I'm a Dwirler!!

I'm officially a dwirler! Yesterday Paul met me at the door with my package from SewThankful! I was so excited I ripped it open with my keys and popped it in the DVD player while supper was being fixed. I even cleared off the dry erase calendar on the fridge and started dwirling! Everything she said made so much sense! After supper I put the DVD in the computer in my sewing studio and listened to it while I was stippling the pieces of my Miranda bag. I spent 3 hours sewing last night and I have the entire bag bottom completed. I just have to add the handles and flap, which I could have done, but was tired, so I quit. That's a project for maybe tonight if I finish my jacket early. I have the last jacket class tonight and hopefully I'll be able to wear it to strip club tomorrow.
I've come to the conclusion that Jen will have a great time teaching this awesome bag and that with a two night class they should be able to finish if they do the bag the first night, and if they aren't that far, have it ready by the second class and then make the handles and flap and sleeve for the bottom the second night. I'm not real impressed with how my lining looks next to the top, so I may have to change it a bit, but otherwise it looks awesome. I'm thinking I may try to make a mini Miranda using the same techniques that I could use for a purse. This will probably be my new work bag. It's a bit big for a purse, or at least the kind I carry.
This weekend Paul is hoping to put the new oak staircase up to the bedrooms from the living room. I will be so glad when the remodeling projects are at a stand still. It seems we've done a ton in the last year. It's supposed to be 62 degrees on Sat., so I'm excited to be out and about, going to strip club and hopefully getting a haircut so I look decent for our engagement pictures. On Sunday when it's 30 as they predict, I'll be curling up with my white board and practicing my dwirling. Yeah. I can officially say I'm a groupie! Have a great warm weekend!

Sewing Machine Caddy

I need to practice my free motion quilting as it is the one quilting thing I'm really not very good at doing. Let me stitch in the ditch, echo quilt or do some cross hatching and I'm fine. Tell me to FMQ and I freak! I've tried on muslin, honestly I have, but I guess since it's going to be thrown away, I figure it doesn't matter and I don't do a good job.
So I read about making sewing machine caddies for the front of the machine out of Fat-Quarters. Don't ask me where because I don't remember. I honestly just read, quilt fat quarters, bind, fold up and sew pockets. I'm not good at following directions. So using that information, I bought several Loralie Design Fat Quarters to "practice" my FMQ on. Wednesday night I holed myself up in my sewing studio and started playing. The first Sewing Machine Caddy I just put two FQ's together with a piece of batting and practiced my quilting, put a binding on it, folded up one edge, and sewed several lines for pockets. It turned out really well, but I hate putting binding on something so small, so the next one I sandwiched, sewed around the edge, flipped it and burped it. I sewed a line around the outside to hold it together. Then I did my FMQing on it. I used a 25 weight thread since I ran out of black thread. I don't know if it was the thread or the fact that I got my rhythm down, but the quilting on this one turned out really well! I flipped up the edge to make pockets and FM'ed the lines to make the pockets. Talk about not wanting to change feet! I got them both done in under two hours. I went back to the quilt shop and bought 4 more fat quarters so I could make some more of these awesome little caddies.
Since I'm giving one away as a gift for my 200th post, I'll post pictures when the lucky winner gets it. So guess who that might be? You'll have to watch your mail to see if you are the winner. It should be arriving sometime next week.

What to do??

Last night I had big plans of holeing myself in the sewing studio and practicing my free-motion quilting. Just before I got off work the priest who is marrying us called to see if we could sign some paperwork since he was in town. We met up with him at Borders, filled out the paperwork and talked about the wedding. He has a wedding the night before, so can't do the rehearsal then, so we talked about having it the morning of the wedding. Since we have people coming from a distance this might actually work out better since they wouldn't have to come down and spend the night. Paul and I talked about not having the formal rehearsal dinner and instead having a BBQ for our wedding party at the river where we are planning to go fishing the night before anyway. Then we could have a rehearsal lunch, so everyone has somewhere to eat before the wedding. Did I mention the wedding is out in the middle of nowhere? It would probably be better to have a planned lunch for our wedding party, so they don't get drunk so fast.
We also talked about the time of the wedding and whether or not to have mass or not. It's something we'll be thinking about and need to decide before May. We could have a 2:34pm wedding with a reception at 5 on 6-7-8 or we could have a mass at 3:45pm and it would be the church's mass for the weekend and it would be a 3:45 wedding on 6-7-8 with a dance at 9. I guess we'll keep talking about it. We both talked to our moms and discussed options, but we really haven't figured out a plan for sure. I guess we'll just have to keep talking and planning, but it helps to know our options.
I came home and pressed all the fabrics I bought yesterday. Since they are QS quality and not going in a quilt, I think I'll just do my FMQ on them and call it good, but I was too tired last night, so decided to wait until tonight to give it a try. I'm still patiently waiting for my PJ Quilter DVD. With any luck it could be in the mail today. Keep your fingers crossed.

