Thanksgiving and Being Thankful

I am always thankful for snow on my days off and what could be better than decorating for the holidays on a snowy day?

This is the scene out my front door. 

 My neighbor's Blue Spruces are always stunning when it snows. Unfortunately, after the last storm CMP thought it was necessary to sacrifice the top of the front tree. Not to worry by next year you will hardly notice the harsh trimming.

This is out on my back porch, I use the bird
feeder on the right as my depth gauge. Looks
to be about 8" already - nothing for a
Nor'easter!

I have many other things to be thankful for this year as well and many of those things I take for granted everyday. Things like my daughter, for who without I would be alone and there is my home, for without I would be cold, and my job, for without I would starve. 

I have spent much of the last few years rebuilding my life after giving myself over to care for two separate family members. Through much of this rebuilding I have been less than thankful and more than a little fearful and nervous, but I have come to realize that for all the energy I spent being afraid and nervous I never made it better. I have constantly looked about for more and more work to try and catch up in this horrendous economy, I have forgone many pleasures, and many friends and family company because I had to work this shift and make that product. In the end, after all this scurrying about, I have learned a lesson I had known all along -"be happy with what you have not what you don't have!" Most importantly, Don't set yourself up to be alone, be brave invest in people not things and trying to survive financially. Because if finances fail the last thing you want to be is broke and alone.

In these times it is hard to keep the faith with the government playing its games, seemingly oblivious to our struggles and worries. But if we keep striving we will make it through even this long drawn out affair of the financial world, for we have to remember it is money that makes our political system work, but does it have to affect our home lives as well?

My new small tree, I don't think it works here by the TV, do
you?

So let us put up our holiday decorations, let the twinkle lights twinkle, and let us be happy for 

                                             "What We Have Not for What We Don't Have!"

Have a wonderfully warm and fulfilling Thanksgiving, eat, drink, be merry, and above all Keep The Faith!

Take care, Joanne

Well, The Show Is Over...and...

Here it is the first weekend in November, my home show is over, the house is somewhere near back to normal, and it is time to move again on projects that were put aside to make time and room for it. First, let's see some  pictures from the show, I have to say that it is very strange to wake up in a store and I am pretty sure the kitties were not all that impressed either.


This is what my hall looked like during the show. To tell you
the truth I kind of like the display but where would I put all
my family photos?



This is where my TV usually is, missing my shows for a
couple days was probably a good thing, besides I have
another "boobtube" downstairs if I get despirit.

This was our sign post, I wasn't sure if
my neighbor's For Sale sign distracted
people or not, but isn't Jake neat!

These are the blanks from my last post partially painted
and hanging from the rafters in my studio.

This is the painting station I worked at for the Santas, I had
forgotten how long painting projects take when you are
making multiples. I still have several to finish!

This is one of the large Santa's finished.

So now that the show is over and done with I can tell you what I learned.

 First, never blindly say "I am going to host a show at my house." when you are not completely prepared. If your life is busy now, it probably isn't going to change to much in 6 or 9 months just because you said so.
Second, never commit to a show unless you have enough product already. It is an amazing amount of work to put on a show in your house and all those things you want to get done in your house get magnified. Things like no trim on the back door become a huge stressor, that is until you realize you are a quilter and can pin up a quilt over it! Then when the huge oversized chair won't fit down the hall - you realize you will love it in the kitchen in front of the pinned up quilt and of course that neat drop leaf table you found at Goodwill is perfect for the kitchen as well. WELL THEN...you make that happen too! Even if it is two days before the show and you have no place for the old table!

Third, you won't realize that you don't have enough signage until the day of the sale. Even if you make a great scarecrow out of a 1 x 10, he will seem tiny on a busy highway with a 55mph speed limit! Don't even get me started on how many pumpkins, bales of hay, and mums you realize you may need.

Fourth, there will be damage, a spill, a tear, a bang - this is reality and in my book no big deal! Just be prepared.

Fifth, remember your first show is just a test and you will probably learn more about hosting a show than you will be busy selling product. It is a huge commitment and I am still debating whether I will do it again. If I do it will be more and bigger and longer, with more advertising and hopefully more artists.

