Susan's Stitches

I Won!

2011-10-05T13:56:00.003-04:00

I won a Sullivans Edge Ruler in Pat Sloan's blog hop! Ican't believe it, but it's true. I won on Cluck Cluck Sew's site. For all the details see Pat Sloan's Blog.

Design Wall Monday & Finished Projects

2010-09-27T15:40:00.013-04:00

I'm still working on the project called "Things That Grin in the Night" from Kim Diehl's book Simple Seasons. The little pumpkin for Mom's door for later in Octobler just needs the teeth embroidered, to be quilted, and the buttons sewed on.

I finished these 2 quilts: Blue Lagoon and Take 5.

For more design walls visit Judy's blog.

Deign Wall Monday & Finished Projects

2010-09-20T12:22:00.014-04:00

I started working on a project called "Things That Grin in the Night" from Kim Diehl's book Simple Seasons. I have the bottom of the fence unit sewn together, and everything else cut out, but that's about it.

I'm also making a little pumpkin for Mom's door for later in October. For more design walls see Judy's blog.

I finished Mom's Autumn Leaves door hanging. We'll take it to her next weekend. I also finished all 12 of my sister's placemats.

Design Wall Monday - Adding Binding

2010-09-13T13:22:00.035-04:00

I'm working on this Autumn Leaves wall hanging for Mom for her door for October.

I picked up the next three projects from my long arm quilter, so now I need to add the binding. Actually, I have already added the binding to 2 of the 12 placemats. The Blue Lagoon quilt and the Take 5 quilt are Christmas gifts! Shhh! Don't Tell!

For more Monday Design Walls see Judy's blog.

Design Wall Monday - Happy Labor Day!

2010-09-06T13:02:00.015-04:00

I finished the Black-Eyed Susans wall/door hanging that I was working on for my mom. We took it to her this weekend. She was delighted to get it. My husband is working today, (yes, on Labor Day) so we had to return home yesterday.

I put the side borders on this "We are WILD about learning!" for my sister's first grade classroom. I need to quilt it and add the borders.

For more design walls check out Judy's blog.

Design Wall Monday

2010-08-30T10:23:00.007-04:00

From those of you who check on my blog regularly, here are all my Jelly Roll Blocks. I don't always get written comments, but from those of you that I see at various quilt gatherings, I know that there are some lurkers out there.

I showed some of you the Black-Eyed Susans that I was working on at the Party on the Porch. I just have the flowers laying on the background. I just need to sew them on and quilt it! I'll be taking this wall/door hanging to Mom this next weekend.

See more design walls at Judy's blog.

Party on the Porch

2010-08-28T12:46:00.030-04:00

Sweet Home Quilt Company ("bad" Melisa) is celebrating the 5th birthday of the shop last night and today. Last night the party started on the porch at 7 p.m. with food, games, prizes, and lots of fun! At about 8 p.m. the doors of the shop opened for lots of fantastic buys!! The good buys continue today with 10% off for buying 1-5 yards and up to 50% off if you buy 25+ yards!!

There was a little discussion in the parking lot as to whether Carol and I or Sarah got there first, but it really didn't matter.

Melisa was so funny. She'd open the door, put out something like cookies, then close and lock the door. Then, she'd come back, put out the bucket of water, and close and lock the door again.

Do you see that bundle of fabric on the right side of the food table? That is a prize!! Someone who arrived late came into this room and saw me sitting on the floor filling out all these tickets. She said, "What are you doing?" I said, "If you got here early enough, and if you had enough junk in your purse, then you got all these tickets to fill out towards winning a prize." Now, let's see if I win!! The drawing is tonight!

Check out Life in the Slow Lane and Stella Bella Quilts for more photos and news on this event!

Black-Eyed Susans

2010-08-25T11:36:00.032-04:00

Can you guess what is hidden in these Black-Eyed Susans?

Actually my husband found her. I'd been snapping pics of the individual flowers all around her and hadn't even seen her until he showed her to me.

Pat is have a great give-a-way for her new book!!

2010-08-23T12:25:00.001-04:00

Pat of Silver Thimbles if having a great Give-A-Way for her New Book!!!!
Go check it out at Silver Thimble Talk!!

Design Wall Monday Inspirations III & Mom

2010-08-23T11:32:00.015-04:00

As I previous posted, my sister and I bought this Inspirations III fabric to make three of these kits. This one is for my sister. The one below is Mom's. I have mine cut out, but that's it.
To see more design walls go to Judy's post.

Mom gave us a scare, was rushed to the hospital and in ICU for several days. I finished Mom's quilt on 8/11/2010 and gave it to her quilt while she was in the hospital after she was moved into a regular room as a get well present. She was delighted!! The quilt is her birthstone color and her favorite colors. She is doing well now!

Jelly Roll Block 12

2010-08-05T12:43:00.003-04:00

I finished Jelly Roll Block 12!

Design Wall Monday

2010-08-02T19:47:00.003-04:00

I've been working on my log cabin blocks. I've finished a few of them. Now I'm chain piecing, so I have a lot of blocks half way finished.

See Judy's site for more design walls.

Jelly Roll Block 11

2010-07-25T15:16:00.003-04:00

I finished Jelly Roll Block 11!

