New Years Resolution

My resolution is to find my “Happy Place”.
Worry and stress out less, sew and quilt more!

What is your New Years Resolution?

A Little Luck

I have had a little luck in a bunch of bad luck!  Wooo! Hooo! 

I have won a book from Saloma at About Amish.

Go visit Saloma at About Amish and her husband David at Vintage Village Designs.   

It really helped cheer me up, after taking my poor Tucson in for a new timing chain, water pump and crank shaft sensor, today. 

We had a plumber here today, also, to try to find a water line leak.

Our last water bill was for enough water to fill a really big swimming pool - we don't have a pool! 

DH's office recently took everyone off salary and put them on per patient visit pay, that equals 1/3 of original take home.

Darn, bills are still at 100% of what they have always been.

We are both filling out applications to find him another job and find me a job.

That will cut into my sewing and quilting time!

Ok, don't want to dwell on all that, or I will start crying, again. 

Holiday Block Swap

In my previous post, I posted pictures of the blocks I made for: Face Book's Outlaw Quilters - Holiday Block Swap. I wanted a quilt, not another wall hanging, so I signed up for 2 of the 3 groups. My blocks are the pieced word blocks. I am so hooked on word blocks, if you couldn't tell in the last post!
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Group 1 Blocks

Group 2 Blocks

You can probably tell a couple of people went MIA.  I will just add a couple more word blocks, maybe one with "Trick" and the other with "Treat", or "Eeek" and "Meow". Will have to think on it a bit!

100th post

Actually it is December 4, not sure why the draft date showed up???
Nancy at Blogging Near Philadelphia had some thought filled comments a couple of days ago (now - a few weeks ago).  One of which was about deleting links to bloggers who hadn't posted for a while. I would resemble that comment!

Refresher of memory!

I noticed that I had just made my 99th post and needed to figure out a giveaway for my 100th post.  Wow time slips by and I am still trying to figure out the prize! I will figure it out and draw on New Years Eve, out with the old and on to a new and better year! I will post the prize or prizes and rules this week, promise!

My DDIL figure out we had 5 moves this year! #1. DS, DH, Devine Miss M and me, NC to FL. #2. DDIL and GS, NC to FL. #3. DH and I to our own home. #4. DS, DDIL, Devine Miss M and GS to an apt, temporarily. #5. DS, DDIL, Devine Miss M and GS to their own home.   WOW, glad that is done! Way to much moving!

I have been sewing, just not blogging. Here is the 2 sides of my SIL's quilt. She picked the fabric and pattern for top.

Triple Dutch Chain
I suggested making it reversible, after she said (complained) the wall color (robin's egg blue) looked blue next to green and green next to blue.


Chains That Bind

I picked out the pattern and fabric for the back.

She didn't have any clue what it was going to look like.

Funny thing is: she likes the back side the best!

So happy to have that one done!

I got in to a Holiday Block swap on Face Book and signed up for 2 groups.

Short story, my package got lost by USPS and finally found.

Glad to get that one done and have the blocks finally mailed to the intended owners.

Tonya and Lynne have me hooked on making letter blocks, can you tell?

A few other people have been bitten by the bug, you can see their work here.

What Have I Been Up To

Well first there were a lot of "these" packed - over a hundred!

Then loaded in to a Penske truck and driven from NC to FL.

Then "they" took up residence in a storage space for the past 3 months.

Then I spent a lot of time here, with the Devine Miss M.

Several Friday nights, I went to Cotton Patch Quilt Shop for PMS Night (Pizza, Munchies & Sewing).

And sewed a bunch of these.

And sewed a bunch more, takes a lot of 8 inch squares to cover a king size bed.

(See previous post for photo of "the bed".)

At last it became a top. Just need to decide on borders and quilt it.

The new bed is in our new home.  Now to start unpacking the hundred plus boxes.

OK, guys if it says "Sewing Room" it needs to go in first!

New Experience

I have never gone and shopped for brand new furniture. 

We aren't moving any furniture except about 4 pieces.

So the plan was to get a new bedroom set that was an actual matched set.

DH showed me one bedroom set online he liked, but I wasn't feeling it.

DDIL showed me a couple that she thought were me, hmmm, not quite - but closer.

DH, DDIL, DYS, Devine Miss M and I went to "Rooms To Go", a couple days ago.

After walking through the entire store, "Success"!

DYS and I spotted this set and both thought and said, "Wow, is that nice or what!" 

We found the rest of the gang and it was unanimous. 

