redwork quilt. It was at Ruthie's Quilting and I was in no hurry to for her to quilt it because it is king sized and our bed is queen sized. Plus His Majesty and His Highness get on our bed and it is not the kind of quilt to be washed all the time. BUT being the good friend and nice person Ruthie is she quilted it for me! It is absolutely beautiful! This quilt has 120 hand embroidered blocks with red sashing. I got carried away when I started making the blocks. I had it basted and was going to hand quilt it. (what was I thinking?) The quilting has a feather pattern in the outside border, sqiggles in the sashing, and stippling in the redwork blocks. You can see the quilt on Ruthie's blog http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/. Guild Challenge and the Shhh Quilt I was so touched by her generosity. You have to know her to appreciate all she does for others and many of you bloggers do know her. She is a wealth of quilting information and she readily shares. She was just as excited to quilt it for me as I was to see it done.

I woke up not feeling well a couple of days ago and today I went to the doctor and she put me on an antbiotic and mucinex dm. I have asthma and I have to be careful it doesn't go into bronchitis or pnemonia. Of course, our Christmas plans are up in the air. We will see how I feel in the morning. My voice is always the first thing to go. My boy's loved it when they were young and I couldn't talk. Ha Ha lol!

I did sew the binding on my redwork quilt. I wanted some hand work to do when I feel better.
If you read this have a very Merry Christmas and a great New year.

Little Mini Charmer

2008-11-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Ruthie http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/ and I went to Panera Breads to eat before our Guild meeting, Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild.
We both had a delicious salad Harvest something with dried cherries, pecans, and pears. I had green tea and Ruthie had coffee. We ran into a couple of other friends, Sue G., alias Lucy Ricardo lol. Cheryl E., and Carol. We had some laughs and then went to guild.

Ruthie and I did a demo of the Mini Charmer bags by Penny Sturges at http://www.quiltsillustrated.com/ They have a number of different patterns and they are really cute. We were told that members enjoyed our demo and we gave a pattern and almost complete bag away as a door prize. This past Saturday Ruthie and I got together at my house and sewed a number of bags in different stages of completion to show members of the guild how to make them.

We asked that if anyone brought bags that they made to show them. It was really fun. I played the part of Vanna and held things up and passed them around. Ruthie is the organized person that did the talking.

After guild we went to get some $2.09 a gallon gas. WOW! Aren't you glad the fuel price has dropped?
Then to McDonalds to have some ice cream. We watched a little of the Polls on the tv and then Ruthie dropped me off at my house. We had a very nice evening. It was fun to just laugh. A merry heart does good like a medicine.

I got an e-mail from http://www.zandsfabrics.com/ and of course I had to go check out their sale. Carol and Mehgan are sweeties and Mehgan is in the hospital having her little boy, Finn. He is taking his time making an appearance so they decided to have a sale and somebody could win their purchase and shipping if their order is the closet to when Finn is born. Also, everything is 10% off the web site. They had some Moda fabric that I love so I bought a yard for the binding and of course some other fabric.

On Halloween night I bought fabric from http://www.rossvillequilts.com/ It is a cute shop in Rossville, IN. Moda's May Pole by April Cornell. I needed some fabric for the binding of a quilt that I finished cutting today. So, I bought it from zandsfabrics. I absolutely love this line of fabric.

I am going to go to sleep now. Have a great night and tomorrow we will wake up to a new President Elect.

Down South and Sewing Away

2008-10-24T05:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I sewed while Randy was on the computer doing work. I finished putting a table runner together, sewed borders on a see, speak, & hear no evil redwork, made 22 name tags for CTQG, sewed inner borders and part of the outer borders on a QOV quilt.

This morning Randy brought me a nice breakfast from the hotel dining room. He left for work. I ate and got on to the computer to check mail and blog a bit. Since it's still early I am going to go read and then go back to sleep.

Sweet Home Alabama

2008-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

I am in Birmingham, AL with my husband, Randy and his majesty, Truffles. We arrived on Saturday, October 11, 2008. We left Lafayette, IN around 8:30 am. We had to stop more often to walk Truffles so it took a little longer to get here. Randy has been doing a contract job here since the begining of September. This job will be finished at the end of October.
The weather is very nice and sunny. In the evenings sometimes it is cool. My favorite weather is when it is cool.