Silver Thimbles Stitch-In

2010-07-18T19:43:00.002-04:00

Silver Thimbles Stitch-In begins tomorrow! We set up our sewing stations for the week and we're ready for fun, food, games, prizes, and, oh yes, sewing! We show off our completed projects and really have a great time!!

There is nothing on my design wall at home, because everything is packed up to go tomorrow.

Moose on the Porch Jelly Roll Block 10

2010-07-13T13:57:00.001-04:00

I finally finished Jelly Roll Block 10 today!

Work In Progress (WIP) & Design Wall

2010-07-12T16:52:00.049-04:00

I'm calling these WIPs instead of UFOs. I have over 100 UFOs. UFOs are quilts that I've started and then put away and haven't finished. I belonged to Stitch 'n Sisters and now belong to Silver Thimbles. Each month a project is chosed by our leader, Pat Wys. We can buy a kit, backing fabric, and notions for 20% off. Our leader helps us get started on the project at our monthly meeting. I have started these projects, but that's it. WIPs are projects that I'm actually working on and hope to complete soon!

This quilt is for my sister's 1st grade classroom. I call it "Bee Happy". It's from "The Birds and the Bees" by Ruth Jensen. I have the bee and Bee Happy blocks just lying on the fabric for the other squares and the outer border. The inner border fabric is the stripes.

Last year my sister and I decided that we'd do the East Tennessee Shop Hop. We picked out fabric to make 3 of these quilts called "Inspiration III" by Debbie Kratovil for Blank Quilting on our first day of the shop hop. I know that it is supposed to be for ovarian cancer, which, thank goodness, none of us have had, but all three of us love these colors. It was also our last day of the shop hop, because we found out that Mom had fallen and was laying on her bathroom floor from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day! This first quilt is for mom, who is now in assisted living. I still need to put the outside border on this one.

This is for my mom's door for August. The pattern is called "Wee Summer Day" by Sondra Davison. I have actually finished this, except I need to sew the label on the back.

The quilt below is called Blue Lagoon from "Jelly Roll Quilts" by Pam & Nicky Lintott. As you can see, I have it a little over half done. The top part (shown in the first photo) has been put together and the other part is on my DESIGN WALL. See Judy's site for more Monday design walls.

These are possible layouts for quilts that I started in 1995. I know this because these quilts are from my mother-in-law's dresses. I plan on making 4 quilts, one for each of her children. I finished the center applique blocks in 2003. Now I've started working on the log cabin blocks. Which layout do you like the best?

2010-06-28T08:34:00.002-04:00

They came and fixed our air-conditioner last Wed. Yeah!!

I'm going with my sister to take Mom to the doctor today to try to get the papers needed for a motorized wheel chair. I'm praying that all goes well! Mom is using a loaner chair from the medical supply store now.

I'll have to post pictures of how much I accomplished these past two weeks when I get home. I've already started packing up my stuff. My sister said to make myself at home while I stayed here, so I did. I had quilting stuff all over her house!

Air, TN, Quilting, and Jelly Roll Block 9

2010-06-22T18:31:00.021-04:00

Our home air-conditioner stopped working last Wed., and the inside heat was 90 degrees. I managed to load my car as if I was going to a quilt retreat and headed for TN. My husband took off from work Thur. afternoon to meet the repair person. They had to order a part for the motor, so my husband headed for TN Friday afternoon. He headed back home today to be there when the repair person came again tomorrow. He said that it was 96 degrees inside the house when he got there this afternoon.

I planned on being in TN while my sister and her husband went on a motorcycle trip to Taos, New Mexico. My brother-in-law left early in June to ride on dirt roads to get there. NOT my idea of fun!! My sister left Friday driving a car towing 2 motorcycles. Also, NOT my idea of fun! I'm house-sitting and dog-sitting for my sister, and visiting Mom at her assisted living place every day.

I'm working on several quilt projects. Below are pattern pictures of some of them.

I finished Jelly Roll Block 9 today.

Jelly Roll Block 8

2010-06-13T18:00:00.003-04:00

I finished Jelly Roll Block 8 today!

Quilting Update

2010-06-09T23:20:00.014-04:00

I made this fish quilt for my husband. He has had an aquarium ever since we've been married. We had our 40th wedding anniversary June 6.

The flowers in the watering can is a door hanging for my mother's door for June. She is in an assisted living place, now. I've been trying to make her a new door hanging for every month.

The Flag is a doorhanging for her for July.

The butterflies wall hanging is for a friend that really likes butterflies.

Jelly Roll Block 7

2010-05-26T15:37:00.001-04:00

I finished my jelly roll block 7 today.

Jelly Roll Block Winner!

2010-05-26T15:31:00.003-04:00

Yeah! I was one of the block 6 winners!!

2010-05-24T10:38:00.009-04:00

I finally finished my first 6 Jelly Roll blocks for Moose on the Porch. Block 7 was posted today, so I need to get it done, too.

When Animals Attack

2010-05-19T10:46:00.008-04:00

My son went out to go to work and found his car had been attacked!! It was parked on his carport at his home in Marietta. Notice that both front fenders around the wheels have scratches and bite marks. He said that there was also fur around it. The front bumper was dragging on the ground, so it wasn't drivable. His insurance will cover it with $500 deductible. It should be fixed by Friday.

Just For You Quilts

2010-05-18T16:26:00.018-04:00

The Gwinnett Quilters' Guild collected 333 "Just For You" quilts today to be distributed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. It was amazing to see all of them displayed on the Cannon United Methodist Church pews. I didn't think that I'd get them done in time, but I did make 8 of them.

