50 More Facts About Me

Oh, friends, I know you've been waiting for the next installment to the Facts About Me.

Here they are!

1. Most of my adult life, I was 5'9". I am now 5'8.5". I guess I'm over the hill.
2. My first car was a red 1972 Nova. It was a gas guzzler.
3. I have had 2 speeding tickets. The first one was more than my paycheck.
4. I have been in only one car accident. Someone rear-ended me in a snowstorm.
5. I have lived in 5 different houses in my lifetime...all in the same city.
6. My daughter and I each have a mole in the very same place...not telling where!
7. My eyes are hazel...the same as my mom's name.
8. My father was an abusive alcoholic, but not going there anymore.
9. I love Diet Pepsi, but will not drink more than one per day, if at all.
10. I prefer a bath over a shower any day.
11.  My favorite band is the Rolling Stones. I have seen them in concert 3 times!
12. Cruising is a favorite vacation. We've gone on 4...so far!
13. We also like to travel by Amtrak. We've gone on 4 train trips too...so far!
14. I love coffee, but limit myself to no more than 2 per day. Hot and black.
15. I lack a sense of direction and can easily get lost anywhere. A Garmin is always in my glove box.
16. I've been a Christian all of my life and always will be. God has blessed me in many ways.
17. I have an uncanny way of telling people what's on their minds.
18. I also tend to be very empathic. Not always a good thing.
19. To fall asleep, I must have my ears covered.
20. I was engaged to another man when I met my husband.
21. I have a scar near my right eye when I was thrown from the back seat in my sister's car at the age of 4.
22. I became an aunt at the age of 6.
23. I won 1st place at a local Pillsbury contest and won $500.
24. I tend to be very lucky. Once in a while I'll  play the lottery.
25. My blood type is O positive. I donate blood every 56 days.
26. I get along with most people, but am easily intimidated.
27. I prefer the toilet paper to roll off from the top. I've been known to change the position of the roll in other people's houses.
28. I've always been a great speller.
29. I rarely buy anything at full price. Groceries are excluded. I love a good sale!
30. There is always a pile of books at my bedside.
31. I am NOT photogenic! Hence, there is no photo of me on the home page of this blog. Yet.
32. French Fries. I love them! This has to change!
33. Scary movies are not my thing. Neither are roller coasters.
34. I recycle everything I can. Keeping the world the best we can for others is important to me.
35. I broke both bones in my left wrist in 2007. I wore an external fixator for 5 weeks and had 5 months of PT following. I now have a 2% disability in that wrist.
36. I wore glasses at the age of 4 til 2nd grade. I was cross-eyed.
37. Now I have prescription glasses for work to help me read. At home, I wear cheaters. +1.5
38. Rainy days always get me down.
39. I am always on the lookout to help someone. It makes me happy to help.
40. I always wear a watch. It goes on my left wrist.
41. I cannot learn anything new beyond 8:00 PM. My brain is not receptive and nothing sticks.
42. I have to look at my hands to tell left from right...remember I am directionally-challenged!
43. I have never worn high heels. Nothing over 2" heels for me. I am too tall.
44. I gave birth to both of my children with NO pain killers. Totally natural. TMI?
45. I've always wanted to be a woman who loves to host dinner parties, but it's not me.
46. I collect pennies in a 5 gallon glass jug. When it's full, I take it to the bank and buy something frivolous.
47. I really don't like talking on the phone. I like person-to-person conversations.
48. I am a homebody. I can stay at home happily for days and days.
49. People who are rude, biased, close-minded, and disrespectful really bother me. I have been known to support the innocent by-stander.
50. I like making lists and usually have 3 or 4 going at once.

There you have it!

Do you see anything here that we have in common?

*Day 31 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge (I MADE IT!!!!)

The Lattice Quilt

Last month, a good friend told me her daughter is expecting a baby. Oh joy! This will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family.

Last week, my friend called again to tell me it will be a girl. She is over the moon giddy with the news! Of course, I had to ask if she had chosen colors yet and yes, she had.

So, what do I do?

What every quilter does. Start to pull fabric for a quilt!

Grandma-to-be said the colors were minty green, coral/cantaloupe and gray. I like the way today's new moms choose modern color combos. It's so fresh and well, modern!

Then, I went on the hunt for a quilt pattern. Looking through my Pinterest board, I found one I liked. After those last 2 quilts I made, I wanted something simple without a gazillion pieces of varying sizes. Nope, this had to be simple.

I found this:

The Baby Lattice Quilt from the Moda Bake Shop

In one afternoon, I had my pieces cut and laid out.

(no photo taken...oops)

Yesterday, I sewed all of the rows together.

  

    

Today, I started to sew the sashing between the rows.

I really like how this is coming together...and so quickly!

Baby's due in April,

so I will have plenty of time to fiddle with it,
but I'm really hoping to get it finished this month.
I don't need another WIP!

