Trip to the Surgeon

 Yesterday's big adventure was the trip to Columbia to see about the cyst on my left thumb.  I was totally hoping they would just do the job and remove it while I was there (I managed to get the remaining peaches peeled and in the freezer before we left just in case), but I knew that would most likely not be the case.  If I didn't come back for another appointment, how would they be able to charge me again?  I do think I effectively conveyed my annoyance with the cyst and strong desire to be rid of it, so I was able to get on the list for surgery on Aug. 9th.  (If I hadn't seemed so particularly annoyed, it was looking like another month before getting a surgery scheduled.)

I used the time in the car and the waiting room to work on bindings.  (My time is just as valuable as anyone's, so I never worry about leaving little threads through the waiting room and office as I work on something while they make me wait.)

So here are my finishes for the day.............

This is the table topper/runner that I taught at our July guild meeting.  I was wanting to get it finished for show and tell.

And below is the skunk quilt, aka Love Stinks!

Yes there is a twinkle in the eye!  And some custom quilting on the skunks.  This is such a cute quilt.  It was the last thing I needed to finish for the state fair.

And here is the mountain of things I entered in the state fair.............

I am going to have to spend a little time tagging, folding, and packing things up.  We'll see how long that mountain stands.

Christi

Quilting Happens!

After only getting a couple of things quilted in June, I have been trying to make up for lost time in July.  My mom brought a dozen things for me to quilt early in the month and I'm happy to say that they are all finished and were delivered to her on Saturday!  (Of course, she gave me 6 more to do)  I also did a quilt for a neighbor who wants to show it in the state fair in August.  

The same neighbor talked me into entering some things (I came up with 20!), so I did and a couple of them still needed to be quilted.  I'm happy to say that I have done 4 of my own quilts as well.  

The quilting room supervisor was on hand to keep things running smoothly.

This was the first quilt I quilted.  Yeah!  Another UFO finish!  I didn't enter this one in the state fair, but I wanted to have it completed for show and tell at the August guild meeting.  The blocks on the outside were from a panel and we are having a guest presenter at the meeting who is doing a program on panel quilts, so I thought it would be a good time to have this one for show and tell.

Apparently the supervisor needed a change of scenery during the pressing of binding!

And I finished the basketball quilt!  Also know as SLAM DUNK!  I love how this one turned out.  It is going to the state fair and probably the fall quilt show.  Then it will be a graduation gift for one of my piano students.  The backing was made from fleece plaid blankets that I purchased from a sale bin at Menards after Christmas.  It is so heavy, but makes the quilt nice and soft.  And the recipient is into tools, so I love that I can tell him I shopped for part of it at Menards!

And I just got finished quilting the skunk quilt...........

I debated about adding a "twinkle" to the eyes.  I'll let you wait to see the finished quilt to see if the eyes "twinkle" or not.

I had fun working on this one.  It's entered in the state fair and I think will go to the fall quilt show.  I'm still working on the binding.  I hope to get it finished today.  I also quilted a table topper that I want to have for the August meeting, so hope to get the binding finished on it as well.  

I'm headed to Columbia today for an appointment to see about a cyst on my left thumb.  I'm really hoping they do something about it today.  However, if they do, that may slow my binding progress.  I'm planning to take the table topper with me to work on while I wait (and you know I will have to wait).  This is the first doctor's appointment where I had to pay my  copay with my card days in advance of them seeing me.  

David is going too.  We'll have lunch out and do some shopping (by shopping, I mean Sam's Club and Hy-Vee).  It's supposed to be really hot, so a day in the city will be especially fun!

Christi

 

Did I get lost?

 I know you probably thought we got lost in the fabric warehouse in Arkansas.  Sorry for the delay in posting.  We were really only gone for 2 days.  Things have just been very busy since we returned.

We arrived at the warehouse in the afternoon and spent some time looking at things.  I did a wholesale purchase of a roll of batting and some bolts of neutrals.  I was also looking at the upholstery fabric so that I could recover the cushion in the window seat which had really faded in the sunshine (it has been there over 10 years, so it was definitely time).  

Here is the first fabric a sent for David's approval............

His response, "Are those marijuana leaves?"  I took that as a NO.  After a few more photos, we finally settled on this one.  And I have to say it was on the bargain table.  The piece I purchased was less than $5 TOTAL!