Mary Charles Doll Shop
Birminham, AL

This past weekend we went to a doll douse miniature shop called. Mary Charles Dolls. It is on Petticoat Lane in Birmingham. The only miniature shop in Alabama. If you like dolls or miniatures this is the place to go. Mary has had this shop for thirty years. They are very helpful and friendly. She has a fantastic Barbie Doll Collection. I absolutely loved this shop!!!

I am working on a doll house minature Quilt Store, called "The Quilted Apple Tree". It is six rooms and an attic and I have been having a blast doing it. My good friend, Darle Griffith has been helping me and giving her input. She is a very multi talented lady. I have over 500 bolts of fabric in my shop. When my shop is finished I will take it to my quilt guilds Common Threads Quilt Guild Lafayette,IN and Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild West Lafayette, IN for show and tell.

The Quilted Apple Tree Miniature Shop

1744 SunApple Way

Sun Valley, CA

(Not Real address)

We tried going to "The QuiltMaker Quilt Store, but we couldn't find it and both phone numbers were disconnected. I was so disappointed. We had Truffles in the kennel so we could sight see or whatever and it was our only weekend to go out and do something. We did go to a Hobby Lobby and I found some great clearance fabric for $2 a yard 9 1/8 yds for backing and a pillowcase.

we also went to a Hancock Fabrics and I bought some fat quarters. We then went to Dale's Southern Grill for dinner. It was really good. Then back to the Mariott Residence Inn to start a new week.

Hot Tamales!

2008-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Literally I had hot tamales last night. Ruthie's husband, Dan bought these marvelous home made tamales and sent some home with me. Oh my gosh were they good! Ruthie told me to watch out for the green ones that they were hot and she was right. I ate mine with sour cream so that cooled them off. I have to buy some when I get back from AL. A friend of one of their neighbors makes them. Maybe I'll have to learn how to make them.

I'm thinking I should make a red and yellow quilt to name "Hot Tamales" in honor of Dan. What do you think?

I talked to a casual friend/acquaintance last night and she has been going through a rough spot. I had no idea. Sometimes I get so involved with whats going on in my life that I don't slow down and take time to see how people around me are doing. Do you ever do that? I'm going to try and change that. It means I have to put myself out there and try and help make someone else's life a little brighter. Making new friends is not always easy but it's worth it. This blog helps me remember goals and things that I've done or want to do quilting and otherwise.

Thanks Ruthie for encouraging me to start blogging.

Traveling and PIBS!

2008-10-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that it has been almost two months since I've blogged.

Yesterday I went to Common Threads Guild Day Camp for a few hours. Here's what I accomplished.

Another guild that I belong to Old Tippecanoe has a challenge that I'm participating in. We were to bring in a zip lock bag with our name enclosed with ten to twenty pieces of fabric four inches or larger. We gave them to Marissa and she in turn gave one back to us. We have to make a finished quilt (any size) by our Christmaed the tops party in December. The challenge was to use at least an inch of ten of the fabrics on the front of our quilt. I am so excited that I finished the top! It was indeed a challenge for me. My good friend Ruthie http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/ took pity on me and helped me come up with a plan.
She is full of wonderful, creative ideas. So if you belong to OT Guild or you want to visit you will get to see my quilt in December, first Tuesday of the month at Morton Center West Lafayette, IN .

I also finished a table runner top with embroidered lavenderwork of tea cups and saucers for my daughter, Kelsey (my son Zach's wife) for Christmas. It's ready to quilt. Purple is her favorite color. If I ever get the hang of posting pictures on here you will get to see more of my projects.

I started a jelly roll quilt for a Quilt Of Valor quilt. I'm hoping to have ready to quilt soon. It is done in red, whites, and blues from some fabric that I purchased at Rossville Quilts in Rossville, Indiana. This top is about three fourths done.

I also sewed the blocks together for a PIB (project in bag). It was from Australian Patchwork & Quilting Jan/Feb 2000 vol. 7 No.1 called "Beyond The Garden Gate". I loved appliquing the baskets. I sewed the blocks together and since I didn't have the pattern with me I stopped sewing because I couldn't remember if some small strips went in between the blocks or if it was a small inner border. I went home and found the pattern today. (it took me awhile to find it) It is a small inner border! yeah! no unsewing! It's been in a bag for at least four years. I think I bought the magazine at CT auction one year.