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal

*Day 30 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Sleuthing a Block

There's a block I found on Pinterest that's haunted me for a long time.

At least a year.

It was published in a magazine in 2012,

along with the tutorial.

I've searched for the magazine on Ebay with no luck,

so I finally pulled out some scraps and tried to dissect the block to make my own.

Here's the block as it's found on Pinterest:

I just love the look when the white right angles meet up as they sit next to another block!

I figured this would make a cool quilt using scraps.

I've got plenty of them!

As the block went into beta mode, I came up with this:

It was OK, but not the same dimensions as the Pinterest original,

so back to the cutting board I went.

I made the white strips wider and the colored strips narrower.

My next prototype came out perfect:

I felt like Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory!

I broke the code!

I'm not exactly sure what I'll do now that I've figured it out.

It will stay in the back on my mind and on my to-do list,

but it will definitely be used soon!

*Day 29 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

50 Facts About Me

As you might know, I've been blogging here for 27 consecutive days.

I took a challenge and by golly, I'm going to make it to 31 days!!

I hope I haven't bored you, but maybe inspired you or at least, made you smile.

Today, I am stuck.

I wanted to take outdoor photos of a few things, but the sun was not cooperating.

So, I am opening myself up.

I'm writing about myself.

Eventually, I will have 100 "facts", but today you will get half of them.

I am what I am.

1. I am a 55 year old woman
2. I've been married to my greatest blessing for 33 years
3. We have 2 children; ages 26 (Kristie) and 29 (Brad)
4. My kids do not like each other...at all.
5. I have lived my entire life in Dubuque, Iowa
6. I wouldn't live anywhere else!
7. My lucky number is 7
8. I was the 7th child of 8
9. I was born in the 7th month
10. I've held 4 full-time jobs over the course of my lifetime
11. 3 of them lasted 7 years each
12. My last job was teaching 7th grade
13. I am now a substitute teacher, by choice
14. I sub only in the elementary grades, by choice
15. My husband retired in September 2016, after working 38 years for John Deere as an engineer
16. I must have some form of chocolate to nibble on each day
17. I prefer dark chocolate over milk, or white (ick!)
18. I also prefer chicken over steak or seafood or pork
19. My peanut butter must be chunky
20. I have an incredible "sweet tooth"
21. I wear a size 10 shoe
22. I used to wear a size 9, but then I had kids and they grew, along with my hips.
23. We currently have a 3 year old Morkie named Sophie (cross of Maltese + Yorkie)
24. We used to have an AKC Bichon Frise named Quincy for 13 years.
25. I played the flute and piccolo in school from 4th grade through high school graduation.
26. I also sang in the choir in high school.
27. I now sing in the city's largest choir and absolutely love it!
28. I sing Soprano 1, but really should be a Soprano 2, but like to sing the melody. I squeak by.
29. In choir, I sit right next to the gal who sang in our wedding 33 years ago.
30. I am a fanatically addicted player of Words With Friends.
31. I usually beat most of my friends in the game.
32. I have absolutely no skills in sports nor do I have any interest in them. (Hard to believe, eh?)
33. I began sewing at a young age when my father gave me a sewing machine at the age of 10.
34. He gave my brothers each a mini-bike, but I got a stinkin' sewing machine. I was not happy.When the mini-bikes broke down, my sewing machine was broken in and I was sewing away very happily!
35. My mom and sisters were very talented sewists. I learned a lot from watching them.
36. I sewed a lot of my own clothes in high school.
37. I even made my first pair of jeans!
38. I sewed many of my children's clothes when they were young, but then they got too picky.
39. Everything I know about quilting and machine embroidery has been self-taught.
40. I enjoy learning through watching videos and reading blogs. Pictures help.
41. Flower gardening is also a great hobby of mine. In the summer, my hands are happy in the dirt.
42. I have 2 large flower gardens and multiple pots and baskets around the yard.
43. I have never, ever tried illegal drugs.
44. I do imbibe in an occasional adult beverage.
45. Margaritas are a favorite, but I need to be careful since tequila causes migraines for me.
46. I have a very quirky sense of humor.
47. Sometimes it's sarcastic, and sometimes it slap-stick, but it's always sharp.
48. My favorite color is purple. My classrooms in school were decorated in purple, like my sewing room is today. And my laundry room. I'm the only person who hangs out there anyway!
49. Spending time in the kitchen is another favorite past-time.
50. I prefer baking over cooking, but we can't all survive on cookies!

Stay tuned for the next 50!

Do we have anything in common?

*Day 28 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Best of 2016: My Favorite 5!

2016 was my most productive year in the sewing room.

It was fun to look back on my projects and the posts I wrote about each.

Below I'm listing my 5 favorite projects, in reverse order.

#5 Poinsettia Table Runner

The was my very first (and only) foray with the Drunkard's Path template.

I have plans to get back to that template and have some more fun!

