meetings and homefront

My quilt group met yesterday but for a variety of reasons just three of us were there---the two newest members and me. The weather was awful--cold, raining/drizzling and gusty winds so I can't really blame anyone for staying home. A couple of the girls are having some health problems as well.

I pinned this little wallhanging after I pieced some old batting strips together. The pattern is from Joined At The Hip, one of their yard long designs. Something a little different for me--first, it is primitive and second, appliqued. Well, the easy way ( fused with steam a seam 2, windowed where possible and machine button holed. ) I thought it was a cute pattern. I have some of this type of fabric but probably not all the top would call for and ordered one of their kits . My sunflowers are a little bit lean-ier than theirs but hey, it is supposed not supposed to look perfect, right? They would have given us a paper sheet to help with the layout if placement were critical. Anyway, my wayward sunflowers changed my cats position a bit lower to get it fit in the available space. I just made my chicken's legs longer. Buttons will be added for the eyes once it is quilted.

When I was telling Cher and Norma about my project when we were chatting the other day , Norma commented that the motifs were a bit like the three of us. Buddies, of course but Norma collects chickens, I have a cat (Pam, this works for you too) and Cher has a dog. Nice analogy, I thought.

My other project for the meeting was to start to stick down the interfacing on the t-shirt quilt sections--boring but necessary work--but I could still visit with Nancy and Linda C while I worked. Linda had to leave around lunch time and Nancy and I decided to go to Olive Garden for soup, salad and breadstick lunch. A few stops on the way home got me back about my usual time.

Linda C has been a busy, busy girl since we last saw her and had a couple of quilts to share with us. The pattern is "Just Can't Cut It" from All Washed Up. I believe it is one of three (maybe 4?) that she made using the pattern. Good way to keep a focus fabric intact.

The other quilt she shared is a sampler she made in a beginner quilt class being taught at the new quilt shop in Oxford. She said that she didn't made the drunkard's path block that was to be included and substituted another block. Well done, Linda!

Nancy was studying some of the reference books while Linda stitched a zigzag quilt from one of the recent Quilt Sampler magazines. I am looking for some help for her with left handed rotary cutting and believe I have the perfect source for her here in my home library---Rotary Magic by Nancy Johnson-Srebro since it has pictures that will help her with lining up the ruler and such.

DJ and I received word that his golfing friend will be here sometime on Friday. The weather is going to be awful and really just like what he is leaving in Illinois. I doubt that they will be able to play any golf but he is coming anyway. It also happens that he will be here on our anniversary. He may be an old friend of my husband but I sort of resent having to spend our special day with him. No special meal, no movie night, no cuddling on the love seat if Herb is plunked on it. Okay, enough acting like a spoiled brat.

I started on my house cleaning today but did a more deep cleaning than his visit really required. Baseboard cleaning with the brush and crevice tools, washed the drapes in the sewing room and so forth. Thorough cleaning in my bedroom, sewing room and living room. I'll get to the bathroom tomorrow. I even vacuumed off the thread on my 4 wall mounted thread racks and rewound all the loose hanging threads. All this led me to the opinion that--

• I am nuts. The sewing room is the lint capitol of the world and it looked like it but still, mini-vacuuming thread?
• thread is just a big dust collector and except for needing it for binding finishing why do I even have all those colors?
• there has to be a better way to store it if I had the floor or shelf space

As I was filing some quilt patterns this afternoon , I have also come to the conclusion that I need to find some other way of storing and indexing these patterns. I have about 15 notebooks of varying capacity in sheet protectors. I should have stock in the company that makes those things! I have commercially purchased patterns out of their little pouches, stuff from the net, printouts from EQ of sets that I have used, inspiration photos and articles from magazines that I have pulled out so I could toss the magazines. How do you store this stuff? By theme, designer, technique?? All of the above, LOL ? Trying to find something usually means digging through most of the notebooks till I locate what I am hunting for. Do you keep a spread sheet of location and number the books?? I am going to mull this over. Even if it means taking everything out of the notebooks (I know I have duplicates) to sort them, I need to come up with a better system. Just not till after the company is gone and before he comes back with his wife in about 10 days.
Meanwhile, Pippi just stayed parked on DJ's office chair and trying to avoid the kitty eating machine. This is her new (old) favorite spot, her love affair with my bed apparently is over. She is also trying to take any opportunity to sneak into his closet . I discourage that since I want her to get up to eat. She would stay in the closet for hours and it is harder to coax her out.
Hope all is well at your home-----