2010-05-09T10:54:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Maggie's Birthday & Paducah Loot

2010-04-28T16:35:00.025-04:00

Today is my cocker, Maggie's Birthday. She is 11 years old. When I go outside to take pictures of my flowers, she enjoys sitting in our swing.

I had sooo much fun on our Paducah Trip! Pat and Melissa made sure that we got to see and do everything! You can read more about the details on their blogs.

This is the loot from my Paducah Trip!

The things that I bought are in the second loot photo. This is a warning for those who didn't get to go. It's hard to resist all the pretty temptations. Mine cost over $700. However, I wasn't even near the biggest spender. Some people spent thousands of $$!

The last photo shows the "free" goodies. Most of them came from Pat and Melisa. We had a goodie bag in our seat when we boarded the bus/coach. (Our driver, Johnny, said that the luxuary Mercedes was called a coach! He did a really great job taking care that we had a safe and wonderful trip!) Getting back to the goodies, Pat and Melisa gave us tickets for various things. An example would be if we spent the most money at a place, or the least money. Then, they drew the tickets for prizes on our way home. They also tried to have trivia quilting questions, but we weren't so good at those. Some of the things on the right in the photo were given out by vendors.

Returning from Paducah Trip

2010-04-26T10:09:00.003-04:00

I had a wonderful time at Paducah! It was a dream come true for me to be able to go on this trip. I don't have time to post pictures now. If you've never been, it is really amazing!!

When my husband put down our new flooring, I/We decided that I needed 1 room for sewing and 1 room to store my fabric and cutting. With 2 unorganized quilting rooms and returning from Paducah, my mind is in a whirl!

Easter and Quilts

2010-04-05T12:31:00.005-04:00

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! My son and daughter came to our house. We had a delicious Easter dinner that my husband fixed, turkey, dressing, corn, green bean casserole, and rolls. We had a bag of Twix for our son and 2 packages of Cadbury eggs for my daughter sitting out for them. I finished the Georgia Tech quilt and gave it to my daughter. She said that it was the best Easter present ever! My son said, "Then, I guess you won't be needing these." Then, he took her Cadbury eggs and put them on top of his bag of Twix! It was really great to get together with them.

I finished the May door hanging quilt for Mom's door this morning. My husband and I will probably go to TN this weekend, and I'll give it to her then. Mom fell again Friday, 4/2. It wasn't a good Friday for her. She was using her walker and an assisted living worker was by her side. She hit her left eye on the walker handle. My sister says that she has a black eye and a goose egg on the side of her face. She can't get her glasses on, so she has to go back to the wheelchair until she gets better again.

Quilty Week

2010-03-27T16:43:00.018-04:00

Last week, I was busy with quilt things every day! Monday night was Quilters In Stitches. Anita Heady showed us how to use even the smallest piece of fabric in a quilt with her "Stretch the String" technique.

Tuesday was Gwinnett Quilt Guild. Karla Singer showed us her quilts where she used the Cotton Theory by Betty Cotton, where the quilts are quilted as you go. Wednesday, I took Karla's workshop, where we worked on making placemats. The placemats were double sided. I didn't quite get finished, but you can tell how mine looked from these photos.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the days for the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop. I visited all the shops but one. I didn't go to the one in Newnan, but my daughter stopped by there on her way home from Columbus Friday afternoon. She picked up their shop hop pattern, and she said something about getting me something for my birthday while she was there. I'll have to wait until May 3 to see what she got for me.

Pets and flooring

2010-03-15T11:19:00.008-04:00

Gretchen (Stella Bella Quilts) got me in the mood to post about my pets.

My husband has been pulling up our carpet and putting down wood laminate flooring. We chose laminate because they are scratch, sunlight fade, and stain resistant. All this upsets our pets, especially our 18 year old cat, Spice. We call her Spicy. We used to have a blonde cocker called Sugar, thus Sugar and Spice. Sugar has been gone about 11 years now. Now we have Maggie, our chocolate cocker. Spice first decided the temporary empty spot in our TV/stero system would make a nice home. Then, she decided to take over Maggie's dog crate! That's O.K. with Maggie. She'll sleep anywhere.

Quilt tops ready to be quilted

2010-03-15T10:38:00.009-04:00

It took only 2 days for me to make a quilt top and backing that my nephew wants. It is a king size quilt with green camouflage on the front and black backing with black binding. Peggy will get to do most of the work by quilting it on her long arm.

I finally finished the pinwheel quilt top for my sister that I was working on in my previous blog.

I finished the quilt top for Mom's door hanging for April. I just need to quilt it and get it to her before Easter.

Squaring Up

2010-03-04T11:21:00.019-05:00

For the past few days, I've been working on squaring up 192 of these 2" squares for this Pinwheel Frolic pattern. I cut out 384 of these squares at Ellijay and sewed them together. I know there is a more efficient way to do this, but this is what the pattern said to do. This quilt is for my sister.

Below is the pattern picture, and 1 of the blocks that I finished so that you can get an idea of how it will look.

I have a little calendar with quotes from Barbara Johnson. I can really relate to this quote: "God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind, I will never die."

My latest quilts

2010-03-03T15:03:00.038-05:00

I finished 2 quilt tops and they are at Peggy's being quilted now.

