#14 for May

Hiyall,

I love nine patch and snowball. Don't you?

Keep On Stitch'n On!

(mauh) Liz

Lucky #13 for May

hiyall,

Yesterday was a great day! I worked my shift, got my car inspected (nothing like waiting til the last minute), FINALLY got my lenses (only took 3 friggin weeks for them to come in) and when I got home.......I had 2 packages waiting for me! woohooooooo! Its good to be me ~

First package came from my truck driving quilting buddy, Nancy. She does long distance hauling in a semi truck and has a teeny tiny quilting studio in the cab of her truck. Plus she has a tiny Pomeranian dog named Foxy. She sent me some cute ass Bat material. Lime green background. I love it! Between Nancy and a couple of other online quilting buddies, I have a small stash of Bat fabric. I plan on making a Lap quilt to carry around in the Plum aka pt cruiser.

Second package came from Connecting Threads http://www.connectingthreads.com/ct/default.asp

I had order a bunch of their Essential threads. Its on sale til June 20th and free shipping with $50 purchase. I really like this thread. Its 50 wt and great for piecing. I even use it to machine quilt with when I want a light thread. I got 3 collections, the neutral set, pastel set and the variegated set. I love machine quilting with the variegated, it looks very subtle on the quilt from a distance, but dang pretty up close. I will be set for thread for a long time. There are several really nice things about this thread, it is the same amount thread on the spool (1200 yards) as the big spools of coats and clark you get at Joanns. The spools are compact enough that you dont need a thread stand, it will fit right on the sewing machine spooler. The thread is Eygptian cotton which means alot less lint to jam up your machine. One of the best features is the cost, I got 25 spools of thread for LESS than $50. That less that $2 a spool! I need to fill out the $50 minimum order so I also got a charm pack of the Cosmos line. CUTE!

Keep On Stitch'n On!

(mauh) Liz

#12 for May

hiyall,
I hate being a woman.........first weekend off in MONTHS and I wake up a woman. Bad enough my dog Abby is in heat, but I have to be in my mooncycle! It is hormonal hell in my house. This month is a rough cycle too. Sooooooo....my plans for a weekend of serious retail therapy will have to wait (kicking the dirt). I was so drained and tired I stayed home, did a couple of several hour naps in the fetal position with a hot water bottle. I am getting to damn old for this!

BUT! on the good side of this crap, I did get alot of sewing done. I did a batch of nine patches for julys exchange and got May's log cabin blocks done! I put the LCs in the envalopes and put them in my mailbox to be picked up tuesday. I even got a jump start on junes LCs.
I washed alot of walmart fabric I got a few weeks ago. I even started to pull pink fabrics from my stash for the next baby quilt. I may have been stuck at home for the weekend, but I was very productive!

Another good bit of news, this week has a paid holiday in it! It will be interesting to see if I get and extra day off with pay or extra pay. PLUS I dont have to be at work til 7am! I get to sleep in tomarrow, yeaaaaa me!

Yall have a great memorial day tomarrow and say a prayer for all of our military, past and present. I am a former navy brat and live in the hampton roads area. The military is a huge part of where I live. I am proud of our guys and gals and to be an AMERICAN!

Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#11 for May

hiyall,
Just when I thought I had seen EVERYTHING in my neighborhood, aka, da hood.... I was looking out the front door window yesterday and what did I see? 2 of the preteen girls walking their dogs, or should I say, strolling their puppys. They now make strollers for dogs/puppys!!! good grief!! I looked the strollers up on the net. Them things are expensive!! http://justpetstrollers.com/
Cheapest one is $74 bucks! My hood is not a upscale area, we are all working class people. Most of us have more than one job. Why would anyone give their child a custom stroller for a puppy. The puppys were cute as all get out. I hope those girls are very careful strolling their puppys. In da hood, rotties and pits are dogs of choice. The owners are very careless and sometimes let their dogs run wild. Police can only do so much with unleased dogs.
Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#10 for May

Hiyall,
One more shift.....One more shift.....and I have the weekend off! woohooo! I plan on some serious holiday therapy......RETAIL therapy! I have my coupons, Im not afraid to use them!

The red quilt was a hit with the soon to be mommy and co workers. Now I have to make one in all pinks! I went stash shopping....I dont have nearly enough pinks....me thinks I will have to make a run to the quilt shoppes. awww geee......its a tough job but SOMEONE has to do it (WEBG)! Another co worker who is also preggers wants it, she wants to hang it on the wall in the nursery (groan), I told her its a QUILT, not a wall hanging. I will make this one small since she wants to hang it.