#4 Girl on a Swing Mini

I just loved making this min quilt.

Far from perfect, it represents the little girl inside me.

#3 Scrappy Picnic Plaid Quilt

I entered a challenge on Instagram to make this quilt,

and switched up the layout to make it unique.

It was a lot of work in a short amount of time.

I even won one of the nice prize packages for it!

#2 Marie's Lap Quilt

Perhaps it was the fabric selection, or the colors, or the unique design,

or just knowing this would be going to a much-loved aunt in a nursing home

that made this quilt so special.

#1 Cross-Cut Quilt

This quilt design was also on Instagram as a Quilt-Along.

I loved every minute of making this!

There you have my favorite 5 of 2016!

It would be so cool to peek into the future to see what 2017 brings!

Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs Best of 2016 Linky Party!

*Post #27 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Nana's Hankies

My mom was known as "Nana" to my children. She passed away suddenly in November of 2009 at the age of 88. She was healthy as a horse and had just put a meatloaf in the oven of her own home when she collapsed. She loved to cook, bake, play bingo, read and watch Wheel of Fortune!

She also loved her kids...all 8 of 'em.

As I cleaned out her closet and dresser drawers in weeks following, I came across a small pile of delicate hankies. I remembered Mom using them in her younger days, probably before the softer tissues came into production.

Anyway, I had these hankies saved in a box in my sewing room, thinking I could do something with them. I came across a quilt on pinterest that had been made using hankies. Of course, I didn't have enough of them to make a whole quilt, but I could use part of them to make a table runner, right? My creative juices were in gear!

So, I chose just the purple-flowered hankies for this project. Purple is my color.

I cut out the flowers in squares that I could use.

I went through my stash to gather some low-volume fabrics. I wanted these hanky flowers to be the star of the show!

Then I just improv-ed my way around the hanky pieces and sewed on and on, thinking about my sweet mom. Apparently, I thought about her too much as I sewed, because I ended up with a table runner that is now 5 feet long! Holy crap!

 

The back is pieced with some of the  low-volume fabrics.

   

I quilted large petals around each hanky piece to make it look like a large flower.

Then stipple stitched the rest.

I love the puckery goodness of it!

Above, are photos of the back where you can

see the flower stitching.

It's one of my favorite pieces!
Nana would be happy.

*Day 26 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Christmas Blessings

One of my favorite memories that I will hold in my heart from this Christmas

is the moment that my children opened their first gifts.

(inside each gift bag was the quilt I had made for them.)

Neither of them had a clue!

All of my worries were for naught.

Each loved their quilt!

Yeah!

My son did make the HUGE mistake of calling his a blanket.

I think now that I made such a stink about it,

it will become a joke.

My heart is content and it was worth every minute

I spent in front of my sewing machine.

I hope your Christmas was full of blessings!

*Day 25 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Silent Night, Holy Night

"For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on His shoulders.

He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

What Inspires You?

I've always wished I was one of those people

that could come up with great ideas and projects on my own.

Instead, I almost always have to be inspired by something else or someone else's work first.

I never try to copy the original,

but give it a good ol' twist of my own.

That philosophy goes not only for sewing,

but also for lesson plans, recipes, clothing styles, hair, home décor, organization,

and every other nook and cranny of my life.

But, with that said, I do consider myself a fairly creative person!

Where do I find creative inspiration?

blogs...I read a lot of 'em.

pinterest...love it! I've got a few, OK, lots of boards full of good stuff!

magazines...I don't subscribe to any, but do flip through them in stores and will buy what I like.

Instagram is great too, for eye candy.

Project Challenges are good ways to get me fired up, too! As long as I'm given a starting point, such as a color, or shape, or theme, I can whip together a project.

youtube...such a wonderful source of ideas and tutorials!

*Day 23 o 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

"Twas the Teachers' Night Before Christmas

'Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.

The hallways were hung
With Christmas art
(Some made in November
to get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls,
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher's lounge
With "holiday shirts"
And "jingle bell jewels,"
The teachers looked festive
Enforcing the rules.

Suddenly, from down the hallway
There came such a chatter,
The principal went in
To see what was the matter.

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel,
On coffee and cookies
And treats from the Yule.

When what to their wondering
Ears do they hear,
But the ringing of school bells
- It's the children they fear!

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came,
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name;

Walk, Vincent! Walk, Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit, Jamie! Sit, Laura!
Sit, Tara and Tammy!

To your desks in the room!
To your spots in the line!
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went.
With fear of detention
Where they could be sent.

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms,
The teachers began
To use all their charms.

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears.
The children were thinking
Of Santa's reindeer!

With a toss of their hands
They put manuals aside,
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide.

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They sat back to write
Their last Christmas note.

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day -
Have a wonderful, happy and
L-O-O-O-O-O-NG HOLIDAY!!!

I am officially on Christmas Break! Yahoooo!

*Day 22 of 31 Days of Blogging