This one is for my husband. He loves fish, fishing, fish for pets, etc. He has had an aquarium for years. I finished it while at Ellijay.

This one is for my daughter who is a Georgia Tech grad. She is working for a construction company building Army barracks in Fort Benning, GA. She was just promoted to Project Manager.

We took a trip to Kingsport, TN this past weekend. I hung this shamrock on Mom's door at her assisted living place.

While we were in Kingsport, we had a garage sale and completely cleaned out Mom's house. It will be available soon to be rented. We will wait until the market is better to sell it. This is one of the last sunsets that I saw from it.

This is a view of Mom's house from my sister's house.

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the extra spaces that this blogsite likes to add whenever you add a photo? Better yet, how to get it NOT to add them??

Ellijay Retreat Eye Candy

2010-03-03T13:50:00.069-05:00

Don't you just love some of the expressions on the faces! These are just some of the show & tells.

Ellijay Retreat

2010-02-24T20:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I didn't finish my countdown. Things got rather hectic the closer I got to the "D" (departure) day. For those who have never been on a quilt retreat, you have to pack most of your sewing room, including your sewing chair, rulers, cutting mats, projects, sewing machine(s) etc., etc., etc. Then you have to pack half your kitchen, snacks, drinks, meds, etc. No, we didn't have to pack all our food. Julie was our own personal chef! She had to pack ALL of her kitchen!! We had a fabulous time!! Pat did a fantastic job of organizing the whole thing. She had all kinds of goodies and prizes for us.

8 more days!

2010-02-03T11:10:00.001-05:00

Is that right? Just 8 more days until our Ellijay retreat!! I've got to get busy!

Just 9 more days!

2010-02-02T09:44:00.002-05:00

It's just 9 more days until our Ellijay retreat!

The saying for today from my Barbara Johnson calendar is: "Eat dessert first! After all, life is uncertain." When Mom goes to the dinning hall for lunch or dinner, they usually have the dessert already on the tables. While waiting for her plate of food, she eats her dessert. Now, everyone at her table is eating their dessert first!

Count down to Ellijay

2010-02-01T09:53:00.007-05:00

It's just 10 more days until I go to a quilt retreat at Ellijay, GA!! I can hardly wait!! This will be my first retreat since I retired in May 2009. To be able to go on quilt retreats whenever I want is one of the perks of retirement!

I visited my mom and sister in TN this past week. I put pockets on Mom's PJs, hemmed her pants, and made this cute heart for her door.
I worked at Mom's house trying to get it ready for a garage sale. We will have it the first pretty weekend, but not Feb. 11-14. I'll be in Ellijay then!! I also brought the last of the stuff that I wanted from Mom's house to my home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-18T10:33:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope that each of you is doing well and that you have had a good year.

My husband, daughter, and I traveled by car to Disney World in Oct. This was my birthday, Christmas, and retirement gift, from my daughter. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Whenever we came back to our room, we were eager to see what wildlife was just outside our balcony! We were able to get the Disney Dining plan free, so we tried some unusual expensive dining experiences that we normally wouldn’t have. We went to the “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” one night and met my daughter's friend and her daughter there. We had a blast!

My daughter is still working as Contractor Quality Control Manager for Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. She is currently working on a project building army barracks at Ft. Benning, GA. She is living in an apt. in Columbus, GA during the week and driving back to her condo in Sandy Springs, GA for the weekends. Her company pays for her apt. in Columbus and her travel expenses back and forth.

My son is working as Instructional Technologist at Southern Polytechnic State Univ. He manages their web site, sets up online computer classes, is over others who set up smart classrooms and do other computer related jobs. He is now living in a house that he bought several years ago.

I retired from Gwinnett Co. Schools in May. I stayed in Kingsport, TN from June 19 through Nov. 20 as primary caregiver for my mom. (Mom had many caregivers that were soooo good to her! She is really blessed to have so many friends and relatives that took care of her!) I did take a couple of breaks for doctor visits and for the Disney trip. I had a couple of fainting spells that were probably due to medications, but all that is straightened out now. My mom is now living in an assisted living home.

My husband is still working in sales at the same place, new name, Vanguard Truck Center of Atlanta. He also traveled to Kingsport this summer almost every weekend.

Best Wishes to all of you!

Christmas Shopping

2009-12-04T17:21:00.001-05:00

I've been Christmas Shopping the last 2 days. I'm ready to quit and just place orders online from now on.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T09:57:00.002-05:00

I'm thankful for a husband who does all the cooking!! I'm excited about getting to see my kids (son age 33 and daughter age 36) today!!!

Disney & Doctor Appointments

2009-10-13T20:17:00.003-04:00

Last week my daughter, husband and I went to Disney World. We had fun, fun, fun! The weather was hot! They had record breaking high temps. the whole week--97, 98, lows 87, 89, etc. One of the reasons we'd picked this time of the year was that we were hoping for cooler weather, but it was less crowded than in the summertime. We had a blast at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. They limit the number of people allowed in the Magic Kingdom for the party, so you can ride the rides with very little wait time.

I'm in GA this week to go to the dentist, dermatologist, ob-gyn, and have a mammogram and bone density scan--not fun. My sister is off from teaching on Fall Break, so she is staying with Mom in TN.

Great Give-away!

