It's been awhile

I've just not felt like blogging for quite a while, and I can't really tell you why. To the left is a photo of the first two Shakespeare in the Park blocks that I did. Since then, I've done several more. I love, love, love this pattern, but I have to admit, the cutting gets a little tedious. Well, really quite tedious. And I find that I've cut fabrics into pieces for blocks they don't go into. Oh well, perhaps I'll incorporate them into borders or something. I'm planning on a queen size, but I like a VERY generous queen, so an extra border with some extra blocks in colors (well, the same colors, but for instance, stars with the snail trail fabrics and creams/whites, which I hadn't planned to use in the quilt) might look nice, or they can go on the back or something. The actual sewing on these blocks is pretty easy, and I must say the cutting directions and trimming the points before you sew makes things line up much better than mine have ever lined up before. For these first two blocks shown above, I had not read all those instructions and did not have my points snipped before sewing, and it shows. I'll take more photos of more blocks soon -- and I hope to have enough sewn to begin to show the layout of the pattern soon. What I'm doing right now is actually cutting and laying out the blocks on my cutting table, then picking them back up and pinning them together in a pile for the pieces of the block -- then I can sit down and just sew. It really does take longer to cut than it does to sew!

Some of you may know that my granddaughter has been very sick since her birth -- she has some congenital defects which will eventually require surgery. We had been on pins and needles -- her pediatricians had really put scares into us. But she saw a quadruple board certified pediatric doctor on 12/31, who says that yes, she will need surgery, but not right this minute, and although the mortality rate is high on that particular surgery, he's not even sure that's the one she's going to need or if it's really as bad as the other doctors seem to think. He'll run his own tests the end of January, and we'll go from there. Meghan hopes to be able to go back to work about then -- she had her disability extended because we were told that surgery was going to be necessary probably on January 1 -- when in fact none has happened and may not for a year. So she's staying home with the baby -- otherwise she might be accused of fraud if she went back to work, and that would not be good. She's looking forward to returning to work though.

I've made several purses and a couple of wallets to match my purses (and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the wallets -- tons of pockets and places for all my credit cards, a zippered part for $$, clear pockets for my ATM card and driver's license, a space for my checkbook -- and it matches my purses!), but I've been lazy about taking photos. I made several gifts for Christmas -- purses, Mirandas, makeup bags, shaving kits, but didn't get photos of those either before I gave them away. I've been quilting away, but for whatever reason, just not blogging or photographing, which is pretty unusual for me -- I really do try to keep a log of everything I've made (quilt or stained glass) or painted. I need to get back to it. Another thing on my agenda is to get my scraps under control. I have sorted into color groups -- basically -- now I need to get out my cutter and make some usuable strips and bricks out of them. That's once I get a bunch of other purses and quilts done. Or while I'm doing it. I spent a half hour this morning before work cutting for a purse -- I set a timer -- I think if I did some cutting every morning rather than sit on the computer, I could get a lot done.

Speaking of work, I'm calling yesterday "Black Tuesday." The law firm that I work for is pretty large (85 attorneys, 220 (approx.) employees. Yesterday, the girl next to me and 11 other people were laid off. Unprecedented. I know these are unprecedented times, but OMG. I was lucky, I was spared. Working in real estate, even in the legal field, is slow -- super slow. So for now, I will quilt with the fabrics I have, maybe buy a tiny bit here and there, start looking for "shirting" (as Bonnie Hunter says) in the thrift stores and garage sales -- reuse and repurpose. Frankly I have enough fabric to last me all year or more, even if I sew every single day. God knows I pray that this situation turns around -- and soon. I know I am lucky -- those people worked just as hard, if not harder, than me and were just as talented I'm sure. Why I was spared? I just don't know. But I do feel bad. Really bad. Really sad. Me and thousands of other people these days. I am counting my blessings, hoping for the best and trying to prepare myself for the worst.

It's been a long time

For some reason I fell out of the habit of blogging. A trip to San Diego and a sick new grandchild (she has to have surgery which, for a baby, is always major, but she should be OK). Working on Christmas gifts and generally being lazy mostly. I've been sewing but haven't got the photos on this computer (I'm at work and don't have any work to do right now).


