I think the new border kind of tones down the brown in the hour glasses, but it is still not my favorite. I did not get a chance to do the other quilt because I was busy cutting and piecing to get this one done. I have class again tomorrow and I need to cut material for that - so it is doubtful I will get the other one sewn, but it might happen.
We arrived late on Friday night and here is the family arriving at the Poppy Festival. We had a good day. Denise found the things she was looking for and I found the hair things I wanted (along with a funnel cake). Devin and Desirae made bird houses at the Home Depot build a project.
We had a fabulous dinner at some bar-b-que place and then Duane and I broke down the trailer and brought it home. We were all really tired from spending the day out in the sun and wind. We all headed to bed. On Sunday Max shot pictures of Duane shooting his coffee shots. That was fun and I played Guitar Hero and was beginning to "rock out". Denise and I searched eBay and found a used one for my PS2 - it is on it way to me as I type!
We had a really nice time for a SHORT weekend visit.
I know I am behind in my blog - so I am going to just jump in and add a few things. These are the quilt tops that I am working on. The one on the left is the one I am doing in the class and the one on the right is the extra one I am making. I was disappointed with the brown on the left one, but I think it will work out when I add the next nine patch border. I have to get the next border on before class this Thursday - so I will be able to see what it looks like at that point. I will get another picture posted when I add the next border.
Max is one very happy photographer! The only bad part is that she has to wait for the battery to charge. I must admit it is a very impressive camera and the lens is awesome. It is very cool that she will be able to play with it this weekend. We are looking forward to the Poppy Festival with Duane and family.
We are moving right along on our quilt top in my class. Homework for the week was cutting the material for some hour glass squares and then some additional nine patch border. The picture at the bottom is the additional quilt that I decided to make to get more practice following the pattern and cutting material. Sewing the material does not seem to be a problem for me, but I do tend to make mistakes cutting. Good thing I am just using scraps to make both of these quilts. The first one is really bright (which I like), but the second one is soft and pretty (which I also like). I still have to find the additional material for the other parts of the second one.
I finished my "homework" for my quilting class. This is the center star for the quilt. I had almost finished it in class, but had to put the three pieces of the center together and then cut and add the border pieces. I am very pleased with the way it has turned out so far and I am looking forward to this Thursday's class.
I finally scored some of the glue Paul told me about and it is amazing. It sets in 20 seconds and holds like crazy. It is working for the snowflakes and I used it on a couple of other things that needed to be fixed. It was a costly purchase - $11 for 3/4 oz. - but it is some amazing stuff. I will be able to complete the rest of the snowflakes with ease now and that makes me very happy.
The birthday present I was working on arrived to the birthday girl today, so now I can post a picture of the item. I have not knitted in many many years and it was a real challenge, but I had fun making it and it seems it will come in handy because they (that being Wanda) got 4 inches of snow last night.
Paul turned my on to some hobby glue that is compatible with styrofoam (the other glue I tried to use melted the foam) and Elmer's glue worked, but I think this other will be better. Unfortunately, Max and I went to the hobby shop (she had the day off) and they were closed. Nonetheless, I do feel like I have figured out how to put the snowflakes together so I am happy about that. Also I will not have to paint the styrofoam because it is already white and fits right in with the snowflake theme.
Like I don't have enough to do! I am determined to learn how to use my Mac efficiently. I really like the machine, but I know that I am missing out on a ton of useful things and I have decided that I am going to master them. I have committed to read the entire book and do it page by page instead of skipping around and "half-ass" doing it. I know that it will be time consuming, but it is something that I really should do. Not that I am going to sit down and do the entire book non stop - NOT! I will just mix it in with all the other stuff I have to do to keep me diversified. No more projects for me for a while!
I have been busy doing craft things - I finished the birthday present I was working on and after the birthday happens I will post a picture of the finished project. The above is from cutting squares to get ready to put the kids quilts together. I had the pink flannel for the girls, but I have to buy something for Devin's. So once I get the material and then cut the squares they will all be ready to go. The wooden ball with the tooth picks is the prototype for my snowflakes. It seems like it will work well and I have some balls marked and ready for the drill.