We went to a fish place for supper that had been recommended by the owner of the warehouse.  He was an interesting guy.  He showed us a new fabric he was designing for quilt backs.  It was gorgeous.  He said it should be ready in 4 months.  

Our hotel wasn't the greatest, but hey, we were saving money to spend on fabric!  We went back to the warehouse the next morning and did a little more damage shopping!  This is what the back of the car looked like when we were finished.  

On the drive back, we stopped and bought watermelons from a roadside stand.  They had come from the boothill.  I can't say I was overly impressed when we cut ours, but it's ok.  I just thought it might be better.  We did learn about the annual watermelon festival that is held every year in Cave City, AR.  They are supposed to have sugar melons that are delicious.  That's on my bucket list for next year, maybe.  A trip to the fabric warehouse on the weekend of the watermelon festival!

When we got home, there was lots to unload and put away.  The first thing I did was to recover the window seat cushion.  I figured, why store the fabric, just use it.  Cici was a little perturbed by the lack of cushion while I worked on it.

But once the new covering was on and the cushion back in place, she was a happy kitty again.  The new cover sort of blends with her fur.

Someone gave us a lot of peaches while I was gone, so I have spent some time working on those.  And we picked 3 gallon of blackberries this past Sunday, so I got those in the freezer as well.  

I have also spent a lot of time quilting.  I finished up the dozen things my mom had left, did a quilt for a neighbor, and a couple of mine.  I have one on the machine I would like to finish quilting today.  I was working on getting the TBQ closet EMPTY!, but a trip to Bethany gave me another load from my mom to work on.

It's still a goal.............and EMPTY TBQ closet.  

I'll catch you up on the quilting in the next post!

Christi

A Hot Day!

 My animals all hunkered down in cool dark places to sleep through the heat yesterday.  Esme has taken over Cici's spot on the spare bed.  I put a fuzzy blanket on it to avoid cat hair on the quilt.  This always worked well for Cici as she loved the polar fleece.  Esme has become very good at rolling the blanket up so that she can lay on the quilt.  

Obviously she loves quilts and quilting.  She spends the first part of every morning channeling her inner border collie to try to herd me to the sewing room.  

And Willow spent the majority of the day "guarding" the back door.  Yes, that loud snoring would scare off any intruder.  I spent the day stepping over her and she never even opened her eyes or moved.

We started table runners at the guild meeting last night.  They were all really different.  A few people went home with completed blocks.

I can't wait to see them all in August.  It's gonna be another hot one today.  I'm trying to do laundry early and want to vacuum out the car for a road trip with my mom.  And there's sweet corn to deal with.

I probably won't blog again until next week as we are leaving early in the morning to head to Arkansas to a fabric warehouse.  

Christi

Cleaning, Cooking, and a little sewing

 

After spending the morning running errands, doing bookwork, and cooking lunch, (and then a nap), I had time to clean the sewing room.  Esme had the job of supervision while the floors were swept and Longarm Lucey had a "spa" treatment.  I started a shopping list for a trip to Marshall Dry Goods in Arkansas later this week.  I also finished the binding on the Space Cats quilt.  This will be a Christmas gift for Sarah and is another UFO checked off.

 

I quilted around the parts on the space suits and quilted stars, comets, and planets in the background.  It's not perfect, but it's finished!

As I predicted, there weren't many photo moments.  Today has some cleaning on the list, grocery shopping, and hopefully quilting.  Probably another nap as the alarm has been set for 4:30 am to allow for loading pigs for market.  And then we have a quilt guild meeting this evening.  We will be doing the table runner project that I wrote up.  Here is the photo of my table runner.

Somehow, I'm already feeling the need for a nap and I just finished breakfast.  It could be a long day.

Christi

Sweet Sweet Corn

 Well, it was an incredibly busy day yesterday with very little photographic evidence to show for it.  In the morning, I dried some more herbs.......lots of basil, cinnamon basil, and parsley.  The house smelled very basil-y???  We had a nice lunch, sent Sarah and her kitty on their way back to St. Louis, and then pounded out 11 tenderloins, breaded them, and put them in the freezer.  During all of this, David kept walking out to the sweet corn patch and bringing back predictions as to how much corn was ready.  The predictions grew each time and resulted in this.........