So, Talya has a problem in her urinary tract, that will apparently require surgery. So far, two pretty bad infections, different bacteria, so they think surgery will be required to repair whatever is wrong. Talya was hospitalized for several days with the first one, and at the ER for most of the night for the second. I was lucky that she was on the antibiotics and fairly well during my visit over Thanksgiving. And man, did I ever fall in love with her!


Meghan has to return to work soon, so I'm not sure how that will work out, but hopefully they'll manage. I've told her I'll come back out to help if she needs me.


Mom's finally going to get hearing aids. My sister and I are pretty stoked about that -- it's gotten pretty old having to repeat ourselves. Mom says it's only my sister and I that she can't hear, which is possible since our voices are very similar and the impairment seems to be frequency impairment and not total hearing loss. So perhaps it is the frequency of our voices. But that must hold true for a LOT of voices, because her TV is so loud you can barely stand it.


As many of you know, I have my wonderful Yorkie, Trixye. But Trixye is illegal -- yup, no 4 legged animals permitted where I live in a 55+ condo (villa really) community. However, we just got notification that, along with 10 other amendments to the condo docs, there is a vote coming up to allow 4 legged pets. That will be wonderful for Trixye and I (if it passes). Those of you who have met Trixye know how I can have her and not be discovered -- she doesn't bark and she's piddle pad trained. We go to the dog park as often as possible, and she's happy as she can be (if a little fat). Compared to the crate she lived in for the first 5 years of her life (which probably explains why she doesn't bark), the last year and a half has been a lot of freedom for her. But it'll be better for both of us if that amendment passes and she's legal! And yes, I'll have her out for a walk the day that she's legal, and I'll simply say (if asked) that my sister was keeping her. Which my sister HAS kept her, so it's only sort of a lie. OK, it's a BIG lie, but . . . well . . . sometimes a white lie is necessary. OK, so it's wrong, but still...


I hope all of you have wonderful holidays. My sister and brother in law will be here, and we'll have dinner at their place in Clearwater near our Mom's place. I will be staying at a friend's house -- Carol kept Trixye for me while I went to San Diego, so I'll go to her house and take care of her dog and 2 cats (and Trixye) while she goes to Ohio. It's a win/win for both of us.


Diane and I have a quilt retreat coming up in February that we are very excited about. It's only in Sarasota, but it's my first one, so it's a big deal to me. I hope to do one or two more next year. I continue to take classes (I have a wallet class on Saturday) and Diane is coming to sew on Sunday. We both bought 5 yard fabric kits when we were in Jacksonville, and I've been making up my blocks. I'm hoping to get them finished so that Diane can help me lay them out. I just am not happy with what's up on my design wall. The blocks sew together quickly, so I should be able to have them all done, or nearly all done, by the time she gets there Sunday. But in the meantime -- that house has to be cleaned! Which includes getting the Christmas gifts wrapped, some to Meghan's family boxed up and mailed, and the rest out of the way so there's some room again! Right now my dining room table is covered with wrapping, gifts, etc. I hope to clean that up tonight. Although I'm back in the sewing mood . . . . nope, need to do that first!


Hope everyone is well and doing good. Have a great day (or week, if I don't get around to posting again any time soon!).


Billye

New purse

I had a great weekend! Friday night out dancing with some wonderful new friends -- so nice not to have all that pressure like the meat market, and yet be able to dance. All the guys are married, and there with their wives, and yet they dance with everyone. Plus line dancing, so I got my fill!

On Saturday I taught my friend, Lynn, how to begin piecing a novelty quilt for her daughter, Jessica. I've known Lynn since our girls were young teenagers (they are 3 weeks apart). Several weeks ago she asked me to make her a quilt for Jessica. I know all you quilters know how much time, money and effort goes into even the simplest quilt, and since she needs a hobby, I thought it would be best to teach her. Shortly after that call (or email) we went shopping and got the fabric, backing, batting and thread and went to my house and cut the "kit." Well, mostly I cut the kit because she has arthritis and her hands hurt her. But on Saturday she did the sewing and pressing, and did a great job! Slowly, but steadily. I hope she learns to like it -- it would be fun to have a quilty friend nearby as well. I got a quilt kit cut out while she sewed, so it was all good.

On Sunday I went to my friend Diane's house -- and I'm very sure I overstayed my welcome. However, I DID finish this purse. I love it, but thank goodness for Diane -- I had chosen (I thought) all the fabrics, but had missed one crucial step (cut one EACH of A and B -- I missed B somehow). Diane had the PERFECT fabric (the polka dots) and was kind enough to give me some, and to help me with the color choices -- and through some pretty confusing steps. The next one will be easier now that I see how it's done.