Sixth, enjoy the process and friendship, think of it as an open house party and enjoy the folks who come in. Serve some cookies and cider and enjoy the experience and they will come and share your craft. I gave more tours of my studio and sold much less product than I had hoped, but I did reconnect with many, many quilting buddies and old friends that I hadn't seen for a long time. That was a huge reward in its self!

Seventh, I am sure there are more unrealized lessons that I learned but for now I am focusing with these. So go have yourself a little show and enjoy, put your foot in it and take a chance that "It can be done and it will be so!" There is nothing you can't do!

Enjoy and take care, Joanne

Busy, Busy but still Focused, Focused - Part 14 - I think?

Well here I am, still here plugging along getting things done. Although I haven't had much time to pieced my Focus, Focus project, I have been very busy and very focused on getting stuff done and that feels good.

Muslin stuffed forms for the sale are already for paint.

This is one project that is taking a lot of my time lately. As you know I have a home show in October and I am still feverishly working on the projects for that. It would not do to have nothing to show at the Home Show, now would it?

My sewing room is doing double duty as a craft and paint
station.

Now that the forms are made I must get them painted and finished. I also have half a dozen other projects I would like to finish, but I am thinking they may have to be for another show. Wow, time does fly!

These are the Rosettes for my daughter's room, which I have
also decided, needs to be finished!

These are the boards that go with the Rosettes.
They are all cut primed and painted, just have
to be installed now!

Not bad, huh, I have been getting many projects caught up, but time it seems is catching up with me as well.
The plan is to install the trim this afternoon and make the curtains in the next couple of days, but it is time to go back to work, pray my energy holds out.

I have also been working on fall cleaning and other odd jobs around the house, everything seems to be getting done. I still have the kitchen floor to paint and the stairs to retouch before the sale, but I think we will make it.

In the mean time....

Focus, Focus, nearly completed top.

                                          ....will have to wait, but when I get there I will have just a couple rows to add and voila - it will be done and ready to be quilted! I can't wait to put it on my bed!

So in the mean time, enjoy Fall and ...

                                                  KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

Take care, Joanne

Focus, Focus Part 13 - New books and busy work.

The last couple of weeks I have been busy reading. The culprit of my reading and new book acquisitions is mostly due to The Temecula Co. blog which has been displaying adorable doll sized quilts and the books that inspired them. Viola, I have Childhood Treasures and Small Endearments!  I have also always wanted the Barbara Brackman books, I love American History so they are a really good read for me, with the bonus quilt patterns as a prize.

These are all great books for inspiration!

I always buy the Fall issue of Country Gardens, it gives me something to ponder for next years garden. Well at least a wish list for the gardens I wish I had, if I weren't busy quilting. This one has a neat little building made of cord wood and an even neater bottle placed in the wall for the birds to nest in. Very Cool!

Fall issue of Country Gardens by Better Homes and Gardens.

Walt Whitman has a simple way with prose that
keep me grounded in what is here and now.

Walt Whitman's Songs of Myself written in 1881 seems soothing in a world moving at a dizzying pace.

The Spirit of the Quakers is an anthology of letters
written by Quakers old and new.

While this book doesn't actually teach about the religion its self, it does give the reader an insight to what it means to the writers of the letters contained within.  I enjoy their descriptions of the meetings and what the movement means to them personally. I think maybe it might be a better way to view different religions, to see it through the eyes and hearts of the practitioners. I think you really can't understand a society or its history unless you look at the various religions that are practiced and are important in shaping the people of that society.

As for Focus, Focus, I have to admit that I have been lagging. It has been a busy couple of weeks and it was my week to work a stretch, leaving little time for focused sewing. I have been busy rearranging the house for the sale in October, which it occurs to me that I should let me neighbors know is happening. Oh well, add it to the list.

My days off last week were used reclaiming a under used guest room and making it a reading room, which will also work much better to display items for the sale. Out went the twin bed and all the quilts on it and all the stuff under it, in went a small table, a tall narrow chest of drawers, and a book shelf. Out of the closet comes the small bureau and doll's house that was my mothers. All that is left is to quilt the tablecloth and deciding what to do with the books on the shelves behind the door.

