Adventures Without Fabric

Someone needs to glue my butt to a chair. Which in my case, would be like nailing jello to a wall. My Pfaff went into the shop for a cleaning two weeks ago. The shop called last week Tuesday to tell me it was ready. I have been so busy that I haven't had time to go and pick it up. Here's a synopsis of my adventures, none of them quilt related:

Tuesday: My lupus support group, where we worked with an art therapist to construct our own collages.
Wednesday: Gilda's Club. We celebrated Gilda Radner's birthday with a potluck celebration. We also said "goodbye" to our intern, Gina.
Thursday: Menopause, The Musical. I laughed till my sides hurt. If you haven't seen this, put it on your MUST DO list.
Friday: Shopping for the Mother of the Groom dress. Still no luck. I wanted to get two dresses, one for Mexico and one for the reception...at this rate I'll be lucky to find one.
Saturday: A wedding in Bolingbrook, IL for the daughter of a dear friend. This family needs to be wedding planners, trust me.
Sunday: Craft/art fair at the Monastery. I went to this last year and found some fabulous earrings. Hey, if I can't find a dress, at least I can have great earrings!

The plans for tomorrow are as follows. Ashley and I are going to one of those huge outlet malls to look for a dress. And, on the way home, we are picking up the Pfaff. Hopefully within the next few days I will have something interesting to blog about, or at least some great pictures!

Yummy

Yummy, aren't they? Kind of reminds me of sherbet. These are the fabrics Ashley picked out for her and Mike's wedding reception signature quilt. Ashley doesn't want the average book signing for her guests. She requested a signature quilt and I am happy to be making it. Since they will be married in Mexico, but having their reception here, Ashley wanted the colors to be bright and festive, reminiscent of their wedding. I think she achieved her goal.

Relay For Life

Tonight I participated in the Relay For Life. It was held at Muskego High School. I walked the survivors lap with my husband's cousin, Gerri. Gerri has had cancer 3 times. It was an extremely moving experience (no pun intended). The track was lined with white bags. Each bag was in honor or in memoriam of someone. The bags contained candles, which were to be lit later in the evening. I couldn't wait to see to see the entire track illuminated. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. The wind picked up and the rains came, and came, and came. I felt bad for the campers who had come to walk the track throughout the night. Even with the rain, it couldn't dampen the spirits of the people attending. It was an evening of hope.

I've Fallen Off The Blog Wagon

Yes, it's true. I've had a lapse. It's not that I haven't been doing anything, it's just that most of it doesn't relate to fabric.

Life has been busy. A 50th wedding anniversary party, a bead class, my cancer support group, a Dr. visit (everything is just fine) and a lupus walkathon. Oh yes, and then there is the rain, rain and more rain cleanup. Besides all that, my Pfaff is in the shop for a good cleaning and 300,000 stitch checkup.

Since I had to find something to keep myself busy, I am beading. I am also still spending Wednesday afternoons with the quilty ladies, while working on my reindeer table runner.

The beaded piece is a heart. You stitch through the holes to hold the beads in place. Once the beading is done, there is a backing piece that clips over the front piece. The back has a pin attached to it. When everything is assembled you wear it as a brooch. Sorry the picture is so blurry.

Bead Class

The Bead and Button Show is currently in Milwaukee. I am NOT a beader, but there was a class being offered that really caught my eye. It involved photo transfers on fabric, silk ribbon and beads. IT WAS WONDERFUL. The class had 3 students, including myself. Since the class was so small, the teacher decided to sit with all of us at one table. It was great. We got a lot of one-on-one attention. She answered all of our questions and gave us a lot of creative ideas. She had a bunch samples for us to look at and drool over. I still have more silk ribbon work to do, but when that is done, this will be turned into a brooch. I can't wait to dig out old family photos and begin embellishing them.

A Whole Lotta Nothin'

Outside of a little embroidery work on Wednesday afternoon, quilting has been nil. I think I got burned out at retreat...lol...But, I have gotten a lot done around the house. As boring as it sounds, it gives me a clear conscience so that I can quilt uninterrupted and without guilt. Maybe I can sneak some time in tomorrow. That is, right after I clean up the mess in the studio!

Business, Old and New

Let's start with old business, namely the list.

1. Ashley's quilt and pillowcase to match The quilt is DONE...pillowcase pending
2. Hawaiian log cabin quilt The blocks are done and ready to be sewn into rows
3. Christmas stocking...this will be a carryover This will be carried over, but all the way to September
4. Dazzling dogs wall hanging Also moved to September
5. Mike and Ashley's quilt...this is questionable I will concentrate all my efforts here
6. 4th of July crafts...hey, I'm slow, I need time Move this all the way to 2009
7. Reindeer table runner...again, a carryover Always on Wednesdays
8. Bibs for Matthew I believe this month's bib was all about guitars
9. Paper pieced pins Completed piece, but not made into a pin
10. Handmade cards Completed

Four things were completed that were not on the list:
1. A luggage tag sample
2. 80 purse-sized tissue holders
3. 8 table toppers for Ashley's shower
4. 68 name tags for guild

The list for this month is considerably shorter then in the past.

1. Mike and Ashley's quilt
2. Bib for Matthew
3. Reindeer table runner
4. Handmade cards

Thursday evening I left on a quilt retreat. It was held in Lake Geneva, WI. My girlfriend Linda took the class that was offered, but I opted for open studio time to work on my own projects. It was a WONDERFUL time. I worked on a series of Ohio Star blocks in pinks and browns. I returned home today with all but three of the blocks done...WAHOO.