Quilt Shop Lunch Stop

In my area there are four specialty quilt/sewing stores within lunch time driving distance. I usually run over to TSC or The Quilt Corral, but today I went to a shop I normally never go to. It's not open after 5, nor is the other one I don't usually go to, so the only time I can go is at lunch. I really wish stores like that would realize that even staying open until 5:30 or 6 people like me would stop by on the way home from work. These two I drive by every day, while TSC and QC are on the other end of town and out of my way home. The shop I went to today has really poor lighting and it's hard to match colors. I needed some thread and wanted to see what they had available. I was hoping for Masterpiece or some of the other Superior threads, but they didn't know anything about them. Interestingly though the other lady there was from WY and she always uses Superior thread. I found a Mettler color that would match exactly and then browsed for a while. I found the Loralie Designs fabric that I really think is cute and got some for a project I have in mind. I also found the new Wizard of Oz fabric. I have a friend who loves WO, so I'm thinking something for her may be in store for the future. They carry different lines there, so it was interesting to see what they now have. I won't be going back there anytime soon, but I'm glad I got the thread I need and now I can start on my project with the new fabrics.

Leslie's Towne Purse

I finally made something! I feel like it's been months since I actually made a finished project. I have been working on a towne purse for Paul's mom since Christmas. Tonight I finally fought with the zipper and I won! I finished the purse tonight and was so glad I did. It didn't turn out like I expected, but it did turn out pretty well. The picture is pretty dark, but the purse is a maroon flower print with black accent handles and the inside is a mauve color. There is a pocket on the outside for her cell phone too. Plus there are 6 pockets on the inside. She really likes it.

I had a little bit of motivation left so I figured out what I needed to do with my Miranda bag pieces. They need to be quilted, but I was too tired tonight. Paul and I worked on our gift lists for the wedding and made reservations for the first night of our honeymoon. We also found a dance class we can take, so we got our spot reserved in that. The next three months are going to go so fast. We are going to my parents in two weeks to take engagement pictures and practice pictures in the church, so that will be done.

Short Weekend

This weekend just seemed to fly by! I sure didn't want to go to work today. I don't feel like I accomplished a whole lot, but that's the way it goes. Fri. night I toom my mom's Jacket class. I got to the sleeves, so will have to put those in, do the hem, and do buttons and buttonholes in the next class on Fri. night and be done. It is turning out real cute, but definately not my normal colors. It's a lime green, orange, and purple.

I got home just before Paul did. He went to Orman Dam ice fishing with his friend Jory. They decided to go to Angostora Lake Sat. morning, so Paul was up at 3:30 and left before 5 to meet him. I went to work at 9 and it was almost 5 when I got out of there. I stopped by Hancock's for their 50% off notions deals and then went home. Mom called and I visited with her while she was driving home. I sewed, but had trouble with the zipper on my towne purse, so quit. I think I need to use the walking foot, but that doesn't really work with the zipper, so haven't figured out how I am going to put it in. Paul got home about 7PM and we got ready and went out to supper. We were going to go to a movie, but we were both tired, so we went home.

Sunday we were up early, then had lunch and naps before going to town for groceries. We stopped by and dropped off more purple ribbon with my aunt for the flowers and then looked at Paul's birthday present choices. He wants a new scroll saw, but has been researching and trying to decide which one he wants. We did our Wal-mart, Sams Club, and Safeway shopping in under an hour and a half, so we were both pleased. We got home just in time to unload all the groceries in the rain. It rained most of the evening and then snowed on top of it. We had supper and then I visited with both my brothers and Mom. I tried my zipper again, but it gave me fits, so I just gave up. Figured maybe it would work tonight. I hate when it doesn't go right and I can't really do anything else until I figure it out.