Tomorrow my husband and I are traveling to Birminham, AL. He is working there for two months and has been flying home on weekends (for one day) and then back again. So, his majesty, Truffles and I are going to go there for two weeks so he doesn't have to travel for a weekend. We are driving down tomorrow. We are leaving at 7:30ish .

The job will be done at the end of this month. Hopefully, a new one will be coming quickly.

I packed the important stuff last night. Five bags of projects to quilt, piece, bind, crochet, and embroider. And of course read.

Some that I want to finish are a Mini vege jar quilt from Miniature Quilts magazine September 2001, Issue No.55. I started it when I went to San Francisco to be with my grandma before she passed away. It is hand applique.

I also started a scrap snowball quilt while in San Francisco that I want to finish.

I have fabric cut for a quilt pattern by Cottonseed Glory that I purchased in Annapolis, MD last year called Wisteria Lane. I'm doing it in blues since it's for my nephew, Brent and his wife, Samantha and blue is his favorite color.

I have a bug jar quilt ready to sew into rows, pattern by Carol Hopkins. I took this class years ago at Quilters Harvest and I've finished five of them.

I also gathered fabric for for Orange Slices by My Sister and me. The pattern is adorable I only hope do it justice. I also have to buy fabric for the background. I can't believe that I don't have any suitable but I don't.

I bought the pattern and panels for patriotic quilts at Rossville Quilts so maybe I'll get them started. I plan on making three.

Today I talked to my friend Carole A. and she said "How long are you going to be gone"? You don't want to stay in the hotel and get cabin fever. Anyone that knows me knows that I always go over board with projects that I take when I go somewhere. I want to be able to choose what I want to do in the moment. I'll give an update when I get home maybe everything will be done. Right?

When Carole still lived in Lafayette I was house sitting across the street from her house in The Landings. Taking care of a cat and dog. I would gather up my stuff to go across the street for sewing days. Of course I had bags of stuff to take over to her house and she called me "The Bag Lady" because I had bags of STUFF!

I have already found where we will visit. Quilt Shops, Miniature shops, and thrift stores/flea markets/antique shops.

I have to finish packing my stuff lol! So I better get off here. Hopefully, I it won't be another two
months before you hear from me again.

Thoughtfully,
Janet

Redwork, Wool Work, and Grieving

2008-08-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing a lot of quilting or needlework lately. This week I did get out my light box and copied a redwork pattern on to fabric. One pattern was an old fashioned toddler on a rocking horse called "Baby's Morning Ride. The book is called Redwork Quilts Book 2 by Tricia Cribbs. It has some really nice patterns in it. It will be really cute when it is done.

I have a Dresden Plate pattern by Margie Towery that I also copied on to fabric. I love this pattern. The way she taught us to do it you don't have to use templates, just baste it on to the background from the back and then appliqué it on.

In my last blog I forgot to mention that my friend Becky had some really awesome wool needlework cases that she brought to OTQG last week. Now I want to get wool out and make some. She inspired me to dig into my wool. Did you know that there are wool seminars and workshops, and etc.? I didn't know! Where have I been? And how cool is that?

On to another topic:
I have been really missing my grandma (Tillie) this week. She passed away one year and 4 months ago.

I went to San Francisco, CA twice a year for a number of years to be with her. She was always my biggest fan of my life accomplishments. She rooted for me when I went back to school and graduated from IVY Tech in my 30's and when I started painting with water colors, and then when I started quilting, redwork, rug hooking, needle punch, and everything. She thought I was the best even when I made mistakes. That is why I miss her so much. We both loved reading mysteries too!

She was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2006. I went on December 27th to be with her and take care of her. (Since my mom passed away 20 years ago I became even closer to my grandma.) She passed away on March 6, 2007.

I inherited my grandma's dog, Truffles, so he helps me when I'm missing her. I returned home at the end of March 2007 by way of a road trip on a Southern route to Mesa, AZ from San Francisco and then to Indiana. Thanks for listening to my rambling.

Another Day and Another Month has passed

2008-08-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went with my good friend Ruthie (from Ruthie's Quilting), to Moe's on the Levee for dinner. We had yummy quesadillias. When Ruthie joined OTQG we decided to try and go to a new restaurant before we go to guild. So that means twice a month we can try somewhere new.
Then we go to quilt guild, Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild in West Lafayette, IN

The program tonight was given by Marty Hudlow. It was Fun & Done Quilting. If you haven't heard of this it was really fun. It is a new take on quilt as you go. I think there were enough rows done to make a quilt for the Women's Shelter that we make quilts for.