It occurred to me this morning that I still have to repaint the kitchen floor and stairs, and repair the wooden scarecrow that will serve as a sign by the road. Oh and I probably should clean the carpets and finish a few bazillion projects to sell. Maybe, I will just settle in with Walt again.... hummm, I guess that won't do. Time to go and get it all done!

Have a great and happy day! I hope all in your world is as busy as mine, enjoy! Joanne

Focus, Focus Part 12 - A full day of assembling and a tale of woe comes to a happy conclusion!

Half way home!

Today was one of those days where I just let myself do what I wanted. What I wanted was to sew and sew and sew all day long and that is what I did! After more than 8 hours sewing this is what I have to show for it. All those partial seams take some time and planning, but all in all I am very happy with the end result. So check #1 today, I stayed focused.

I did spend sometime pondering my yard though and my yard is one of the things in my world that made me think I needed to (1) simplify and (2) get a grip and focus or give it up. So I gave it up, but you see I don't really see myself as a quitter. Quitting would be a bitter pill to swallow, so I gave it to Jeff to do. You see Jeff is my ever so reliable yard/plow/odd job doer! You gotta love it when you've got yourself a reliable guy like that around. I tell ya, you have to thank your luck stars even if it costs a buck or two.

Anyway, I was saying #2 - get a grip and focus or give it up, after all I am just one person and there is only so much I can do (even though there was a time I was convinced I could do it all and with a smile to boot). So this year I decide to let go and let Jeff, of course this came after much soul searching and tractor repairing. This the tale of my summer adventures with my tractor and my car and darling little mice. Basically, the driving force behind The Focus, Focus Project.

Early in the season I did well at keeping up with the Joneses, better known in my neighborhood as the Roberts, Lees, Parlins, and etc. I was getting my lawn mowed fairly regularly and achieving some rather fantastic feats in my yard. Early on I cut down the extremely over grown yews in front of my house so, my daughter and I could see out of our studio windows, I limbed up the blue spruce that was dead on one side, and I dug a 4' x 8' bed that would receive my beloved Siberian iris divisions or at least some of them. It was looking as if I might get some major catch up done this year and keep the lawn mowed to boot! Yay, Yippee!!!!

BUT THEN...

5 baby mice I found in my shed after the second and final attempt on my

tractor's wiring!

After a rainy few days, maybe even a week or more I went out to mow. I felt fantastic, because of the rain even my neighbors with the regular mowing schedules were a bit behind. I am still not behind!! Yay, Yippee!!! I pulled the tractor out of the shed and proceeded to mow with a vengeance. First the backyard, affectionately known as the ledges. Then the side yard, known as, well the side yard. Ya just gotta laugh, because just then - BANG - COUGH - CHOKE - BANG - SMOKE - LOTS AND LOTS OF SMOKE! CRAP! There is smoke every where, rolling down the street and out comes my neighbor! Obviously, concerned! Well we opening up the hood and there it was! Mouse nesting material sticking out everywhere! Fortunately, there were no mouse parts sticking out, that may have been too much for me to handle. Well, Neighbor said "It doesn't look too bad, have it cleaned out and it should be fine. Do you know someone who can do it?" "Yes" I said, more than a little shaken and perturbed. There goes any idea of keeping up, CRAP, foiled again!

Just about that time - maybe even the next day, POP, on came the engine light on my trusty, dependable, old car. Not a problem I thought to myself, it's due for an oil change anyway and my trusty, dependable mechanics will surely be able to fix that right up. And they did, after a fashion.

The problem is that the cars these days have computers that give just enough information to send you in the wrong direction. Well, Mechanic says "the plug wires and plugs are original and the car has 187,000 miles on it, sooo that is most likely it." "Fine, wonderful" I say, "Let's fix it!" So when we went in for our next oil change old dependable got a tune-up, there fixed!

Well I have decided what to do about the lawn, call Jeff, and the conversation goes something like this "Jeff can you mow my lawn until I get the tractor fixed? Oh you can, wonderful! No hurry, just when you get to it." Because at this point I am way behind and give it up for a lost cause, better luck next year. "Hey you know I fix tractors" Jeff says "Really" I say pondering the $200+ I just put into the car that week. "I'll pick it up when I come to mow and fix it right up for you." "Great" I say with just a little cringe.