Hairy Day

Yesterday was a hairy kind of day. Mom and I had planned to go to the fabric store and some other shopping in the evening. I got to the store to meet her and she asked me to go to Spearfish with her instead. I dropped my pickup off at home, picked up my hardanger and rode along with her to Spearfish. It's about a 45 min. drive, so we had a nice visit up and back.
My mom has always had really thin hair, to the point of being almost bald. She had cancer 3 years ago, lost all her hair and it grew back thin again! She wore a beautiful wig while she was having chemo and it looked gorgeous on her. When her hair came in so thin again, the lady who helped fit her wig, suggested she go with a hair piece. It's real hair and it's glued to her head and every 4 weeks she goes in for it to be cut and fixed and reattached. She had the same hair piece for a year and Tues. she got a new piece. Well the color wasn't right, so she went back last night and the lady dyed it and cut some more off and it looks great. My mom still has the bottom part of her hair and so you can tell the true color of it and the two didn't match. Now they match, it's fixed great and she looks like a new woman again. Her hairdresser is an awesome woman and really does a good job with my mom's hair.
After we got her hair fixed we went to this really good mexican restaurant and it was 11 when I got home last night. Sure different than what we had planned, but so well worth it. I am taking a jacket class tonight, so I am really excited to cut out the fabric and start sewing it together. My mom is teaching the class and she is an amazing teacher. She fitted the pattern to me, so it will fit and not look too big or too small.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. I'm working at the Sewing Center tomorrow, so it will be a short weekend.

Jen got the quilts!

I sent my YBR quilts to Jen last week to quilt and today she received them. I'm so glad they made it all safe and sound! I've been nervous about them getting there. Still no Dwirling DVD, so I'm starting to get anxious. I may just have to email them tomorrow and see what the hold up is. My mom came out tonight and we made the muslin's for the bridesmaid dresses and my jacket. I am taking a jacket class on Fri. night and she helped me fit the pattern since I missed class last week. We also discussed the wedding with Paul and his mom, so I feel like we got a ton accomplished.

I'm mad!

Well I'm mad at the President's Day holiday. It delayed the shipment of my dwirling dvd and I didn't get it like Regina and Suzan. I really wanted to pop it in and watch it while I was sewing a purse tonight. To top it off I sent my quilts to Jen and insured them and didn't realize they were going to require a signature, so she didn't get them today. Why don't they tell you this stuff when you send them? Tonight I cut out the pattern for my jacket class and made the muslin. Now I just have to have my mom help me fit it tomorrow night. So I'm not dwirling and I didn't get my future MIL's purse done either. On a good note, I did get a package of blue scraps sent off to Bethany today. I was so proud of myself for having the envelope handy, putting them all in it and going to the post office in a timely manner. Hopefully tomorrow is a more productive sewing night. My mom is coming out for supper and we are going to work on the muslins for the bridesmaids dresses.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This past week just flew by and I haven't had a chance to update my blog. I feel like a really bad blogger! I did write a really long post on Friday afternoon at work and wouldn't you know the internet went down and didn't save any of it!
Wednesday night I met my mom after she got off work and we went to the fabric store and Hobby Lobby. They had their bridal event and we needed a bunch of stuff for the wedding, but were waiting for it to go 50% off. I am also taking a jacket class the next few Fri. nights, so I needed help picking the right decorator fabric for it. She took me out to Arnold's Diner a new 60's restaurant in town. It was really enjoyable to spend time with her and visit just the two of us. I got to open my presents from her too. My parents gave me a new black belt with bling bling on it, a Gypsy Gripper, a new Olfa 45 mm quick change rotary cutter, a notebook cover, bobbin saver filled with bobbins, and bobbin buddies.
Valentine's Day was an amazing day for me! I love Valentine's Day and my birthday! I woke up at 6:30 to my dad calling to wish me a happy birthday. I got ready and headed to work. The girls at work had brought donuts, so we had a long mid-morning break. My two close friends at work gave me a cupcake container filled with purple and lavendar m&m's! They know me so well. Too bad they are $12 a pound, we won't be having them at the wedding! I left at lunch and mailed my quilts to Jen. I also stopped at the Bagel shop for a heart shaped bagel sandwich. After work I went home and my brothers both called to visit. Then Paul and I went to The Fireside Inn for our 8PM reservations. They had changed hands and now it is an elegant, fine dining restaurant. They had four choices for the main course, Lamb Cutlets, King Salmon, Wild Cornish Game Hen, or Beef Tenderloins. We were really were looking forward to the Prime Rib they used to have, so we were really disappointed. We had the beef Tenderloin, but it was really small. It came with wild Pheasant soup, a mini eggplant filled with crawdads, a couple hard as a baseball buns, a twice baked yam in a tomato shell, stringy green beans, and hazelnut creme brule. Neither of us enjoyed the meal and it was really over priced for what we got, so we won't be going back there. We'll have to find a new special occasion restaurant. Paul gave me a 4GB pink MP3 player which I really wanted, so I was excited. His mom got me a new curling iron and hairdryer that I had asked for as well.
Friday after work we packed our bags and went to the Engaged Encounter weekend. It was really a very good weekend for us. We listened to presentations, wrote our thoughts and dialogued. It was a relaxing experience and we learned a lot more about the Catholic faith and marriage. We were both glad we had went. We stayed at the monestary, so got to meet several other couples and get to know them. One of the best things was the Sat. night meal was done by candlelight each couple sat at their own table and we got flowers, wine, and there was music. It was so romantic and the food was way better than our V-day meal. We were completely exhausted when we got home. We layed on the couch and watched the end of the Daytona 500 and then I reorganized my computer table and cleaned my room. It really needed it. I was too tired to sew, so I went to bed early.
Hopefully this week I will get to sew some and finally get caught up at work.