Marty showed us some patterns by Prarie Sky Quilting. They are really cool. I am so excited I thought I lost this post. I logged in today and here it is. Yea!!!!!!!

Block Of The Month

2008-07-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I finished my blocks for the Rossville Block of the Month. The July block had the pattern from Rossville Quilt Shop (Rossville, IN) and they included extra fabric to make up a block of your own. We had to use the Moda line of fabric, none out of our stash. The winner will receive 20 fat quarters or 5 yards of fabric for the completion of the quilt top for sashing, borders, or whatever. I included Redwork in my blocks. I couldn't help myself so I made two blocks. There are many talented quilters in this club, so it will be fun to see what all of the blocks look like. They will be hanging up in the shop for everyone to see.

I started making another Quilt Of Valour quilt in red, white, and blue. The blocks are the Shooting Star block from Marcia's web site Quilter's Cache. There is such a big variety of blocks and quilts to choose from to make. My friend, Ruthie is a block tester for Marcia.

On Saturday I delivered the Black and White Star quilt to be quilted. Ruthie helped me choose the backing for it. She had just purchased backing fabric from Hancock's of Paducah it was the perfect color/pattern and since my backing was a few inches to small we traded fabrics and it was ready to go. I want this quilt DONE!

Recently I purchased a hand pieced quilt top from a little flea market store called Klassy Klutter on south 4th St., lafayette, IN. It is red with white muslin with plain white alternating blocks. It is made of four patches and half square triangles. It is called the Anvil block. Of course, red and white together are one of my favorite combination.

I gave two kitchen size bags 0f scraps to my sister to deliver to her church for ladys to make charity quilts. You would never know that it is gone from my room.

Did you notice the idea for sewing cases made out of long potholder's? It is in one of the recent Fon's and Porter magazines. Ruthie brought one back /or made one from her Internet quilt group's retreat in St. Louis, MO. It's cute.

I know this is a long post, but it's been awhile since I logged on here to post anything. I have to get caught up.

Iv'e been making hexagon's to make some kind of Grandmother's Flower Garden. I enjoy making them.

Father's Day and Summer Dresses

2008-06-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I put any blogs on here. Life has got in the way. Graduation parties, going away parties, and having dinners with my sons and their wives. We even had our 13 year old grandson a weekend.

I have to admit that I haven't been doing much quilting recently. I've been trying to organize my sewing room, kitchen, and repairs around the house. I have read 8 books in the past month and I'm painting kitchen cabinets so that's probably why. Plus mh has been home all the time. I worked on a pinkwork "See, Speak, And Hear No Evil".

I gave mh a couple presents for father's day and he loved them. We then went to MCalister's for lunch. I had my favorite, Taco salad and mh had Spud Max and we shared a chocoate spoon cake delicious (like eating fudge with a spoon and of course their brewed iced tea.

We went and bought a small shed kit for our back yard, they deliver on Wednesday. The sons are coming over Saturday to build it.

We went to JoAnns to get a batting 80/20, a chaco liner, a 60mm Olfa rotary cutter and (don't tell Ruthie) a little fabric. Ha Ha! She knows first hand how much fabric I have. Have you been to threadsofmine lately? The quilts are beautiful.

My daughter, (Zach's wife) Kelsey, brought me a sundress to add black fabric to the hem to make it a couple inches longer. It is done, so hopefully it will be the right length.

I wrote a really long blog a few weeks ago and somehow I lost it in computer land.
It had taken me over an hour to write it. I just logged off in frustration.

All of the quilt tops finished in MD are pictured in the following posts.

2008-05-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

The descriptions of the following quilts are in the post Three Weeks of Bliss. At least I finally have the pictures posted on here. :)

Charity Quilts

2008-05-13T16:10:00.001-07:00

Charity Quilts

2008-05-13T16:08:00.001-07:00

Charity Quilts

2008-05-13T16:06:00.001-07:00

Apple Tree Picnic Quilt

2008-05-13T15:58:00.001-07:00

Sweet Treats by Sandy Bonsib

2008-05-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is one of the quilt tops that I finished in MD.