We had a half dozen fresh picked ears at lunch and they were delicious!  So I also reworked the freezer, to make some room and in the process counted 30 containers left from last year.  Do we really need much more?  Well, we have now doubled the amount of corn in the freezer.  (And now the house smells like a sweet corn patch!)

David pulled the stampede into a shady spot and we sat in lawn chairs and shucked and brushed off silks.  We called friends to come and take corn, and even Willow did her part by eating as much as she could (we're just not gonna talk about the poop situation in the yard).  

In the end, David drove around the neighborhood on the stampede and dropped off corn to people.  It's really fun to share and catch up with neighbors and friends, even when you're dog tired from putting up corn, and you are wearing a shirt that is stiff from corn juice splatter.  

Today started early.  It's the Weighing of the Pigs.  (this is nothing like the weighing of the wands for the triwizard tournament in Harry Potter book 4)  It means I'm preparing lunch which will include sweet corn (of course), tenderloin sandwiches (good planning yesterday!), and fried potatoes (thanks for the bucket of potatoes Mom and Dad).  And I made them some cookies.

It may be a slow day for photos again as my afternoon plan includes cleaning the sewing room floor and some longarm maintenance - oiling, blowing off lint, changing the needle, etc.  

We'll see if there is anything interesting to report tomorrow!

Christi

Weekend Wrap Up

Sarah took a week's vacation and spent the first half with us and then went to Bethany so she could do some fishing at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Obviously they had some success!  While she was gone, her kitty stayed with us.  She had some fun with Cici.

I think she really missed Sarah.  She followed my around like a puppy which is usually Esme's job.  I spent a lot of time with Longarm Lucey.  My mom had left 11 things for me to quilt and I got 6 of them done.

Then the kitty found a comfy place to hangout where she could keep track of things.

Then she discovered the pin cushion!  

I will be getting my magnet out to find all the pins.

And I quilted this quilt and finished the binding!  I think it turned out pretty well.

And my dog has been her usual goofy self.  

Sarah and her cat will be heading back to St. Louis.  I think my animals will be glad to get back to normal.  

Christi

 

The Quilting Catchup

 Well, I can honestly say that only 2 things got quilted during June............I was on the good meds, the ones that say don't operate heavy machinery, so didn't spend a lot of time with Longarm Lucey.  I did change out her leaders though.  Not a very fun or inspiring task, but am really glad I did it.

The first step was to take photos of the leaders so that we could get them back on the same way.  David was a big help with this project.

I had to sew casings in all of the new leaders for the red snappers too.  Again really glad it's done!

Looking back at the post in May, I had displayed this top which is now all quilted.

This was the Criss Cross Kisses pattern I picked up on our way to Nebraska for the track meet in February.  I really like this one.  This photo doesn't do the colors justice.

And you might remember that I was working on how to get the Reeling It In churn dash blocks to fit into some sort of border for a quilt.  Well, it's all pieced and hanging in the TBQ closet.  It even has a pieced backing.

And speaking of fish, Sarah needed another baby quilt gift for a fish inspired nursery.

This came from my batik scraps.  Each fish is different.  Sarah came up with the scrappy border.  Three fish tried to swim off the quilt, but I caught them on the back.

While I was sick, if I felt like sewing, it had to be something where I didn't have to think too much, but could just follow step by step directions.  I had pulled out this Slam Dunk kit and started working on it.  So whenever I felt like it, I sewed basketballs.

This will be a graduation gift for a piano student who is really into basketball.  I'm so thankful that I had someone to make this quilt for.  It was a lot of fun to make.  I am piecing a backing from polar fleece.  I love the sashing fabric and had a lot of it left.  Nephew Jackson has commissioned a quilt for his bed in his college apartment, so I'm using the rest of the fabric for that.

A recent trip to Hamilton reminded me of the quilts we used to make from a yard and a quarter of a striped fabric.  I found a piece of striped fabric on a sale rack and made this.  

Also saw a quilt that had been made from a layer cake using the large tumbler template, so I put this together. 

So, with a month of almost no quilting, but some piecing, the TBQ closet is once again crammed full.  Especially since my mom just brought 10 things to have quilted.  July is going to need to be a quilting month.

Christi