Dwirling

Jen got me started, then I couldn't resist and wouldn't you know this week I ordered the Pajama Quilter Reloaded DVD from SewThankful. I am so excited that it will be coming in the mail any day now. I see Regina ordered it too, so we're really going to be dwirling away! I can't wait.

Bed Quilts

Jen issued a challenge on her blog to show what we have on our beds. I have 4 quilts on my bed. This is the first quilt I ever made. It's from all my high school t-shirts. I made it in 1998-99 while I was a freshman in college. It's King size and my grandma and mom helped me burp it and tie it. It's flannel and all the t-shirts have interfacing on them, so it is really heavy. I have learned a lot since this first quilt, but it still keeps us warm.

This is the one I just finished and it's Queen size, so I love that it goes over both edges and tucks in at the end.

I think this is the third t-shirt quilt I made. It's from my college 4-H shirts. My friend Angie got the fabric for a t-shirt quilt I made her and there was just enough for sashing and borders for mine. It's twin size, but very special to me.



This is the last quilt on the bed. It's one of the first quilts I made from a pattern and LQS fabrics. It is also the only one I have ever had quilted by anyone else. She did a great job, but I chose poor fabric for the back, so I am disappointed in that. It's one of my favorites and I don't let the dog get on this one.

Our pillows usually have pillowcases to match the black and white quilt, but this week I have on a Valentine's one for myself and a cars one for Paul that I made him last year. That's my bedding in a nutshell. I'm sure we don't quite need all the quilts, but I like to be warm when I sleep.

Favorite quilt blocks/ patterns

I've been so busy making things for the wedding that I haven't really had a chance to do anything other than that. I haven't even looked at patterns or books online for several months. Jen's been trying to convince me that the Pajama Quilter Reloaded was worth it. I went to the SewThankful website and it was on sale! Plus I've been meaning to order some Superior Masterpiece thread to try and they had it as well, with a coupon code discount even! So, I ordered both and I'm so excited. It's like a birthday present to myself!It should be here by the end of the week or maybe even next week. I've made a lot (4) Yellow Brick Roads in the past few months and I love the pattern. I also love the Happy Hour book from Atkinson Desings. I'm a big fan of the Gathering Friends patterns, especially Blackberry Island which I have made several quilts from. In the future (when married life begins) I would love to make a Double Wedding Ring. My mom got the templates, so I'm hoping we can learn together. I also make a lot of Carol Doak blocks and have several of her books. I'd like to hear what everyone else likes to make, what blocks people specifically like, quilt makers they like, anything to give me a little inspiration to look online. I never would have bought a quilting DVD without Jen's recommendation. I think other's recommendations are really what leads me to buy products. Please share links if you can. I'd love to see what our Prolific quilters group really likes.