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today my middle son brought me a bouquet of lavender and purple flowers that we put in a vase, and a really cute card. (He loves funny cards. )

The loml and I went to the McDonalds redbox and rented some movies to watch. Since it is cold and rainy outside we are going to snuggle and watch them. We rented 27 Dresses, PS I love You, No Reservations, Dan In Real Life, and Over Her Dead Body. I guess most of them are kind of chick flicks. I got to choose since I'm the MOM :)

I had planned on taking pictures of the quilt tops that I finished in MD . I was going to hang them on the clothes line to get good pictures, but the rain stopped that plan. Maybe tommorrow.

Three Weeks Of Bliss

2008-05-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

I just returned from almost three weeks in Silver Spring, MD.
I went to a friends house (Carole's). She and I sewed up a storm. We went to a local quilt show that was at the fairgrounds, visited all of the venders. (We have to help the economy right?) We had such a nice visit. We ate good food, shopped, sewed, watched movies, worked in the flower garden, and etc. She has a lovely back yard so we watched the birds at the feeders and the squirrels. They thought it was a buffet all you can eat.LOL!
We fed the fish in the pond. Carole bought two new fish for the pond and the day she bought them we went to Friendly's for icecream. I had to take them in with us so they wouldn't die in the car from the heat. They were so well behaved we didn't hear a peep out of them. :)

Go to http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/ and see Carole's quilts that Ruthie quilted. They are gorgeous. My husband came to MD to bring me home this past Sunday so he delivered the quilts to Carole that Ruthie quilted . She was so pleased and she loved them.

If you look at the pictures above you will see the descriptions below.

I finished a quilt top from Sandy Bonsibs book "Sweet Treats". The quilt was in black and white with a pink batik sashing and a black and white border.. I'll add a picture later. This was a difficult quilt for me because of the black on whites and white on blacks that I chose. I kept getting them all mixed up. I made it for a co-worker where I used to work. She doesn't know that it's finished and ready to be quilted.

I finished an apple tree picnic quilt that has pieced ants marching around the border. I started it over 5 years ago. It is now ready to be quilted.

I have four small 32" to 40" quilt tops ready to be quilted. They are made with bright scraps sewed into strips with sashing in between. they will have flannel backing for the neonatal unit at our local hospital. Lois Collings is the person who collects the quilts and delivers them. I think she said that they collected around 400 last year. she wants to beat that with more this year.

I helped Carole make some of the little fleece/minkee blankies for newborns. Her daughter, Eileene gives them away to her friends that have new babies.

I have the blocks cut and ready to sew together for a quilt for my nephew and his wife.

I bought novelty fabrics to make quilts for my sons and daughters-in-laws. I am calling them "Big Boy/Girl I-Spys" They are in age from middle 20's to middle 30's. I have to tell you that I have had a blast finding fabrics for things that they all like. Hobbies, sports, foods they like, places they have worked, lived,vacationed, pets they own, I even found sunny side up eggs fabric because my youngest son likes to dip his toast in the yolk. The possibilities for these quilts is endless. I think that I might do snow ball blocks. What do you think? I even found a Chinese applique symbol (iron on) to put in the middle (or somewhere) on one of the quilts because he has that tatoo on his shoulder.
I'm going to stop for now it's time for bed.

We are going to have a celebration tomorrow evening for three birthdays and Mother's day. I hope that all of you mom's have a very special weekend and Mothers day.

A Heart String Quilt Finished

2008-03-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilt last Saturday. Thanks to Ruthie I quilted it on Mable the long arm it took me two hours. Ruthie shipped her two, mine and another patriotic string quilt. They will be a nice addition to some hero's coming home soon to the barracks. It is always a pleasure to be a part of a surprise.
Ruthie will be posting pictures of the quilts on heartstringquilts.com soon if she hasn't done so already.

Ruthie has been helping me refold my fabric and organize my "quilt studio". When it is all done we will post some before and after pictures. If my mess can be organized there is hope for anyone.

I have been cutting my scraps into squares and strips. Then I'll make up some kits. Getting organized has been because of Sossity's lecture at guild a few weeks ago. One thing she said really sticks in my mind. " You paid $8 to $9 a yard for the small pieces of fabric too not just the yardage". It's hard for me to throw any scraps away when I know that it will go into a land fill.

One quilt guild that I belong to makes cat pillows and donate them to the animal shelter.They send one home with each cat that is adopted. Any kind of fabric can go into the pillow including old socks or whatever. Just be sure there are no pins or needles.