2009-09-26T10:23:00.003-04:00

Pat is have a GIVE A WAY celebrating her 150th post. So here are the " I LOVE MY BLOG" goodies. She is giving away: One Layer Cake of Moda Crazy Eights, One 4 pack of different weights of Aurfil thread, One little stitchery from Bareroots designs that says "Sewing", comes with the goodies to make the project big funThree Silver Thimble Patterns, Twinkle Twinkle, Georgia Hoe Down and How Does YOUR Garden Grow.

Family, Doctor, Quilt Stores, Mom

2009-09-24T21:49:00.003-04:00

I drove to GA this past weekend. I went to Patchwork Cottage on Sunday afternoon and got some goodies. Our family was able to get together Sunday. We met at my daughter's condo in Sandy Springs and went out for Lunch. I hadn't seen my son in since May, so it was good to see him. I treasure the times that we can all get together.

I went to my doctor on Monday, which was the reason for my trip. He straightened out my meds, so that hopefully I won't have any more fainting, depression, or migraine headaches. I had fainted again the week before.

I found a quilt store that I hadn't been to - imagine that! "Georgia Sewing & Quilting" is at Exit 4 off 985. See http://www.georgiasewingandquilting.net/. I stopped there on my way back to TN. I also stopped at "Tennessee Quilts" in Jonesboro, TN and "Somewhere Sewing" in Johnson City, TN.

Mom fell again while I was gone, but she wasn't hurt. My sister was with her and called her husband. They were able to get Mom up. That is the 3rd time that she has fallen in the past 2 weeks. She chipped her shoulder bone when she fell on Sunday, 9/13. My husband and daughter were visiting so they helped me get her up. My daughter said that when she went back to work they said, "Did you enjoy your vacation?" She said, "Do you want to hear about my grandmother falling and going to the ER, my tripping over hoses and falling at a gas station, or my Mom going crazy from being off her medications?"

Mom Fell again

2009-09-13T19:44:00.003-04:00

I missed seeing everyone at Thimbles this weekend. I'm still with my mom in TN. She fell again today, so we spent half a day at the ER. My husband and daughter came up to visit this weekend, so they were here to help get her up after she fell. She hurt the left side of her head, her left shoulder and left knee. They did X-rays and a CAT. The Dr. said for her to wear a sling for left shoulder for 48 hrs. The good news is that nothing was broken as far as they could tell.

What would you do?

2009-08-12T12:43:00.007-04:00

These blocks are supposed to be 10 1/2 " square. As you can see, they are 10 1/2 x less than 10 1/2. If you need to see them better, just click on the picture. Please give me some advice!

Mom

2009-07-20T10:26:00.002-04:00

Mom fell again last night, but she wasn't hurt. I was in the bathroom and heard her fall. I bruised my hip trying to get out of the bathroom to get to her. She was reaching to turn off a light in the living room, and got off balance. When I first came out of the bathroom, all the lights in the kitchen and the living room were off. I said, "Where are you?" When she answered, I found her. She wanted me to try to get her up, but I knew that I couldn't by myself. I gave her some pillows, and told her to make herself comfortable. We talked and laughed about her falling and my getting bruised! I called my sister. She and her husband came, and the three of us were able to get her up.

Scrap Sack & Cherry Pie

2009-07-19T21:33:00.004-04:00

I finished this Scrap Sack tonight.

I usually don't cook, but this recipe was so easy that I whipped it up in no time this afternoon.

Easy Cherry Pie
1 Ready Graham Crust - low fat
1 vanilla sugar free/fat free instant pudding
1 sugar free/fat free Cool Whip - thawed
1 can lite cherry pie filling

Mix together vanilla instant pudding (powder) and cool whip. Put mixture into pie crust and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. Top with pie filling.

It is delicious, too!

A Great Give-Away

2009-07-16T20:38:00.002-04:00

Becky is having a great give-away, so go over to her site and sign up!

Watching Wakeboarding

2009-07-12T22:25:00.034-04:00

I took these photos from my nephew's boat. He is the one on the left with the black wakeboard in the above photo. Notice that he has a brace on his left leg. That's because he injured his leg in a motorcycle accident and now has a steel rod in it. He also lost the end of his little finger on his right hand in that accident. In his last motorcycle accident, he broke both his arms. Just a few weeks ago, he had a freak accident where the tow rope wrapped around his thumb on his right hand and cut it off at the joint. He is still out of work due to that accident, but look at what he and his friend can do!

Opps, the above photo was where they crashed into each other!

They leap up into the air at one wake and splash down on the outside of the other wake.

Sometimes they do a trick while they are in the air.

Going under a bridge is fun!

The bridge in the next two photos is Interstate Hwy. 81.

Notice that my nephew is on the left in the above photo, and on the right in the photo below.

They are constantly switching sides in order to take turns jumping the wake. One rope is longer than the other one.

In the photo below, my nephew ducks down, while his friend sails over him! (Click on the photo to see it better.)

When my sister saw the photo below, she said, "I didn't know he could do that!" I said, "He can't, he fell!"

Great Give-away!

2009-07-12T22:14:00.002-04:00

Kati Cupcake is having a great give-away. She is giving away the kit for the beautiful quilt shown above. I would really like to win that kit!

Pillowcases

2009-07-12T14:38:00.002-04:00

Last week, I made these pillowcases to match the bedspread that I finished in December, 2008.