Saturday I will shop til I drop, or til I run out of money. Wont take long (snicker-snort). Sunday I will stay home and do the typical homeowner crap. Weed whack yard, clean up the trash the hoodies have left behind, poop patrol in the back yard where abby leaves her 'gifts', yada yada yada. My day lillies are blooming a tad early this year. I will take pictures and post soon.

Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#9 for May

hiyall,

I promise, no whining today! Today I have a little tutorial on a flag pin for flag day! or any day to celebrate America. Flag Day is June 14th, yes I know, its a tad early. If you start now you will have them done in time for the 4th of July (grin)! I saw this little flag pin in a quilt magazine about a month after the 9/11 horror. The woman that created it was sending them out free to anyone who wanted one. It was to honor all Americans and the victims/suvivors of the tragedy of that day. I didn't send for one, I am crafty person who figured out to make one. I have also made these and sold them at work to raise money for a charity that we were sponsoring. The local Childrens Hospital. Super simple to make

Country Primitive Flag Pin.Its approx 1 1/2'' x 3'' finished

You will need the following supplies:

1. 
   
   One square 1 3/4" x 1 1/2" of mini star material


2. 
   
   One rectangle 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" red and white stripe material


3. 
   
   One rectangle 1 3/4" x 3 1/2" backing, I used a micro mini flag and stars


4. 
   
   one 1" bar pinback


5. 
   
   hot glue gun

* sew star block to stripe rectangle* with right sides together stitch all round rectangle leaving a small opening at the bottom.* turn inside out , press and slip stitch opening close * hot clue pinback to the back* sign and date!

Memorial Day is right around the corner, make one for the troops and show your support!

Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#8 for May

hiyall,
I am not a happy bat. Stupid guano happens in threes....have you notice that? First....the lady next door who is trying to sell her house,which I don't blame her since her hubby died in the house last fall, hired someone to weed whack the front of her house. I live in a townhouse row. The idiot who weed whacked crossed over the property line and whacked my rose bush and damaged the siding.I discovered it about a hour after he/she left. I knew they were out there, didn't pay no mind. My son gave me the rose bush for mothers day 10 years ago. It has struggled for years, but every mothers day it blooms a single rose. It did again this year as well, I meant to get a picture of it but didn't. I have no way of contacting the lady, we were neighbors for years and said our polite hellos and nothing more. I however have a plan. For those of yall who read my last blog before it got dumped and know about the saga of the front door. I will get a can of bright orange spray paint and mark the property line. then I will put up a short fence. Let the asswipe cross it.......

Second.....its been over 2 weeks since I ordered my new trifocal lenses and they are still not here. I need those lenses, my script has changed and I getting eye strained. I am tempted to call the insurance and tell them not to pay out for the lenses.

Third......I finally got help at work. After weeks of struggling by myself, the old bookkeeper is coming back. Shifts were to change.....5am to 2pm and 7am to 4pm. I was to do the 7am shift tomarrow and have next weekend off. but guess what???? the old bookkeeper had called out yet again......which means I am to do the 5am shift. which means I dont get to sleep in tomarrow and I will miss the baby shower tonight because its a 8pm and I will be in bed so I can get a good night sleep. and to top it all off.....the back up bookkeeper is going on vacation and I will have no help and lots of overtime for which I will get bitched out for having........

I am not a happy Bat......

Keep On Stitchin' On
(mauh) Liz

#7 for May

hiyall,

I got my vanity plates!!! whooohooooo! they came in fast! Son came by today to install the new lock set on the door. It amazes me how he is just like his grandpa. Very mechanical. can look at something for a few minutes and figure out how it works. He sure as hell didn't get that from ME. I mean.....I can look at a quilt block pattern and figure out how it was assembled. but that techno and mechanical stuff? can you see the confusion jet flying over my head?

Son, aka beloved monkey boy aka Daniel also gave me the micro memory card for my cell phone. He showed me how to work the music in it. He downloaded garth, reba, little texas, rascals flats and a couple of bryan adams songs. he even downloaded a redbone song! He also gave me a memory card adapter to insert the mirco card in so I can pull pictures off my cell phone to the computer. Ain't technology AMAZING? Before beloved monkey boy left the house, I gave him a pan of tuna fish casserole. He loves my tuna fish casserole. This batch has spinach and mushrooms in it. It will be gone before then morning.