My 200th Post!

I can't believe Jill and I are on our 200th posts in the same week! We really must have a lot to say. Since she's doing a drawing, I thought I would give away a gift as well. I have a quilt pattern I think will make the perfect gift for one of my quilting blogging friends. So leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Thurs. to receive the gift. What better way to celebrate my b-day than to give a gift!
It was a busy weekend for Paul and I. We took our mothers out to supper at Red Lobster on Fri. night and had a nice visit. Saturday I worked at The Sewing Center. I work there on Saturdays when they have shows which take away some of their staff. We were fairly busy which made for a fast day. When I got home Paul had the carpet torn off the stairs and was working on what he needed to replace them. Then he started playing with his new toy a 4GB MP3 player. It's the one I want for my birthday, so we'll see if I get one just like it or not. I know he bought my present while I was working. We went to Hobby Lobby for more flower stuff and dropped that off at my aunts. Then we went to Menard's for the stairs supplies. We had supper and it was late when we got home. I was just exhausted!
Sunday I slept in for the first time in weeks. I went to church and then Paul and I did some errands. I stopped at the Quilt Corral Too and got the other fabric I needed for my Miranda bag. We roamed the mall and picked up our cake topper and a gift for a friend. Then we went to Runnings and I found the boots I wanted, so got those as well. When we got home I cleaned house, changed the bed, and then decided to relax. I sewed the backs for my YBR quilts, ironed all my fabric for my Miranda, and started making the towne purse for my future MIL. I got about half done with it when I cut it wrong. I knew I was tired, so time for bed.
Last night we met with Fr. Mark to do our FOCUS questionaire as part our marriage prep. I was tired when we got home, so no sewing for me. Guess I'll try to get something done tonight and get the pictures of my bed taken.

Jill's 200th blog

Jill is celebrating her 200th blog with a giveaway! Everyone should go over to her site and check it out. She's getting ready for a St. Jude's quilt retreat and is collecting door prize donations. She's got some amazing prizes already! My 200th post will be my next post, soon hopefully.

Katmandu Trunk Show

Today at lunch I took off and enjoyed our beautiful 38 degree weather (wow a heat wave). I went to the Thimble Cottage Quilt shop. The owner is Pearl Louise and right now she has Mark Lipinski's Katmandu trunk show at her shop, so I just had to go take a peak. It was really awesome and so much variety. I moved through 4 different rooms to see all the pieces and studied the quilting and embellishments. I really encourage anyone who gets the chance to go view this trunk show. I also couldn't help but pick up the next book by Jennifer Chiaverini in the Elm Creek Quilts series. Borders didn't have it, but Pearl Louise did! I found four different Katmandu fabrics in purple, so I just had to pick them up. It was a nice lunch break and I really enjoyed seeing the trunk show. Now I have to convince my mom to take a look before it's gone.

Kristie's Quilt

Just before Christmas my blogging friend Kristie told us she had Grave's Disease and would be having radiation treatments. Another blogging friend Jen came up with the idea to make a comfort quilt for her. I knew I wanted to make a special block for Kristie's quilt, so I chose to make a hat from the same pattern she had recently made a quilt out of. I also included horse fabric because she loves horses and it's a common interest we share. I got my block sent off to Jen and she put the quilt together with the blocks of other blogger friends. She quilted it and put the label on and her mom Cindy did the binding. Then it was sent UPS to Kristie. We had the tracking number and delivery date and were just waiting for it to be delivered. Jen and I stalked her blog and the UPS tracking site trying to determine when it was delivered. Wednesday afternoon it arrived and she loved it! Here's a picture of the quilt and the label.

Back to the Hardanger

I haven't felt like sewing this week, after getting so much done this weekend. I finally decided I needed to do something while I was watching tv. I pulled out my hardanger set on Mon. night and realized I didn't have the Ecru colored thread I needed to use for the pattern I had chosen. So last night I stopped at Ben Franklin for ribbon for the flowers and got the thread I needed.

After supper last night I peeled potatos and made potato soup for the crockpot. Since today is Ash Wednesday and we have church tonight, I wanted something without meat that would be ready when we got home from work so we could have a quick supper. I fixed it all up and then settled down to do my hardanger. Unfortunately there wasn't anything on TV except about the voting stuff. I did get about half of the first row of stitching done.