The "craft day" went really well. Paul and Max tied flies, Kathy did beading, Debby brought a friend who did some snowflakes with me while Debby played with her computer and Mom and Warren did snowflakes. Everyone had a great time and then we had dinner and dessert. Max's Mom and I continued to make snowflakes after dinner while Max played on her computer. Mom and I continued with the snowflakes on Sunday while Max made us chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. We have not completed the snowflakes because we did not like the way they worked with the cork that was called for in the original instructions. We are going to switch to round wooden balls - hopefully. Each snowflake requires 10 pins and there are a lot of beads and a lot of work that goes into each one and we want something that will hold up and last. Below is a picture of the pieces for a blue snowflake (for Max) and a pink snowflake (for me) that are not put together yet. Max's Mom and I continued to make snowflakes after breakfast on Sunday while Max played on her computer. They really turned out beautiful and I am just hoping they will be as beautiful once they are put together - nonetheless, they were really fun to make and I finally got to use some of my bead stash!
Finally! The dogs will be happy to go to bed tonight. I did not completely finish Darci's quilt last night and simply could not give one without the other. I really do like them and they look really cute covering their beds.
I have the binding ready for both the dog's quilts along with the labels. I have Kodi's quilt now loaded on my quilting frame. I am hoping to be able to have them both finished by the end of the week. We are having "family craft/play day" this weekend. Paul and Max are going to tie flys, Kathy is going to bead, Max's mom and Warren and I are going to make snowflakes and whatever else we decide and I am not sure what we are going to have Debby doing. The idea is just to all hang out together doing whatever we want to do. We can chat and interact, but still be accomplishing something. I am hoping I will have my binding sewn on by then, but if not I might get a chance to do some of that.
Not that I am impressed with the model, but Max wanted to work on her lighting and shadows and stuff - so on Saturday she set up her "stuff" and I was the chosen one. She took a bunch of pictures and this is the one that she emailed me for the blog. I think there were pictures I liked better (perhaps not looking so old and tired). I begged her to "photshop me" but what you see is what I am. Anyway besides pictures we caught up on some TV programs and played some video games and just took it easy for the weekend. Now we have to deal with the time change and I suppose we will be used to it in a week or so.
I finished quilting today and I am proud to say it turned out really well. I have no puckers and it really does look good. I took the close up picture to show the actual quilting - you can see the front and the back. I used a variegated brown on the front and a tan that matched the color of the back. I will do the same for the other one (Kodi's quilt). It is still a learning process for me and I know that I made some mistakes, but they are not ones that anyone would notice unless someone was "super snooping". I have the binding cut, but not sewn together. I will probably quilt the other quilt and sew both bindings at the same time (well maybe one after the other).
I FINALLY loaded one of the dog's quilts (this one is Darci's) and am getting ready to do the quilting. I have been kind of pre-occupied with other projects for a while - not just video games, but I have been working on something for a birthday present and I cannot put the picture on the blog because "sometimes" that person actually looks at the blog and then the surprise would go straight out the window. I must admit that I have been side tracked with a couple of video games I have downloaded from Big Fish. They are simple, yet fun games and the only thing I can say about them is they keep my mind active.
Max had a photo shoot with her photography class on Saturday morning. They went to a local park and hiked about taking shots of whatever was available. She got some great shots of some "tiny" mushrooms. The above mushroom was about 1.5 inches. Her 100mm marco lens does some amazing things. She had fun with her class even though she had to get up at 5:00 AM on a Saturday to do the shoot. Of course they wanted to get out there in the good light. Saturday afternoon we went with Paul, Kathy and Michael to REI in Fremont (Michael was looking for a particular bag that he had seen) and then the Red Lobster for dinner. Max and I had not been to a Red Lobster since we have been together. It was really good and we had a fun evening. Sunday was a do nothing day and I mostly played the Wii and the PS2.
Wow - after dealing with MANY problems with my embroidery machine, I finally finished and attached the label for Max's quilt. I was having problems with the bobbin thread showing through and thread breakage like crazy. I switched to a universal titanium needle which seemed to solve the breakage problem, but I still had some puckering that is not normal. Nonetheless, considering it was a "cheater" quilt that really did not require a label, it is a completed project!