Update on Mom & Hot Air Balloon

2009-07-08T15:17:00.013-04:00

I'm still in TN living with my mom and taking care of her. My sister took Mom to the neurologist yesterday, while I did some shopping chores for Mom. Several weeks ago, Mom had an open MRI of her brain in Bristol, TN. My sister took a CD of that test with them for Dr. Wright, the neurologist. He also ordered an ultrasound of her brain, and an EEG brain wave test to be done in the office yesterday before her visit with him. After all the tests, they finally got to see the doctor. He told them that Mom's test results were pretty good. She probably didn't have a stroke but does have some memory loss and an area of the right side of her brain where she has hardening of the arteries in her brain. (He thinks that's what is causing her falls, weakness on the left side, and abnormality of gait when she walks.) The hardening of the brain arteries is irreversable, but we need to keep a close check on her high blood pressure to prevent it from getting worse. He changed her high blood pressure medicine to stabalize her blood pressure better. Dr. Wright also prescribed Cardiotek RX tablets once a day. It's a vitamin specifically for the brain. He said we could discontinue the home health physical therapy because the first 4-6 week are the most critical. Mom should continue to exercise and use her left side (like the therapist taught her) as much as possible. Mom is so happy to be free from home health and she is anxious to be able to go places again. We still need to hang on to her and be very careful so she won't fall again. Mom also got new glasses and a new cell phone yesterday. It may take her a while to adjust to all this, but hopefully we are on the right track to recovery. The eye doctor also warned us that her new lens may make her balance a little "slanted" because they had to make so many adjustments in her vision. Mom is supposed to write down her blood pressure every morning and night for one month and go back to Dr. Wright on Aug. 13. Sometime in the next day or two we need to get a life line button necklace or wrist band for mom to wear. The cell phone is just like her old one, but a newer version. After my sister set the volume level on high, Mom was able to hear without using the speaker phone in her ear. Yeah!!!

You never know what you might see on the lake here. Yesterday, a neighbor called to say that a hot air balloon was outside. I rushed to get my camera and ran outside. These are the pictures that I took.

When a balloon comes down to the lake, the basket barely touches the lake. It is called "kissing the lake."

It went back up and down between the trees. We think that it probably landed in someone's yard on the other side of the lake.

Circles

2009-07-07T09:54:00.007-04:00

I've been sewing in circles!

WalMart discontinued their circle stool covers, at least that's what they told me here at "The WalMart." So, I made one for Mom's bathroom. I also bought new bath rugs. After Mom's fall, her light green rugs were unuseable. I won't go into details, but you get my drift.

East TN Shop Hop and My Mother

2009-07-06T23:56:00.010-04:00

I've spent the last 2 weeks with my mother. My mother has had several falls during the past few years. She had fallen on March 31, and crushed lumbar vetebra #3. She is home-bound and receiving treatment from that fall. I did go to Sewing Bee and Tennessee Quilts in Jonesboro, and Somewhere Sewing in Johnson City on Monday, June 22. I bought several Kaffe Fassett kits from the book Country Garden Quilts, which I already had. I bought Pastel Star Bouquet Quilt, Economy Blue Patch Quilt, Garden Rainbow Quilt, and Garden Whirlygig Quilt from Tennessee Quilts. I bought some of their $3/yd. sale fabric, too. Somewhere Sewing had a whole section of batiks for $6/yd., so I bought a yard of several of those.

My sister and I were going to do the East TN Shop Hop. We drove to Knoxville Thursday, and visited 5 shops on Friday, June 26. (I'll tell more about our shopping later.) As we were on our way back to the hotel, my sister's husband called about 7 p.m. and said that our mother had fallen in the shower about 7:30 a.m. and that they had just found her! My mother later said that she had just gotten up and washed her face. Since she couldn't wring out the wet washcloth, she had gone into the shower to hang it up so that it wouldn't drip on the floor. As she was stepping out of the shower, she fell backwards. She tried to pull herself up several times, but she was not strong enough, and would fall back and bang her head every time that she tried. She had both her knees replaced about 19 years ago, so she can't get up when she falls. She laid there all day without any food, water, or medicine. My sister's husband said that he was following the ambulance to the hospital. So, my sister and I went to the hotel to collect our things, checked out, and returned to Kingsport Friday evening. When we got to the hospital, the doctor said that her blood-work was good, and that the CT scan and X-rays didn't show any further damage to her back. The doctor said that he would let her go home on the condition that someone would stay with her, and that she should not be left alone. I told the doctor that I would be staying with her. I told my sister and mother that I would stay with her for as long as it takes for her to be able to take care of herself again. Here is a picture that I took one morning from Mom's house.

These kayaks were paddling through our mirror. Doesn't that look like fun!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T20:59:00.005-04:00

My daughter was able to be with her Daddy today. I think she is a daddy's girl, anyway. They cooked out on the grill. I talked on the phone to my husband tonight. He said that he has a restful afternoon. He also told me that our daughter had made the trip back to Columbus safely. It's always good to know that those traveling have a safe trip.

I am with my mother in TN while my sister and her husband go on a motorcycle trip. Mom has had several health problems lately. I got up and made apple cinnamon muffins this morning. Shhh! Don't tell my husband. My mother said, "You can cook!" I told her that it isn't that I can't cook. It's just that I choose NOT to cook. I'd rather be quilting. I think that I officially stopped cooking when I learned to quilt.