Well at least the problem is fixed with the car.... Oops, not so fast, there is that engine light again. No problem (I hope), I'll call the boys and they can see what's up - maybe a faulty sensor? Slightly larger cringe, "we'll see"?  So I drop old dependable off again. Now this is about three or four weeks later and old dependable is doing just fine a little sluggish maybe but it keeps on keeping on just like the trooper is. After another full day in the shop, just a little Argh! Frustration. My very dependable mechanics let me know as gently as possible that old dependable has a weak valve and it has to be replaced. Now for those of you who know a little about cars, this can be a pricey repair, time consuming, and a  laborious bit of mechanical work and it can't be done for another week. Please don't drive it more than you have to they say! Okay, but - My job - is driving, but okay I will do what I can or can't or whatever. Can you say STRESS? I can.

Now just in case you aren't keeping up, the tractor was down and repaired and the car is on it's last leg. So, I guess I better get out there and mow before I fall behind again... CRAP, CRAP, CRAP - there is another mouse nest in the motor! Okay, now I can do this, I will just take the top off the mower and clean it out! After all it hasn't gotten all through the motor this time and caught on fire, I can do this. And do it I did! I was proud of myself, I knew I could do it and I did! However, the @#$^&*%$#@ mice had chewed the wires again......REALLY BIG, ARGH!!!! Just then I knew, I knew it was not meant to be, Me and Mowing don't get along and so when I saw Jeff I said "the mice are back and I think I will give this up" and Jeff said "don't worry about I'll fix it and mow the lawn again" I said "thanks! no hurry" with much less enthusiasm than usual and a really huge Cringe.

So to bring this tale of woe to an end, this morning Jeff dropped ofF the tractor. I went out to greet him and to ask if he wanted to make a deal, swapping the tractor for mowing and plowing, and guess what? Before I could say a word, he said "how about if I take the tractor....." I gotta tell you, that's Karma for ya! So the story has a happy ending after all , Jeff has a tractor and I don't have to deal with mowing or paying for plowing this winter.

As for old dependable, it has a bunch of new valves and is very happy for it. Whew, now the moral of the story is "if it has tires, it is going to give you trouble, but hopefully not for a long, long time!".

It doesn't look so bad when you look at the tomatoes. But...

Don't look past them! Argh, more catch up. JEFF can you?

These phlox and hydrangea are quite lovely, until
you turn the corner.

This is hiding behind my beautiful phlox and hydrangeas. I think I can
handle this one.

A little past their prime, but nice and tidy, until...

Mass hysteria right next to the tidy bit! Next year....maybe?

So after all is said and done, it is best to keep your head down and your hopes up and just keep sewing, just keep sewing....FA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA!!!

Focus, Focus, Part 11 - The piecing begins!



The piecing begins!



This is the beginning of the piecing process of Focus, Focus! The first row came off without a hitch. Then later that day, while pondering the next row, I realized the assembling directions didn't include any open seams (inset seams). I'm thinking ....something is missing in these instructions. There is no way the points on these blocks are going to touch without inset seams.

 So I finished the seams as instructed and then I unfinished the seams to install the second row. After that it was a cinch to set the 9-patch in place.



Unstitch about an inch of the seams so you can inset the next
9-patch. But wait I see another step I can speed up!



After unsewing the bottom of the seams so I can inset the next 9-patch unit, I noticed the directions had me sew on the sashing after the patch was in place. This seems like a lot of fabric wrangling, more than is strictly necessary. Sooooo.........



I added one sashing strip. Then...

 



I added the other sashing strip, and don't forget to leave an

inch or so unstitched.

 Don't forget to leave an inch or so unstitched where the two sashing pieces meet or you can just pull out a few stitches when you need to inset the next row.

 



Tada! Set the completed unit in place and viola!

Slick huh!



Focus, Focus Part 10 - I have to confess I fell off the wagon!

I have stepped away from Focus, Focus for just a moment. This last weekend was my weekend to work and what a weekend it was, after a particularly long day I just had to create. After much consideration I decided  I was too tired to tackle the more complicated assembling of the 9-patch, so I pulled out my latest Jo Morton LWC quilt and viola`! Here it is....

Lizzy's Little Quilt from Jo Morton LWC #10.

