UFO Busting

Whether you call it a senior moment, a brain fart, or mental-pause, I seem to have experienced it .  I have the two sock monkey quilts to finish.  I thought I had already purchased the fleece for the back - orange and lime green.  I searched all weekend, in every nook and cranny, but no fleece. So I checked my past orders.  Seems that what I thought I ordered for the monkey quilts was in fact for the Saddle Up Quilts.  So Sunday night I ordered the fleece I needed.  Since it probably won't come until next week, I needed something to occupy my time.  I mentally went through my list of unfinished projects.  Rod told me that if we were going to Disney in December, I needed to have all Christmas projects finished before we leave.

I had started this batik quilt several years ago as a BOM with the quilt shop where I learned to quilt the right way. I promised it to Mary when I was working on it, but alas it was still in the box.  So yesterday I dragged it out, and lo and behold, it needed two border strips to finish it up.  The strips were cut, and just waiting for me to attach them.  I contacted my longarm quilter, and she said if I get it to her by September 1, that she can have it finished for Christmas.  I needs a good ironing, and it's ready to go.

What to do next?  A couple years ago I started a Boxy Stars quilt for the Saddle Up.  I used pink and turquoise bandana fabrics from Joann Fabric.  When I ran out, I used some medium blue from Mary Englebreit to finish up the blocks.  I loved this quilt pattern, and so did daughter Pat.  When she demanded it for herself, I put it away unfinished.  This morning I dug it out.  Eight of the twelve blocks were finished, the last four were cut and partially finished.  Before I carried the bag to the living room, I selected some fabrics that I thought would look OK as sashings and cornerstones.  But, when I took the blocks from the bag, the sashings and cornerstones were already cut and ready to go.  The sashings are finished, and now the quilt top is ready to be put together.  Yeah me!!!  Another UFO checked off my list.  And a Christmas gift for Pat.

What shall I do tomorrow?  This quilt is called Spin Cycle.  I fell in love with this pattern the first time I saw it, and started yet another Saddle Up quilt using bright bandana fabrics in nearly every color of the rainbow.  Daughter Pam claimed this one (do you see a pattern here?)  Again, I stuck it in a box and never finished it.  That will be my next project - another UFO busted, and another Christmas gift.

So, what next?  Daughter Mary's family are all Steeler fans, but Jimmy and Bubby are probably the biggest you've ever met.  Years ago, Jimmy asked me to make him a quilt out of "terrible towels".  Two years ago, I bought the towels and (you guessed it) put them in a box and did nothing with them.  So my next project will be finishing up Jimmy's quilt.  I have black and gold towels, and will put them together in an eye pleasing pattern, and them put the top on Steeler fleece.  A gift fit for any Steeler fan, but especially for Jimmy (and another UFO finished).

And now for the next UFO project. George likes the Steelers too, but he's a bigger Penguin hockey fan.  So for him, it's a quilt made with the Penguins' rally towels.  Already bought, never made.

And that brings us to Kristin.  She requested a skirt for her Christmas tree. I bought two different patterns, but haven't decided which one to use.  She wants red, green, and gold fabrics - nothing cutsie.  So once the monkey quilts are done, I will start shopping for fabric for her tree skirt.

Do you think I'll have any extra room in my sewing room once these UFO's are busted?

School Days are Approaching. . .

And it makes me sort of sad.  Izzy will be starting kindergarten.  My last act as the kids' daycare provider is to make their pillow for kindergarten.  Since the beginning of the school year is rapidly approaching, today I make Izzy's pillow.

Krissy's pillow was made of a pastel Scooby-Doo fabric.  I can't remember if I put her name on it, it seems so long ago.  She and I worked together on that pillow while everyone else was at the hospital as Bubby had a grand mal seizure that morning just after Mary left to take Krissy to orientation.  Working on that pillow helped to keep us calm while we waited for news on Bubby's condition.  We were nearly finished when the phone rang, and it was Bubby.  He had wanted to call his Grammy and the doctor told everyone to let him call.  He sounded fine - his anti-seizure meds had been seriously low and fixing that fixed him.