I did just get some bad news. Natalya is sick -- probably something wrong with her pyloric valve (the top valve going into the stomach). She's evidently been in pain and Meghan picked up on it, I think, very quickly. She is comfortable when she is propped up, but laying down she's miserable. She's being admitted to the hospital today (about 7 pm my time) and they will sedate her for an ultrasound (which is an improvement over what they thought they'd have to do, which is to put her under with a general anesthesia). Meghan says that unless they find something truly, truly bad, they are very unlikely to do any surgery. She also said that Natalya seems to be feeling a lot better today -- I hope so! Bless her heart -- she's been miserable, and Meghan has gotten little or no sleep for 3 days. She and Nick will be able to stay at the hospital, though, and Nick's folks will take care of Ricky, which is a huge blessing!

These are the times when I really, really want to be there, but it's probably best that I'm not. Meghan is handling this beautifully, and I am incredibly proud of her. I know she must be scared silly, but she's calm and rational and being very strong. I don't think I'm quite so good in a crisis like this, but then I don't think she's looking at this like a crisis, but just as a speed bump. She's such a good Mom.

That's all the news of any great importance in my world, except for stuff about my husband, but I don't write about that here. Suffice to say, he is a mess, and so is his life. I hope he can pull this out, because I can't save him nor can I fix it. An insulin dependent diabetic (with tons of other health issues) with no health insurance and no job is an ugly, ugly thing. The insurance where I work is cost prohibitive -- unless he's working, and if he is, he can get insurance through his work. I guess Medicaid will be his only solution. Too sad, so ugly, what a situation to find yourself in at his age. So although I get a lot of encouragement to get a divorce, I just can't -- not right now -- not until he gets himself straightened out. And, if I must, and only if I must, I'll have to let him live with me, because I cannot in all good conscience let him be on the street. I just can't.

Thursday morning

Another day, another dollar. Well, I hope so anyway! Quiet, quiet, almost too quiet at work today for me -- my bosses are busy but not translating into any work for me, so . . . BORED!!

I didn't get any quilting done last night other than some hand quilting on my Burger King Mystery Quilt -- another one for just me so no big rush on it. I'm doing some fairly complicated patterns on it, and just am not good enough (yet) to FMQ it. It's nice and relaxing, though, for those nights when I just can't get motivated to hit the sewing room or, like last night, when something happens earlier in the evening and I'm just flat out tired. Before my company (husband who of course needed something as usual) I did do some sorting of my crumbs. I think I'm going to trim some of those blocks on point -- they'll still be sewn as squares, but might be more interesting (although I'm finding these crumbs pretty interesting on their own once trimmed up -- and I'm surprised! I went through my stacks and was surprised at how many leaders/enders I've already done and now it'll be a question of adding to those and/or putting some of them together while I'm working on other projects. And I got Mom's purse fabric out to the cutting table (no cutting yet) and some other sorting done. All that is part of the process, right?

I've lost my darn keys. Thank goodness I have another set! I know they must be in the house somewhere since I GOT IN the house last night, but I cannot for the LIFE of me figure out where they are. And yes, I checked with Greg to see if he picked them up accidentally, but no luck. I'm sure I can find them tonight when I'm not in a blind panic about them!

Table Toppers

As the election results roll in -- and I get more and more cheerful!! -- I made these table toppers. I'm surprised I actually finished them both. No word here as to who they are for (on the off chance they should actually read this blog, which is HIGHLY unlikely), but I hope they will like them!

Yes, they are almost identical. They are a pattern from the class (club they call it) that Diane and I are taking in Palm Harbor one Tuesday night per month. It's a nice class and we enjoy it.

Glad that this election will soon be over (at least I've not heard anything about any challenges to any votes -- please God, let there not be any question as to the winner, whoever it is!). I need to go to sleep, but I want to stay up and watch results! But I'll go to bed and find out in the morning. Good night all!