Keep On Stitchin' On!

(mauh) Liz

#6b for May

hiyall,

Finished the baby RED quilt top! The camera did not do justice to the colors. Some of the reds look pink but they are diffently RED! There are about 12 different reds in this quilt. I hope mommy likes it. I did hand wash in cold water, its drying as we speak. I will do a simple stitch in a ditch quilting. blood red binding and a nice red and black swirled pattern for the back. enjoy!

Keep On Stitch'n On!

(mauh) Liz

#6 for May

hiyall,
well......my mothers day sucked. I worked 12 hours that day. The cashiers were tickle with the candy I put in their tills. my nephew text ed me happy mothers day and my son come over to install a new door lock set. unfortunately we had a horrible storm hit as soon as he got there. so he will install it another time. I raised my boy right, that memory chip he got me for my new cell phone now has a big selection of my favorite country music artists. Garth brooks, reba and some others. I like to refer to him as my tec head. he knows and understand all about puters, cell phone and all that technical stuff. I didn't touch a personal computer til we got one when he was 13. I was 38. that was almost 14 years ago. The technology had change soooooo much! Ok, back to the red baby quilt. The baby shower is this sunday, YIKES! I just have fabric cut....I did change the color scheme a little bit. It still is red, but now it various shades of red with white to tone it down. Its gonna look great! I will post pictures of it later.
Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#5 for May

hiyall,
Happy Mothers Day to all! and to me! I got a new cell phone yesterday! A Nokia 6133, its a flip phone! Its a camera! It has a FM radio and a MP player! Yeaaaaa me!http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-6133-t-mobile/4505-6454_7-32125019.html
Son has gotten me a memory card so I can store alots of pictures. He is going to show me how to download tunes it as well. One of the key features that convince me to get this phone was the larger screen. Ya know I'm getting OLD and the larger screen will help these old Bateyes (grin). I have to work on Mother day but I have a surprise planned for the cashiers. I will have some candy for them when they call for their start out tills.
I ordered vanity plates for my car earlier this week. I drive a PT Cruiser, which I love! It is the perfect empty nest Mom car. Gas mileage could be a little bit better other than it is but its a great car. the color is Plum. nooooooo.....its not purple, its Plum dammit! The Plates will say ERZE BAT. Erze is Liz in Hungarian and Bat is my Native American Totem. I have Cherokee and Chippewa ancestry.
Yall have a great Mothers Day tomarrow,
Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#4 for May

hiyall,

I am getting old. And it SUCKS kahunas! Went to the eye doctor yesterday. Bad enough I had to wear trifocals BEFORE I turned 50.....now I am getting my script change yet again in less than 2 years. Thats right people, I said it. I am wearing trifocals. Cant see coming or going or standing still!

I notice with the change of my position at work ( I went from a cashier on the floor to a bookkeeper in a very small pink walled room) that I was having a little bit of a hard time seeing in my new enviroment. Also earlier this year I had a accident in the lumber yard. A cart full of wood got away from me and I ended up on my fluffy batbutt. My head hit the floor but my ponytail cushioned the blow. I was making stupid mistakes. All visual. The change isnt drastic, but a necessary one. my reading lense didnt change, the distance and intermediate lenses did. I wear cheater glasses at home and see fine. But under the bright florecent lights at work, it becomes a problem. The Dr said my eye nerves are in great condition and the unusal glucoma pressure is in check.

I will be picking up my new glasses sometime next week. Last time I had a hard time adjusting because it was a big change, this time it shouldnt be as hard since the change will be lighter. Thank goodness I have some great eye insurance at work.

I got alot of the RED baby quilt cut last night. Man, this baby will be stimulated! I am throwing in alittle bit of bright colors as well. Yellow, orange, bright blue and neon green. IM also working on my log cabin block exchange as well as my nine patch. I have a nice collection of both. I may have start putting these blocks into a top! The picture you see is one of my imfamous lunchtime minis I work on at work during my lunch hour. This is a mini that I made last year. Each block is 1 1/2 inches. the border flowers are fuse and blanket stitched. I got the pattern out of a American Quilting and Patchwork mag from a couple of years ago. All done by hand, including the binding. And yes, I am nuts! just ask my alter personalities!

Keep On Stitch'n On!