I have to admit it was nice to start and finish piecing a project in one night and I can't believe this is the only quilt that I have done from the #10 LWC, but maybe now I will be more inspired to make the others. This quilt inspired me to make another quick small quilt, so I also made a challenge quilt from Kathleen Tracy's "Small Quilt Talk" Yahoo Group.

Kathleen Tracy challenge quilt #12 from her
Small Quilt Talk Yahoo Group.

I just couldn't help myself, it was so quick and so satisfying. I do apologize (she says in jest)  and will return to Focus, Focus ASAP. 

Whew, I feel better now that I have cleared my conscience..... Oops, well there might be just one more thing.....

Hand quilting, yes hand quilting is just the thing

after a long day. hand quilting and a great old

movie.

Now I have confessed everything and fortunately it is raining today so I will not be distracted by my way out of control yard. Ahh, but that is a story for another day and another Focus project.

I hope you have a wonderful and productive day..... umm.......did I mention scrubbies?



My big basket of scrubbies.




Scrubbies, these things are super popular at craft shows!



 A friend and I make these for several craft shows and fairs that we participate in. We literally sell hundreds of the handy helpers. They are fantastic for tons of chores. I use them to scrub veggies, there is one in the shower for scrubbing elbows, knees, and feet, they work fantastically on bathtub yuck, or anywhere you need a gentle but tough scrubber. I can make a dozen of these babies in a sitting. Fantastico!

Have a wonderful and soul satisfying day!

Focus, Focus Part 9 - Economizing and reducing carbon footprints

Well here I am, post car break down, and a long work week still working on the 9 patch quilt. Yesterday, I rested a little, then hand quilted some, tidied around the house, and all that jazz. Now it is time to get back to work, but just a moment to look at the hydrangeas from the garden.

Pretty and Blue Hydrangeas from my yard.

After a season of tractor breakdowns and re breakdowns, I at least have these to show from my backyard, which is hard to see since my yard hasn't been mowed in weeks. I am afraid that I have a family of mice who have taken up residence once again in my tractor's motor. Oh well, I will just call it the meadow and as I have in the past will say it symbolizes simplicity and isn't too bad for reducing my carbon footprint either.



This is the remainder of the squares I cut for the 9-patch blocks.

I decided to pair up the leftover dark and lights to make the half and quarter blocks, some of these blocks became "make-dos" and some were matching. I thought it would fit the feel of the whole project to add a few "make-dos" to the over all project, but I also did it so I would have fewer scraps to deal with. So when I got done pairing up the lights and darks I only had a small stack of squares left. These scrap squares will find their way into some small project somewhere - pot holders, small quilts, or candle mats.

This tiny pile of scraps is all that is left after the pairing. The picture
in the background is of my Father and Mother, don't they look

wonderful? He in his uniform and she in her hat.

There won't be many small projects, the leftover pile is small indeed.

A 1/2 Block as a "make-do".

I think these "make-do" blocks will do very nicely, they satisfy my thrifty side and use the scraps up efficiently. They will add a little extra life to the quilt and make it more true to its nature - a scrap quilt held together by a common sashing fabric.

A 1/4 Block, also a "make-do".

Now I can start piecing the body of the quilt. I am deciding whether to piece it upstairs on my small machine or to move the action downstairs to my studio and the full size machine. I think the latter is the best course, because I have a large design wall there as well. 

A few blocks on the design wall in the studio. Note
the two pieces of sashing I have placed in the upper
left corner.

I couldn't resist playing just a little, however it will have to wait another day, work tomorrow. 

Focus, Focus Part 8 - Life happens, be happy about it.

The whole blocks are done!

I made a few extra, but yes they are done. I only have 24 half blocks and 4 quarter blocks left and I can start putting the top together! Yippee, I am focused and I can see myself finishing the project and not putting aside and starting another.

Then comes the piecing, it seems a bit tricky with inset seams
and such.

That was yesterday, then...Ahh, the best laid plans of mice and quilters. The last few days didn't work out quite as planned, but all in all it is all just fine. I was hoping to get right down to it on my last two days off, but alas it was not to be. The first of my two days off were spent with my daughter at the movies. We finally got to see the last Harry Potter movie, I will miss the regular installments from the Potter franchise. Now the second day off is a different story, my car was going into the shop for a quick adjustment to get it running just so, and bleewy! The small adjustment turned out to be a major pickle, a burnt valve. After a day of testing, this is what was found to be the problem. Cest la vie! These things happen, unfortunately, it took my day off with it. Poop. Well I did get some cross-stitching done and watched a bunch of Food TV and History Channel at my friends home.