Bubby's pillow was Steeler's themed.  His name was on one side (they call him James at school) and his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were profiled on the other side.

Boy do I wish my sewing room looked like this now!!

Izzy loves Hello Kitty, so that's the fabric I chose for her.  I will miss her so much, and will be left with just Jake after the 26th of August.

And The Winner Is . . . .

Cindy Davis.  Since Cindy was the only one who responded to the Giveaway Post, she is the automatic winner.  Congratulations, Cindy.  I will get your items mailed this weekend.

Canning Jar Projects

This morning Pat Sloan posted that she is addicted to containers, (particularly mason jars) and asked what you use your containers for.  One poster said that she has solar lids on her canning jars.  I had never heard of solar lids, so I asked where she found solar lids.  Imagine my surprise when my nephew posted a link to a site, and some photos of lights he had wanted to make.  Aren't these just beautiful???  He said he had wanted to make night lights for his son.

And he had also posted this photo.  I think these are so beautiful, and need to find out what you put on the inside, or if it's just the jars. So, I started by googling "Solar Light projects" and found this wonderful blog, entitled Disfunctional Designs.  Wow, are these some fantastic ideas?  And now the wheels start turning!  What else could I do with this idea???  I have a jar of broken glass from a windshield, and can only imagine what it would look like.  Wouldn't this idea be beautiful for Christmas in the bathroom where you don't want to use electric?  I loved the idea with the plastic pumpkins.  Hmmm.    If I could find some lightning bug decals, you could make lightning bug jars that the kids would love, and would not be able to let the bugs go.  Jake is a dinosaur lover, and the dinosaur terrarium on the Disfunctional Design blog would make a great night light for him.  And Jake, while looking over my shoulder, just said we should make one with a snowman inside.  It would be  like a lighted snow globe minus the snow.

What ideas can you think of??  Please share.

It's Good to Be the Queen!

Yes, we are planning another trip to Walt Disney World. You're going again, some people ask. But, for me it is truly a vacation - I don't have to cook, worry about menus, or make the bed.  This trip has been planned for December, and I'm so excited.  Usually we stay at Port Orleans - French Quarter, a Mardi Gras themed resort.  It's peaceful, small, and so quiet with beautifully manicured landscaping.  But when Disney released free dining yesterday, French Quarter was not included.  So, we all decided to move our reservations to Port Orleans - Riverside.  Our travel agent, Linda Norton of The Magic for Less Travel, worked all day and emailed us updates on our status. She was such a trooper, and I can't imagine how nerve wracking it must have been for her, being on hold with Disney for 5 hours. I had requested a handicapped accessible room because of the walk-in shower.  Linda was unable to get me an accessible room in the area where the others were going to be staying.  So, she did the next best thing - she booked us into a Royal Room.  Yes, it's more expensive; but, as the queen bee, who deserves it more than I do!!!  LOL.

Anyone who knows me, knows that The Princess and the Frog is one of my favorite Disney films.  And the Royal Rooms are themed after this movie.  Just look at this room!  It truly is fit for a queen.  We will be staying in an area known as "The Mansions".   This part of the resort looks just like a Southern plantation, with magnolia trees and beautiful fountains.  And now my excitement grows.

The Christmas season is so magical at Disney.  The decorations at Magic Kingdom are beautiful.  EPCOT features the Candlelight Processional, in which the Christmas story is told by a celebrity narrator who is backed by a 50 piece orchestra and massive choir.  The first time we saw it, Stephen Curtis Chapman was the narrator.  It was cold and rainy, and I didn't really enjoy the show.  Hopefully, this year will be better and Dennis Haysbert is our scheduled narrator.  I love his deep voice, and I think he will do a bang-up job.  There are storytellers in each country, and I look forward to seeing them since our last day at EPCOT at Christmas it was like a cold monsoon had settled over the park, and our main concern was trying to keep warm and dry.  One of the best things about this trip is that we are scheduled to eat at Biergarten, the German restaurant in EPCOT.  As a German major in college, I love the food and the music.  The wait staff is generally from Germany, and I have in the past taken advantage of this opportunity to use my knowledge of the language, while enjoying the Oompah band.  We have also scheduled a fireworks cruise to view the Illuminations fireworks at EPCOT. The show has a special Christmas tag at that time of year, and I missed it the last time because I was so cold that Rod and I chose to return to our resort.  So, I'm really looking forward to this trip and now I just have to wait patiently for December.