(mauh) Liz

#3 for May

hiyall,
nothing special is going on right now. I am making a baby quilt for a co-worker. I was asked by the woman who is giving the baby shower for the new mommy if I was making her a quilt. I said of course! I am known for my baby quilts and their ability to with stand baby barf and abuse. The hostess asked if I would make one in all red fabrics. All red? interesting......One of the fondest memories of the soon to be new mommy was her red blanket that her and her sibling had when they were little. New mommy wanted to continue the tradition.I will make one in all reds. Pattern will be simple, square in a square in a square. Ala bento square block. I will post pics when I am finished.
Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

#2b for MAY

yeah, yeah, yeah, I forgot to add the pictures of my new toy. Yes, those chubby fingers are attached to moi!

Keep On Stitich'n On!

(mauh) Liz

#2 for MAY

hiyall,
I had a great rare saturday off! first I went to one of two walmarts that still sell fabric in our area and bought some nice bright tone on tone fabric for baby quilts. I have used wally fabric in several quilts with no problems. I did buy some tone on tone blue once that after I washed it (always prewash wally fabric before you use it) and had delveloped some nasty streaks in it. no worries, I just flipped it over and use for a backing. worked out well!

Then I went to Joanns. I got some fabric I needed for my online 9 patch exchange, topstitching needles. I like using these needles better when I stitch in the ditch and cross hatch my baby quilts. I can use thicker thread and the machine quilting holds up much better than using the thread I usually use to piece with. The needles have a larger eye that will handle the thicker thread better. Then I treated myself to a new 28mm rotary cutter.

PRODUCT REVIEW:
Fiskers new 28mm Rotary Cutter:
apprently this product is so new its not on their website yet.
http://www.fiskarscrafts.com/tools/s_rotary-cutters-and-blades.aspx
I like this small cutter. I like the color of it, a pastel lime green with yellow and orange accents. Its very light wieght and even though its a straight handle instead of the signature grey curve with the open handle it does feel good handling it. I think it would make a good teaching tool for a young person.It doesnt have that hard orange click button the grey one has, instead it has a small yellow push button to release the blade cover. Alot easier on the wrist in my humble opinion. When I was test driving rotary cutters about 10 years ago, I had prefered the fiskars grayhandled ones. I didnt like having to 'hold' the handle in while I was cutting that the OLFA cutters made you do. Then Clover came out with their cutter, I really like that one! I have a 45mm that I use all the time. I wanted a small one for when I cut 2inch blocks and 1 1/2 inch strips. When I was in joanns I saw this 28mm and bought it. I think this will do me very well. It retails for 9.99 but of course I had a coupon! so it made it about 6 bucks. This cutter is very light wieght and would be idea for classes and retreats. It can cut 4 layers of fabric with ease. I will have to put one of my infamous bitty bat sticker on it so people will know its MINE!!! (grin)

I went to one of my favorite Quilt shoppes and discovered they were having a 20% off sale! I had to restrain myself BIGTIME. I bought only what I needed. I got some cute batik, sea blue with yellow starfish. exactly what I needed for julys nine patch exchange. I also found some civil war repros that would look great in my son's quilt. I found some great floral FQs to make purses with. I was a good dingbat today, but lordy the damage I could have done!

Last stop was Harris Teeter, my favorite place to get grab and go sushi! It is made fresh everyday on site with local sushi artist. I was in hog heaven. They are building a new Harris Teeter right the road from me! wooohooooo! til the next time,

Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz

A Post A Day in May

hiyall,
yeah yeah yeah, I know....long time no blog....but! I am taking on a challenge from one of my favorite blogs http://allsorts.typepad.com/. I will try to post every OTHER day. everyday is a tad to much for me. I work a full time job plus a part time job so I be a bit stressed at the end of the work day. So every other day maybe just right for me. I have a rare saturday off! I will be hitting one of my faaaaavorite quilt shops tomarrow as a rare treat for me. Its about 50 miles round trip and with the price of gas I can only get there once in a great while. afterwards I go to Harris Teeter, the local grocery store, and treat myself to some goooood sushi! I dont like the raw fish stuff but I do love rice and seaweed and veggie rolls. Harris Teeter has the best grab and go meals in the area. I do have a list of fabrics I will need for future block swaps. I shopped my stash first but couldnt find anything to fit the novelty fabric I need. awwww geeeee, I will just have to fabric shopping.....poor poor me (wicked evil batgrin). Please take the challenge on ' a post a day for May'.
Keep On Stitch'n On!
(mauh) Liz