My sister has been checking in with me every day. She said that there were lots of artsy, crafty shops, and a quilt shop where they are staying. They had to do a fun game where they went to the different shops and got a stamp on a card at each shop. They have lots of different activities on these motorcycle trips. Usually the men go on a longer harder motorcycle ride, and the women go on a short easy ride. The women take time to shop, go to a spa, and other fun stuff.

I'm going to visit some of the East TN shops in Jonesboro and Johnson City tomorrow. When my sister returns from her motorcycle trip, the two of us are going by car to the other quilt shops in the East TN Shop Hop.

I guess I'd better go take my shower and go to bed, so that I'll feel like getting out bright and early tomorrow. A home health care person is supposed to come give mother a bath tomorrow morning at 10:30, so I hope I can leave before she gets here.

East TN Quilt Shop Hop

2009-06-20T10:00:00.011-04:00

Click on the above title for a list of the shops.

I drove from Atlanta, GA to Kingsport, TN yesterday. I am staying with my mother, but all my family and my husband's family live here in TN. My sister and I are going to the TN Quilt Shop Hop after she gets back from a motorcycle ride to VA. I stopped at Lavender Lime Quilting in Chattanooga on my way here. I bought a fabulous kit called Fabergé Quilt.

It was sooo hot whenever I stopped, that I thought that I'd melt! I was talking to my daughter last night. When I told her that it was even hot in TN, she said that I didn't know what "Hot" is. She has been working outside overseeing the building of army barracks in Fort Benning, GA. She said that it was 102 deg. with a heat index of 115! She has to work in long pants with boots and a hard hat! Of course, she has a shirt on, too.

Yesterday, my daughter and husband were traveling, too. My husband was coming back to Atlanta from a conference in Ponte Vedra, FL. My daughter was traveling from Columbus, GA to Atlanta. All of us had a safe trip! Thank God!

June Flowers

2009-06-08T21:35:00.010-04:00

Stella Bella Quilts posted some pictures of her flowers. We've had a rainy Spring, which has been great for my flowers, too. Here are some photos of some of them.

Camille's give-away

2009-05-29T14:16:00.007-04:00

I found out about Camille's give-away from
Gretchen at Stella Bella Quilts. Camille of Thimble Blossoms is giving away Simple Abundance Honey Buns! I think that she is giving away other prizes, too! Wouldn't it be wonderful to win!!

Retired

2009-05-28T09:22:00.008-04:00

I am officially a retired school teacher!

Below is a picture from the retirement dinner that Gwinnett Co. had for us yesterday.

These were taken at home afterwards:

Great Give-away from Pat

2009-05-21T20:03:00.002-04:00

Pat of Silver Thimble Talk is having a great give-away with really nice prizes! I want to win, but in order to get my name in twice, I have to share the news with you. Maybe, we could all win something!

Tag, I'm it.

2009-02-10T16:57:00.016-05:00

Tag, I'm it.
My friend and fellow blogger Brenda tagged me with some questions. What are 5 addictions and 10 truthful things about yourself that you haven't blogged about.

Ok, here are my five addictions: 1. quilting 2. chocolate 3. reading 4. watching quilt shows 5. gardening

Hmmm... 10 truthful things that I haven't blogged about. 1. I agree with Brenda. I hate to be late for anything. I always try to be early for everything, even it means waiting on the other person. 2. I gave up cooking when I started quilting. 3. I love Christian gospel music. 4. I, also, tend to start way too many things at one time, like quilt projects. Some of you may remember that Pat, really fussed at me for listing my unfinished projects. Maybe I did blog about that, but it was on a different blog. Does that count? 5. I love get together with my children for Sunday dinner. We met at my daughter's and all went out for dinner this past Sunday. 6. I don't like to be in a meeting. There is an exception to that one. Quilt meetings are great! 7. I love to play Spider Solitaire. Maybe, I should have listed that above under addictions. 8. I enjoy doing water aerobics. 9. I enjoy visiting my mother and sister in TN. They live across Fort Patrick Henry Lake from each other. In the summertime, we frequently go back and forth by boat. 10. I enjoy going to Tennessee Quilts. It is a fabulous quilt store! They have 10 fat qtrs. for $10 all the time, and a huge selection of sale fabrics. They also have a large selection of batiks. O.K. Do I tag someone now?

Here are photos of Mom's house, Maggie anxiously waiting to go swimming, Maggie swimming with my sister's house in the background, and me. How many of you knew I could water ski?

Brenda's Quilting Prize

2009-02-04T16:28:00.003-05:00

My quilting friend Brenda is celebrating her birthday this month with a quilting prize that she is giving away. Isn't that a great thing to do for your birthday! Happy February Birthday Brenda!

Quilt Projects Update

2008-12-27T16:01:00.017-05:00

We had a very good Christmas visiting relatives in TN. I am really enjoying these days away from school!

These are my projects for 2008:

Fish Quilt for my cousin's baby boy, finished 01-2008

Sassy Sixteen for a friend, finished 05-2008

Blaze's Heart for my sister, finished 6-2008, given 12-25-08

College Bits & Pieces - Auburn for my brother-in-law, finished 8-2008, given 12-25-08

MHS Attendance 2, finished 8-2008

Alzheimer's Quilt for Southern Plantation Carriage House patients, finished 11-2008, given 12-2008

Alzheimer's Quilt for a friend, finished 11-2008, given 12-2008

Table Runner for my sister, finished 12-2008, given 12-25-08

Picture Play for a friend's baby girl, finished 12-2008

Baltimore Album cheater quilt for my mother, will be finished as soon as I finish sewing on the binding. I only lack one side, but it is king size.

