Excitement!!!!

Yesterday was a great day!   I got back to work on quilting the mystery quilt from Long Arm University. I had struggled a bit the day before with the designs and I think mostly because I was tired. Yesterday I was on fire!!!!!   I really got into it and I HAD to finish last night. And then I whipped that quilt off the machine, made the binding and actually got 1/4 of the stitching done before I had to go to bed.

The quilt on the machine

Detail of some of the quilting

Look at all that marking!!!!   Got to wash this quilt when I am done

More details of quilting

Quilting detail

Quilting is DONE!!!!!!!

Binding in progress

The back - you can't see, but I had to put red thread in the bobbin where I did the spikey things in red. I could not get the tension right and the yellow bobbin thread showed through a bit. But it looks like a sun or star burst on the back

I had to laugh as I was quilting this because I remember back in 2005 when on New Year's Day I worked on another project. Have a look at the colour scheme!!!!    Is this a New Year's colour theme or what?????

Convergence quilt made on New Year's Day 2005

In the morning, I got other stuff done - well not done enough to write in my book, but made progress at least.

This quilt has been quilted FOREVER. I had found it in the border/binding/backing buckets with a SMALL piece of fabric for the binding. Grabbed the bolt of fabric (that I still had - yeah) and made the binding

Good calculations because with the small piece I found, this is what I had left over. That scrap went into the Bonnie Hunter scrap pile

Made the sleeve as well. Yes - I know that is a bit of a big gap between the two pieces - I may add another little sleeve in the middle. And then this got tossed on the TO BE HAND STITCHED pile, which is getting bigger and bigger

I love looking at pictures in home dec mags or studio mags and seeing all the creativity on the walls. I am slowly trying to do the same at my house. I finally got the hammer out yesterday and whacked up TWO more pictures. The two that I had framed the other day. It is VERY hard to see them in these pictures, but this is the staircase to the basement. When guests come - I shall tell them to HUG the banister. I love it and as I come downstairs every day (well many times every day), I get to pass these great pictures with MANY MANY memories. I am really excited about this wall. I have a LOT more frames to put up. Just got to find the right pictures to put in them.

New pics on the wall

Series of shots at Geysir  erupting in Iceland (2010)

Me riding my bike up the White Pass in Alaska (2010)

Do you remember me showing you that little tool for cutting off the corners of that quilt I just made?  Well Cindy said "THROW THOSE TRIANGLES AWAY". OH MY GOD - you CANNOT throw those away. So I put them all in a nice new tin that I got for Christmas. Then I thought I had better check to make sure they are not too tiny.

The bits in my new tin

And look - those half square triangles measure ONE and ONE QUARTER inches - that is NOT too small!!!!!

I shall have to whip up a mini quilt with them!!!!    More enders and leaders!!!!    And how is progress on Bonnie Hunter? Well I am ALMOST done sewing the black/white half square triangles. And leaving them on the cutting table - yes I am working my way through them. Maybe today I will be done??????


I also got excited yesterday and put all my PLAY yarn TOGETHER. It was in several drawers. After putting all the yarn on my binding table, I was able to EMPTY one of those rolling storage units. I must get it out of the storage room now and see if I can shove all the paperwork into it. Then it can be whisked away when people come over. Yes - I know, I should just get the paperwork done. Well I spent about half hour yesterday and did make a dent so I am NOT slacking!!!!!!

Anyway - look at this MESS!!!!!!

All my play yarn!!!!   Stuff I bought because it looked great - good for couching on landscapes or whatever project I had in mind when I saw it. But what a mess. 

Then I wanted to bind the mystery quilt and all this stuff was in the way. I had been to Michael's earlier in the day and purchased some containers. I was hoping the yarn would fit in one of them. CRAP - the yarn filled ALL THREE containers. But of course - I just threw it in because I wanted the space.


This morning - I emptied the containers again and played the yarn in them in an orderly fashion.

The organic colours

The BRIGHT colours

This box still needs to be sorted

Stuff to move to other locations because there are homes for it in other places 

And look what else I found - ONE SKEIN of yarn that I can use to make dish clothes!!!!   Wow - there is a pattern on the back of the label. Hmmmmm - could I con someone into making me dish clothes (and how many does this skein make anyway????) or shall I just bite the bullet and do it myself.

Wool for dish clothes

And how about this for silly dog pictures.......................

When she curls up, she fits in this bed, but honestly in this position - why bother sleeping in the bed at all!!!!!!

I haven't been  able to get into the Family Tree Maker software. For some reason, the system is telling me that I have an account already, yet it won't accept my password and then it says it will send me a link to get me in and then it does NOT send me the link. I will call them today - perhaps they were off yesterday.


HEY - This & That is starting the new MYSTERY - Number 3. If you are interested - check out Sherri's blog.


This & That Mystery # 3


I have got TWO very nice little projects (that are almost complete I might add) from this. And it is kind of fun to work on something you don't know what the end result will be. I have to pick colours - not sure what I am going to pick this time.

OK - I see that I have some smart friends who are trying to help me memorize the "word of the day". I shall remember audodidact FOREVER now. But here is a new word for my friend - first I will see if she knows the word - INCHOATE (it is an adjective)    (in-KOH-it). Hmmmmmm - what does that mean??????   Who makes up all these words anyway??????


Here is the word in a sentence - My instructions for Dear Jane are currently an inchoate series of ideas.



See what I mean!!!!!    So much excitement happening here. Oh - I am going to have to talk to my FRIEND (that would be Marian) to see if she can get me one more of those rolling shelves from Cosco. Wait - first I need to measure the space and make sure it will fit in that storage room. Oh yes - it will fit there. Then back to Michael's to get more boxes (they are 50% off this week) and get that storage room in order. I am LOVING this organization thing. I mean when I want something - I know exactly where it all is. And if that is NOT exciting - well - it is just EXCITING.

Just so you know that I am NOT a complete idiot when it comes to technology - my phone wasn't working properly for the last couple of days. The phone worked, but it wouldn't update the weather channel and I couldn't get my Michael's coupon - IMPORTANT stuff. But I managed to figure out what the problem was and it is working just fine!!!!!!    There is HOPE FOR ME.

Oh OH OH - I wonder if the new clue for Border Creek Mystery is available???????


On that note - I have a LOT on the schedule today and must get started.


Have a good day!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!