It was a long slow process, but I finally finished the binding for my "cheater" quilt. Because I had to cut the quilt down a bit, there are a few places where the stippling runs next to the binding - which in my opinion does not look that great, but what the heck - not bad for my first real attempt at doing quilting on my machine. I am in the process right now of making a label for it. Because Max liked it so much, it will be for her. I am going to do an embroidery label and should have that completed and attached by tomorrow. I will post a picture of the label tomorrow. 
This is actually an awesome looking picture IF it were not for the fact that I have to find someone to replace the glass. Our gardener threw a rock into the kitchen window on Saturday and completely shattered the glass. It was actually cool because you could continue to hear the glass cracking. The not so cool part is that the company who put our windows in (with a life time replacement of one window a year) is no longer in business. I did get someone to come out and measure this afternoon and will find out what it is going to cost to replace it. Luckily they are double pane windows - so we still have a window keeping the elements outside the house and not inside.
I decided it was time for a change of pace - so back to the embroidery part of my machine. I have been wanting to put these hummingbirds on my jacket for a long time. I also decided to finish the quilt blocks I was doing for Deanna ( I can't seem to get the link to open to show all the blocks). Now I have all the blocks for the kids done and I have to cut the others to finish up the pattern and put the quilts together. Still lots of work ahead of me, but it will be worth it when they are finished.
I wish I could write about being fabulously busy and all the things I have accomplished since the last post, but somehow I don't think that is going to work. Thinking back, I have managed to do some things. I have the binding machine stitched on my quilt (waiting for me to complete the hand sewing). I have the backs for the dog quilts completed, so all I need to do is cut the batting and I can load them on my frame. I took an all day machine quilting class this last Sunday, which probably would have been a really good class IF I would have gotten any sleep Friday or Saturday night. It was a fun class, but I was just tooooooo tired to really enjoy it. The one thing I found interesting is that all the expensive thread that they wanted us to buy did not work worth crap in my machine. I ended up using some Coats and Clark cotton thread I had with me for both the top and the bobbin. I will stick with what I know works with my machine in the futrue. I had to make a bunch of "sandwiches" for practice and also an Ohio Square. So that did take up some of my time. 
We managed to get our hands on a Wii and we have been playing with that and having a great time. Michael (who works at Wal-Mart) has been watching to see if they get any extras in the store. He cannot purchase one unless they have extras left after they first come in. His store got an over shipment and he was able to grab one for us. We also bought a Zelda game which I had gotten into at the grandkids house. We played all the sports things and really enjoyed them all, but especially the boxing. What fun and what a workout!
I am AMAZED that I actually was able to finish this quilt considering all the trouble I had while doing it. I have continued to struggle with the ratchets on the bars. I had to take off the entire thing and put it back on. I ended up with stretched batting (which I managed to successfully hide). What can I say except LEARNING EXPERIENCE! 
In the large picture it is difficult to actually see the quilting, but I actually am pleased with the stippling I did (far from perfect, but not bad for a newbie). For the size of the quilt, I can not even imagine doing the stippling on my regular machine - if I thought I had problems with this on my quilting frame, I would have been tearing my hair out and giving up quilting forever. I am actually kind of excited to do the dog quilts now. I have to find something to bind this quilt with and figure out how to square it up. I may have to find someone who can help me with that, because it seems I have a REALLY difficult time squaring a large piece of fabric. Anyway it feels good to have accomplished the making of a usable quilt.
Thank goodness I was able to get all the stitches out and reload my material and I am back on track doing my stippling. It is difficult to see in the picture, but I am doing a pretty good job with the stitching. I am continually checking the back and so far so good. At least when I finish this project I will have something that I can bind and use. I am having great fun - now that things are progressing smoothly.
This is one of the first pictures in ages that we have been able to snap of Kodi - he has suddenly decided that he is not going to have his picture taken. When he hears the camera turn on he leaves the room and if there is a flash happening anywhere in his vicinity he is GONE. The picture is not clear, but at least I got it!
This is EXACTLY what I wanted for my birthday! I have been wanting a small shop vac that I can use in my sewing room to keep up with the threads, lint and DOG hair. This is a sweet little Craftsman that has a 10 foot cord and plenty of power.