2008-11-29T22:41:00.002-05:00

My daughter and I enjoyed shopping yesterday. No, we didn't get up in the middle of the night to be at the stores that had the 4 a.m. early bird specials. We did make it to JoAnn's before 12 p.m. to take advantage of their 20% off offer on top of their other specials.

I have been on the South Beach diet. I've lost 38 lbs. since the end of June. I have gone down 2 sizes! No wonder my pants were so baggy. I bought a couple of pairs of new pants that fit! My daughter found a pair of pants and sweater that I bought for her for Christmas. We really enjoyed the day! I'm thankful for the time that we spend together.

I'm also thankful that we didn't have any mishaps while on the road. It started raining before we left the mall for home. A car that was from Ohio stopped dead in front of us. My daughter's car slid sideways as she put on the breaks, but she stopped before hitting it, and the car behind us was able to stop, too.

Today has been a lazy day at home. My husband watched Georga Tech beat UGA! Yeah! Our daughter went to GT. I watched parts of the game, but not all of it. It was a good day for updating my quilting book list and my quilting magazine list. I have to keep track of what I have or I buy the same ones again! Have any of you done that?

I hope that each of you have a good day every day!

Portrait Illustration Maker

2008-04-12T21:58:00.003-04:00

I made my profile portrait by going to Portrait Illustration Maker. Portrait Illustration Maker is a service which provides character icons completely free of charge! Just click on the items in the left sidebar (for example: Hairstyle, Body, Mouth, Nose, Eyes, etc.) and make your choices. I think that there are more choices now than there was when I made mine. If you'd like to save the completed avatar, right-click on the icon. And, then select "Save Picture As... " from the menu. Have fun!

Quilt Projects

2008-04-11T09:53:00.005-04:00

I have been quilting since 1994. I belong to a quilting group that meets once a month. I also belong to a quilt guild. I have finished the quilt projects listed below so far. You can see pictures of some of them in my Photo Album 1, or Photo Album 2,

Here is a list of the ones that I've made and the dates finished:

Square-In-Square Quilt for my daughter, 1994
Flying Dutchman Quilt for my son, 1994
Cross & Crown Wall Hanging for my mother, 1995
Apple Wall Hanging for my classroom, 1995
Welcome Back to School Wall Hanging for my classroom, 1997
Sampler Blocks Quilt for my sister, 1998
Harvest Wall Hanging, 1998
Santa Claus is Coming Wall Hanging, 1998
Welcome Flower Box Wall Hanging for my sister, 2000
T-Shirt 1 Quilt for my daughter, 2001
All-A-FlutterWall Hanging for my mother, 2001
Jeans 1 Quilt for my daughter, 2002
Jeans 2 Quilt for my son, 2002
Jeans 3 Quilt, 2002
Friends Quilt for my mother, 2003
Dog Quilt for my sister, 2004
Mickey Twisted Bargello for my daughter, 2005
Mom's 80th Birthday Memory Quilt, 2005
Fall Placemats, 2005
T-Shirt Quilt for my son, January, 2006
Footprints Quilt for Mom, April, 2006
Butterfly Wall Hanging for a friend April, 2006
Blueberry Pie for my son, finished May, 2006, given 10/20/2006
Relay for Life, I did the machine appliqué on this quilt. It was for a quilt guild member's school, May, 2006
Block of the Month Quilt from 2005, finished July, 2006
School Wall Hanging for our principal, August, 2006
School Wall Hanging for an assistant principal, August, 2006
School Wall Hanging for an assistant principal, August, 2006
School Wall Hanging for a friend, August, 2006
Footprints Quilt for my uncle, August, 2006
Tiger Quilt for my aunt, August, 2006
Bear Quilt for my sister's classroom – September, 2006
23rd Psalm Wall Hanging for Mom, September, 2006
Square Dance Quilt for my niece, finished October, 2006, given 12/25/2006
Christmas Pineapple for my sister, finished October, 2006, given 12/25/2006
Geese in the Fields for my nephew, finished October, 2006, given 12/25/2006
Friendship Crossing Quilt for my daughter, December, 2006
Linus Project Quilt, December, 2006
Linus Project Quilt, January, 2007
Quilting Tote Bag for myself, March, 2007
Hop, Skip, & a Jump Baby Quilt for a friend, April 2007
Crossed Path, April, 2007
Linus Project Quilt, May, 2007
Toy Tools Baby Quilt for my daughter's friend, July, 2007
Linus Project Quilt, May, 2007
Wonder Wallets for a Breast Cancer Banquet, July, 2007
Darva’s Daisies (cat) wall hanging for my sister’s classroom – July, 2007
Circle Bargello, June, 2007
Welcome Banner for MHS Attendance Office, August, 2007
Two Alzheimer’s Quilts for patients at a retirement home, November, 2007
Galaxy of Stars, made for the QIS Quilt Challenge. It won 1st place! December, 2007
Patchwork Snowman – for my sister, December, 2007
Fish Quilt for a cousin's baby, January, 2008

First Blog

2008-04-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

Hi,

I finally got my password approved and am here!