This is one of the Jo's Little Women Club quilts from 2010.

Here is something else I have been working on, of course I haven't worked on it for quite awhile. I am still having trouble with thimbles and getting one that fits comfortably. I did just find one made by Clover that is made from silicone, with a metal cap that has divots like a regular model. I have high hopes for this one. I think I will try it out directly, more on this later.

Remember, someone famous said...."Life is what happens when you are busy making plans."  How true, how true! Have a great day and I hope your plans and life follow the same path or at least the more pleasant of the two.

Joanne

Focus, Focus Part 7, Memories of Martha

My cozy sewing space.

In the summer and when it is very cold in the winter I sew in the living room. This gives me the added benefit of air conditioning in the Summer and not having to heat the studio in the Winter. It also keeps me in range of the television so I can watch a movie or TV show, usually in my studio I listen to music. So sewing in the living room gives me a little variety as well. 

I love to spend a day sewing and enjoying some of my favorite shows, shows like Bones, Masterpiece theater, Boston Legal, and old repeats of Julia Child cooking shows. I don't really watch when I am sewing, it's more listening really, some how it is comforting to hear Julia explain a recipe or converse with another chef. It makes me think on my mother when  I was young my mother would have her favorite soaps on and be sewing away,  I also remember her watching Betty Feezer  and writing out Betty's full recipes in piles steno books.  My mom loved to collect recipes, she had boxes and boxes of them. I wonder what ever happened to those books and boxes? My mom had the nicest penmanship, something I am still striving to achieve, even today. So there it is another benefit to sewing upstairs in the living room, remembering Mom. Of course, she really is never far from me, she is for the most part, the voice in my head and the reason I crave sewing and creating art.



This is my mother, Martha! The frame is one of the last things she

made, which makes it all the more special.

 

I am constantly saying to myself, " Ma would have loved this" or "Ma would think I'm nuts". Yes, unfortunately, I called my mother "Ma", I tried several more genteel versions like "Mom" or " Mother" I even called her "Martha" for a time, but none of it felt right....she was just plain old "Ma" to me. In my heart though she will always be my Mom.

 

Now focus, let's get back to the quilt shall we?



A stack of 9 patches in process.

I was watching Eleanor Burns make a quilt from her book Quilt Through The Seasons, you know the one with trees and cardinals while I finished up these 9 patch bits and pieces. It's satisfying to see them pile up and up, to the iron I go.



This is my pressing area in my kitchen. The pressing surface is a

project I taught in one of my classes, we also made them at a guild

meeting.

 

These pressing surfaces are very handy, I have several in different sizes. I believe I got the idea from an old Fons and Porter, Love of Quilting magazine. It makes a wonderfully portable and stable pressing surface. If you open it up there is a cutting mat on one side and a piece of felt on the other. I think I would put sand paper on the other surface instead of felt if I were to do it again. It works out perfectly in my kitchen when I am sewing upstairs in the living room.

 

This is a pile of left over squares, I hope I can make use of them
in the half and quarter blocks.

When I originally cut my squares I was planning each block as I went. I soon tired of that and just started cutting 6 - 2 3/4" squares from my 6" strips. This made the cutting go much faster and more enjoyable, but left me with a bunch of left over squares. I did make a few make do blocks, and I am hoping to use the majority of the other left over squares to make the half and quarter blocks. What is left after that I can make half square triangles or make four patches, we shall see.



two make do blocks



I think the few make do blocks will add a bit of authenticity to the quilt and make it more interesting in the process. I have also made the blocks from Jo Morton, Judie Rothermel, and other reproduction fabrics, though I have to admit that a few more modern pieces found their way in and so far I am okay with that.









two more make do blocks

In this make do block the brown fabric is a Fig Tree Quilts print, definitely modern. Sometimes I just can't resist using a fabric, I suppose, I could just call it another more modern form of making do.

Well good bye for now, I am off to my day job. Hope to be with you again soon.