Queen Bee, signing off.

Welcome Home

Today I am welcoming home my BFF - or at least my favorite sewing machine.  I missed you terribly, my friend.  My old friend - the EuroPro - filled in quite capably while you were gone.  But it just wasn't the same without you.  He's noisier, more temperamental, and since his bobbin winder broke, I just can't wind a bobbin with him.  That's why, the first thing I did when you came home was to wind a couple of bobbins.  I couldn't get over how very quiet you sewed - just like when you were brand new.  I clean you on a regular basis, but I guess you responded to Ed's hands with more pleasure.  It doesn't surprise me - after all, he's so much more experienced since that's part of his job.

It was so wonderful to hear you humming quietly while finished the pot holders for Kristin.  Today I will be cleaning off my sewing table, and ironing the binding for the two sock monkey quilts that need to be finished.  Tomorrow I will iron those quilts and get them sandwiched for quilting.  And then on Saturday, I will don my white gloves with the textured rubber fingertips and we will quilt those babies and get them all ready for gifting.

I'm so happy to have you home.  Please don't leave again for a very long time.

Monday Blahs!

Why are some Mondays worse than others?  This is how I feel this morning - no energy.  Not quite sure why, though.  It certainly wasn't a hectic weekend!  Saturday we basically did very little.  We got a new burning barrel delivered. No energy needed on our part. Rod went to the nearby butcher shop to pick up the meat order I had placed on Friday.  No energy on my part.  We grilled some sweet sausage for lunch.  Not a hard job!  Then we spent the rest of the day watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family.  I never dreamed that I would enjoy the Harry Potter series of books and movies like I do.  Neither Rod nor I felt much like cooking the meal of stuffed patty pan squash that we had planned.  But we had a meal of stuffed peppers in the freezer, which we pulled out and stuck in the oven.  Not hard, no energy!  Rod made a pan of brownies - dumped the mix in the bowl, added the needed ingredients, and stirred the batter before putting it in a pan.  OK, maybe a little energy needed.  It was a great day!!!

Sunday we went to Costco and bought some much needed things.  We even managed to escape before it got too busy.  On the way home I invited the kids by text message to dinner.  Had a great meal planned.  We had seen Robert Irvine on Restaurant Impossible cook ribs by putting a rub on them, wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and baking them in the oven at 225 degrees for 2 hours.  I even googled recipe to make sure we had it right.  Robert said they were tender, moist and delicious.  NOT!!!  Oh they were moist alright, but they were so tough that you couldn't pull the meat off with a fork.  Generally, I do ribs in the crock pot and cook them for 8 hours.  Guess I should have realized that 2 hours just wasn't going to "cut" it.  (Pun intended)  We had tons left over and so tomorrow, they go into the crock pot and I'm hoping  I can salvage them.  We cooked the corn that we had received in our CSA box this past week, and it was delicious.  And we did cucumber, tomatoes and, mozzarella cheese with a little sliced onion for a salad.  Usually I add Italian dressing to this salad, but it tasted so good that we just ate it the way it was. The cucumbers were also from our CSA box, along with some small carrots, a pint of blueberries, 4 large peaches, and of course, the corn.  Joining CSA was a really good idea.

It had been rumored that free dining was becoming available for our trip to Disney in December. Supposedly it would be released today, but alas, it hasn't happened.  And I have to admit that's a big part of my blahs.  Tonight for dinner, I'm planning a nice, old fashioned, meatloaf and some zucchini fritters.  My own version of comfort food.

I always try to look for a silver lining in every dark cloud, so I guess I'll just say that if the week starts out this blah, then it has to get better.

 ** Don't forget the free giveaway happening here next week.