And the winner is the Darlington! All the yard sale money has gone here.

After a month of yard sales and a very very long drive this is where you will find me for a good long nap!
Then I need to make a new quilt for the new bed!  Hmmm, so many patterns.

Fire Hazard

Stash Sale

Wow! The days they are a ticking away, getting closer to moving day!   My "Stash Sale" is scheduled for March 24 - 26.
I have a 2 story studio that is packed with "stuff". My son has an itemised list of what is going and how many square inches it is!  He keeps saying, I have to downsize more and more to fit in the truck we are renting.  BP is going nuts! Stomach is tied in knots, can't eat or sleep - so the blood sugar has gone nuts with the BP. Oh, well at least the BP will not be lonely, going nuts. "I hate this type of successful diet", I feel like crap!
My biggest stresser is finding a buyer for my quilting machine, so far only one nibble out of 5 or 6 quilt guilds in the area.  Everybody wants a "new Cadillac (computerized long-arm), not a used Buick (pantograph Mid-arm) ".  I would have liked the Cadillac, but didn't have $20,000 to spend; so I was happy with a Buick for a few hundred. 
Oh well back to sorting and packing!

Hmmm! I wonder which blogger might like this bundle of fabric?

Peaceful Feeling

This is "My Happy Place", one end of my son's living room.  I made spinach dip and a beef & bacon cheese ball to take over; dear son had made layered taco salad, Buffalo Chicken Strips and corn & bean salsa. 
We went over to watch the Super Bowl and forget the "Big Bad World".

I was all comfy cosy under the quilt I made my son for Christmas about three years ago.  Mentioned it sure would be nice if I had a quilt at home to snuggle up under.  "WHAT? - everybody that comes here loves your quilts Mom!" say my dear son. "Yep!" well, all my quilts run off and come live at his house.
I need to get some tops finished, probably will sell a couple that the colors don't give me that "Happy Feeling" when I look at them. Maybe I will finish my "Scrappy Bow Tie" quilt, to cuddle up under.

It has been a really rough week.
We found out, two days after the fact via Face Book, that my brother-in-law has pneumonia and has had a stroke. "Nice" way to find out!  Information has been very badly related by non-medical relatives. Hubby has been an RN in ER and CCU for the last 38 years, and we are about 12 or 13 hours away. First information sounded very very bad, prognosis still is not good. But, we are a tiny bit more optimistic that my brother-in-law, being a stubborn Dutchman, will be able to recover to some degree.

Old Friend

My old friend, where are you?

You are not on my shelf anymore!
{{snif}} Miss you! {{snif}}

Stress Stress Stress

Change Change Change, has now officially turned into Stress Stress Stress.

DS, DH and I emptied the NC storage unit, on Thursday, today DS, DDIL, DGS & I sorted it all out. I felt like I was on that show where they come in and say OK you can pick 5 dolls & 10 books to keep for "Divine Miss M". Burst into tears when my boy's Sesame Street cup went into the Goodwill box. DDIL said, OK, what would you keep it for? Well, I did use it on my desk for pencils, before the move to NC and it disappeared on me.
I had a major panic attack when we were done and everyone left. Sick to my stomach, shaking, cold, pacing and weeping. Found my last Xanax, took it and it finally kicked in about an hour later, for a hour nap.
I have a stash reduction sale scheduled for the first week end in April, to give me sorting time. We will probably have 2 yard sales before that of furniture and household misc, first week end of February & first week end of March.
I know some of my extra little sewing machines are going to have to go, but it is really looking like I will, also, have to let go of my antique quilts. That is going to hurt! Stash sale was to eliminate stuff I have had since my fabric shop closed several years ago. It looks like the stash sale will end up with all my rolls and bags of batting, to save space. Only had one email on my quilting machine so far, it is to big to fit in the new sewing space I will have in FL, it is a great starter machine to do charity and everyday quilts on.
Tomorrow we will sort some more, their realtor is having an open house, so they need to be gone.
Did I say: "I HATE MOVING"? Especially long distance moving!

Blog Addiction

47%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

OK, not to bad of shape! I guess!

If I had a New Years Resolution

The Today Show said the top 2 resolutions people listed on a poll were: lose weight and stop smoking.
I told my husband I was going with the stop smoking resolution, I would probably have better luck doing that.
Silly Boy said: "But you don't smoke". Exactly - that is why I should have better luck with it! The weight sure isn't getting lost!

Boy! I wish that was what the scales said when I step on them!