Election Day afternoon

Well, my good friends, no matter the outcome, it is FINALLY over! Whew! Sure has been long and contentious. I just hope that we can now come together again as a nation, and help with the nearly insurmountable problems our country faces. No matter who is in charge, I firmly believe that each of us is going to need to step up and make some sacrifices -- and some of them are not going to be pretty. Whoever wins, they are facing challenges that are unknown in our lifetimes. Well, except for really elderly people who remember the Great Depression. But unless I am mistaken, there were not two wars being fought simultaneously with the Great Depression. That, I think, ads some additional complexity. I've been reading the "pundits" today -- both conservative and liberal. The one thing I didn't really think about until I saw Ron Paul today, is that a totally Democratic Congress and Executive branch has no checks and balances -- and that's not a good thing either. I really wish that Ron Paul had been on my ballot -- he's truly the only one that makes sense in all this nightmare. If you get a chance, and are interested, do some research on the Federal Reserve Bank -- how and why it was created, by whom, and what it's purpose is. Ron Paul was ridiculed and made to look like a fool -- by the very same people that have every reason in the world to make sure that nobody looks too closely behind the curtain. I was appalled at what I learned. Look it up for yourself -- don't (ever) take my word for it -- or anyone else's either. I think that's what has disappointed me, and many others, about this election "season" -- God that's the world's longest SEASON!! -- the lies, the scare tactics used to debase the name and reputation of two men who are, by all accounts, honorable men with the best intentions. And people just kept on sending these horrible emails, without even thinking to check to see if they were true or had any basis whatsoever in reality. I don't agree with the policies of one of our candidates, but I disagree more with the personal attacks that were slung around like so much confetti -- just hoping some of it would stick. And stick it did. So many people are throwing around words that haven't been heard since McCarthyism, and the racial attacks!


I cannot imagine one human being on the planet that could withstand the type of scrutiny we expect our Presidential hopefuls to withstand. My Mom tells about the affairs that Presidents had, well known by even the average person, back "in the day" -- the day when the press respected the private lives of people. The press has no respect for anyone's privacy any longer -- look how they hound the parents of missing children, the families of victims, and of offenders -- anyone they find newsworthy -- and the more tragic, the more outlandish, the more painful, the better. How many lives have been destroyed by publicity -- things that at one time were considered private and not a matter for public consumption by the masses -- including me?


OK, I'm off my rant -- I've kept this blog intentionally non-political, and I just fell off my own self-imposed wagon. Nonetheless, I certainly hope everyone voted, no matter how you voted. When I realize that when my mother was born women in this country DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE!!! (can you even imagine??!!), that women suffered, fought, were beaten, imprisioned and died for the right of women to vote, I couldn't imagine not voting. It's simply too important. That's why I voted by mail over 2 weeks ago. And in Florida, you want to be darn sure your vote is ACTUALLY COUNTED. Ok, off that rant too.


I will be sewing away and watching the returns. I doubt we'll know for sure until morning, if even then -- I suspect there will be some shenanigans again this year -- and recounts needed -- unless it is a landslide as most pundits are predicting. I plan to finish a couple of Christmas table runners tonight -- bind one and hopefully at least get the second constructed (and maybe bound). I doubt the intended recipients of these two gifts will be checking my blog, so I will plan to post photos.


Oh, I gave my Mom the ultra suede little fold over purse I made for her. She claimed to love it. As a result, I have gifted the remaining ultra suede to the first person who responded on my Yahoo groups -- once I get her check for postage, it'll be OUT OF MY HOUSE! Yippee!!


God bless everyone, and have a good and safe evening.

Monday afternoon

Quiet day at work -- and I'm sure all of you are tired of photos of my new granddaughter, but since it's my blog and I'm NOT tired of her yet, here are more photos!

I didn't sew a lot this weekend, but I did kit up some stuff and got a couple of Christmas presents in process - one finished (except for binding) and one nearly finished. Christmas table toppers, but I can't post photos or who they are for -- just in case they read this blog (which is doubtful, but possible!). I'm constantly surprised at the emails I get from people who have read this blog that (a) I never expected to or (b) I do not know but have come to be acquainted with as a result.

This is a "twofer" photo -- my gorgeous (usually!!!) grandson and my amazingly beautiful granddaughter. I'm glad she's not older -- he'd be scaring her to death! He scares me!! -- I'm not a big fan of Halloween, and pretty much made Meghan stay in the land of fairies and princesses and the like as a kid, but Meghan and Nick (and Ricky) are into skulls and aliens and vampires and the like -- more power to them -- they seem to still be (relatively) healthy mentally. And to think I worked so hard when she was a kid to protect her from such things! LOL.