I have been enjoying learning to blog and I'll be back soon.

Heartstring Quilt

2008-03-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday ( Sunday) started with a blog lesson from Ruthie. She spent an hour on the phone giving me a tutorial on how to put peoples blog names highlighted into my blogs. Whew! I did manage a couple and then it was time to get off the phone.

I finished the borders on the heartstring quilt last night. Now all I need to do is get the backing ready and take it to Ruthies to be quilted. It is supposed to be done soon to be mailed.

I finished the binding on a nursing home lap quilt last night.

I did a little redwork before I went to sleep. I actually did some deep breathing and feel asleep. So, I had no late night snacks. Yeah!

It is so lovely outside. I wonder when the next snowfall will be?

Enough of this procrastinating. LOL I'm going to go organize some more scraps.

Picture of my favorite pincushion.

2008-03-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite pincushion. It has lots of room and doesn't tip or fall over. I made it and it's covered in wool. I love making them. I find cups,mugs, little dishes, boxes, and what ever I think is cute. I have a new pincushion pattern that I haven't tried yet.

What fun seeing other people's pincushions. Carey posted a message asking people to show their most used pincushion. What a fun idea. She will have a drawing for an out of print pincushion book.

Closed Roads and blogging

2008-03-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

What do closed roads have to do with blogging you ask? Well...... Here in Indiana where I live we are having some really yucky weather.LOL My husband is stuck in Indianapolis for the night because of the roads so... I am trying to get the hang of blogging and not making a mess of it. I can do what I want without interruption that means I will sign off the computer and go sew something. My friend Ruthie spent awhile on the phone with me trying to give me blogging lessons. She was getting a kink in her neck so we had to end the lesson. I need to add the last border for the string quilt and take Truffles, His Majesty out in the snow and ice to go potty. When I learn how to put pictures in my posts you can see what he looks like.
By Janet

Working on UFO's

2008-03-04T16:01:00.000-08:00

By janetsue2Sunday I was at Ruthie's and I quilted a puppy dog flannel quilt on Mabel (long arm). It turned out so cute. My grandson is really too old for it now. Especially since he is almost a teenager. Ruthie is such a patient teacher. Thanks! Ruthie quilted a cute lap quilt for her on-line quilting retreat and she didn't even have a pattern. She is doing awesome.How many people does it take to run a long-arm? Apparently for me the answer is THREE! One to tell me quilt around the bone pattern and one to hold up the puppies ears.

I am almost done with a string quilt for a soldier coming home soon.It is through a group of on-line quilters again through Ruthie threadsof mine.
Posted by janetsue2 at 3:58 PM 0 comments
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Aunix

2008-02-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

We call him "His Highness" and the dog Truffles is known as "His Majesty" and I will find his photo later.

Quilts For a Soldier

2008-02-29T15:53:00.000-08:00

http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/2008/02/blog-mania.htmlI finished cutting strips last night. It will be scrappy in red, whites, an blues. I'm going to make a patriotic quilt for a soldier coming home soon. It will be a strip quilt in twin size. I need to get it done ASAP.
Posted on: Mon, Feb 18 2008 7:08 PM
By janetsue2
Playing TagI grew up a couple houses from a "court," you know, a little short street in the shape of a circle. All my friends lived in the "court" and we played dodgeball, softball, red rover, hide & seek, red-light-green-light and of course "Tag." All kinds of Tag. We also played candy-tag and freeze-tag.Now that I'm all grown-up, I'm playing blog-tag. I've been tagged by Ruthie and here are the rules.THE RULES:1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.2. Post THE RULES on your blog.3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.4. Tag 7 people and link to them.5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.Seven random things about me:
Permalink
Posted on: Mon, Feb 18 2008 7:03 PM
By janetsue2
My Friend, Ruthie, quiltsofmine has me started with blogs. I'm not intirely sure how it works but, I'm trying. Seven things about me that you didn't know.
1. I am a fanatic fabriholic. I absolutely love Moda.
2. We have a Sheltie/King Charles Spaniel/Pekonisge mix male dog named Truffles. I inherited him from my grandmother. He is a California dog that has been transplanted to Indiana.
3. I have been married almost 17 years to my husband.
4. I have been quilting for around 10 years
5. I belong to two quilt Guilds. Common Threads and old Tippecanoe.
6. My favorite color is red .
7. I love to wear hats. Especially baseball caps.