My plan for the day was to do some quilting and Max was helping me to adjust the laser on my machine. I wanted to do some more practice and loaded one of my "cheater" quilts. Things were looking good and I was progressing nicely until I made the mistake of NOT checking the under side after I got started. I checked in the beginning to make sure my bobbin thread was sewing correctly, but when I advanced my quilt I somehow maganged to get a wrinkle on the back. Because Max is the sweet person that she is, she helped me in ripping out the stitches. We did not get it completed and I decided to give it a rest and go in the house and make myself a banana cream pie with meringue topping (that is my favorite dessert my Mother used to make me and I decided that I wanted to do one myself). Max is fixing steaks for dinner, so we have not had any pie as yet, but it certainly looks beautiful!
I will let you all know how it turned out, but how could something like that not be good - pie crust, bananas, pudding and meringue!
Last weekend we went to San Jose to watch Michael play floor hockey for Special Olympics. They only won 1 out of 4 so they did not place. They had some REALLY aggressive teams, but it was fun to watch and they had a good time. He starts practicing for basketball now and that will be the next games. 
Our neighbors gave us some lemons from their yard - so Max and I made lemon meringue pies. They turned out really well and we gave on to the neighbors to insure that they will continue to share their lemons with us. They also gave us some tangerines, but we just ate those.
It was a cold, pouring down rain, windy day today and we mainly just kept close to the fireplaces. The dogs did not even want to venture out in the mess and usually Kodi does not care if it is raining or not. I took the time today to finish the scarf I was making for Max. It is VERY soft and she likes it a lot (deep blue accents her eyes really well). I did not mess with my quilting today - played some video game and generally took it easy. We are suppose to get another storm coming in tomorrow - so will be probably much the same tomorrow as it was today (except I probably will venture out to the garage and do a little quilting).
So the machine is up and running and it is truly amazing. I have a practice piece in and did my first stitches. In the beginning it was harder than it is now and I am sure it will get easier the more I practice. I think by the time I finish the practice piece I will be ready to do the dog quilts - or I might try one more practice piece. I am having some difficulty judging the distance of stopping and starting. I am thinking I may have to do some measuring to make sure that I roll enough and not too much when I advance the materials. My laser is broken so I cannot practice with the pantograph's which give start and stop places.
They will be sending me a new laser, but I don't know when it will arrive. Nonetheless, I am extremely happy with the machine and the frame as well as the stitch regulator. I am hoping to connect with Lynn and she is suppose to be starting a new quilt and I would like to watch her (she said it would be okay).
The lights are up and working - makes it really nice and bright. We attached the stitch regulator and put the sewing machine back on the carriage (I have a place to plug it in now). Hopefully in a couple of days (we have Max's Mom with us now) I will be able to load some fabric and batting and start practicing. I messed around with the machine and it really moves smoothly and "appears" that it will be easy. I am excited to give it a try.
Okay - so I know that I do NOT need another hobby, but I saw someone using one the other day and it looked like fun. I am in the process of making Max a beautifully soft blue scarf. God knows I will always have something to be working on.
Yikes - once again I am way behind in postings. Max, Kathy, Paul and I took off for a week in Genoa. We had some wonderful weather (if you were looking for snow and winter that is). We did a bunch of museums and sight seeing and had a really relaxing nice time. We had to use the chains (cables) for the Vue and it went very well. I was feeling pretty bad that we did not have four wheel drive, but it worked out pretty well with the cables.
went down on Thursday afternoon and came back on Sunday. We had a great time with the family and Denise, of course, fixed an amazing meal for our Christmas dinner. Max and I are doing Christmas with her family on the Saturday before New Years - so this was our
Christmas. The kids seemed to be pleased with their gifts and Max and I were both amazed by the wonderful giftsNext on the agenda was a trip to Duane and family for our early Christmas. We we received.
I was busy at my sewing machine the other day making these designs on the back of a white over sized shirt. It turned out really cute with the different reindeer. Had to see what they actually look like without close up shots - which I have but am not sure how to link it to this page. I think if you click on the msdrae above it will take you to the flickr site and you can see all the pictures for the shirt - or you might have to click on the picture itself. I have not figured out the Flickr site yet. Okay - click on the picture and then when it takes you to the Flickr site click on the msdrae and then click on the Christmas Shirt set.
Later . . .