I am making a candle wrap for our unity candle. The pattern is from Nordic Needle. I picked it up when I ordered thread for Jim and Adele's wall hanging since I thought it was cool. At the time I didn't know when we were getting married, but just knew that we would in the future. I don't think I'll do the mat since no one would see it, but I'm bound and determined to get the wrap done.

Tonight we are going to Ash Wednesday mass and then are meeting with the priest to start part of our marriage prep. Then next weekend the 15-17 we are going to an engaged encounter weekend.

My mom and I are going to my aunts tomorrow night to check out the flowers she has put together and decide if they look okay before she does them all. She has my bouquet done and several of the boutineres and corsages. She's also got one of the bridesmaids done, but she doesn't like it, so wants me to check it out. I'm also hoping to get to Hancock's and get the backing fabric for my quilts so I can get them shipped off to Jen soon.

Paul made reservations for the 14th at our favorite restaurant, the Fireside Inn for my birthday/Valentine's Day. I'm so excited since he usually doesn't make reservations, ever, and usually he just wants to stay home and cook for me since he knows everyone else will be out. I can't wait, it's going to be a long week until my 28th birthday. I know I'm the young one of our group, but I still feel like I'm getting old.

Almost 10 years ago when I was in high school our senior project in Marriage class was to plan our weddings down to the very last detail and create a scrap book detailing our wedding. I still have that scrap book and it's almost ironic that I had planned to wait until 2008 to get married. I figured I needed 4 years to get through college, 2 years to get a career on the ground and find the right guy, 3 years to date, and a year of engagement. I'm pretty close to doing all of those things. I had planned for a Feb. 15th wedding and we're actually getting married June 7th, but I can't believe how close I came.

I get all sappy in February and I love the Valentine's day holiday. I have six valentine's tablerunner's/wall hangings in my office alone. That doesn't count those at home.

I'm a celebrity!

Okay, maybe I'm not a celebrity in the overall scheme of things, but in my little corner of the state I am. A couple months ago in the Pickle group for Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home magazine, Mark asked for opinions on whether or not the younger generation would be involved with quilting and if there were obstacles. I fired off my comments, having to do with the fact that I am a young quilter, I do think my generation will quilt, but the thing holding us back is the money. Since machines, fabric, notions cost a lot to get started, it could be cost prohibitive for many to get started. That's why knitting has taken off, a couple needles, some yarn and you're set without much expense. A lot of young people aren't making as much as those with experience and trying to start/raise families. They don't have the extra money for an expensive hobby. Anyway, he published part of my response and credited me with it in the newest Mar./Apr. Quilters Home magazine. Many quilters in my area haven't even picked up this magazine, but when they found out I was in it, well let's just say they will be sold out fast. I've been telling everyone I know about this amazing, fun, inspiring, and up to date magazine. They even announced it at Strip Club and his trunk show is at Pearl Louise Krush's shop, Thimble Cottage, here in Rapid City. I'm so excited to get to see it. If you haven't gotten the magazine I urge you to take a look for yourself.

Strip Club

Today was the first strip club at the Quilt Corral Too that just opened in Rapid City, in the same building as the Sewing Center. The Quilt Corral in Hill City has had strip club for a couple years, on the first Sat. of the month, but I never seem to make it up there, so I was really excited that they were having it in their new Rapid City location. They shared all the new stuff they had received and other fun quilts, there was show and tell, and they showed the strip quilt for the month, as well as they drew for several door prizes. They also taught us a "strip" move. It was loads of fun and really enjoyable. There were probably 75 people there and that was only one of 3 sessions they had today. It put me in the mood to quilt! My mom will start working at the QC next week, so I'm really excited for her change of jobs.

Significant Progress

So far this weekend I have made significant progress on quilt projects I wanted to get done. Paul wasn't feeling well Fri, so we stayed home instead of going out. It gave me the opportunity to put the borders on my YBR quilts. I got two borders on both and they are ready to be quilted. I just need to get the backing fabric and get it sewn together.
This afternoon I took a nap and then took the 10 YBR blocks that were left over and some other purple fabric and made another smaller quilt. It's not quite as big, but for the gift I want to give it will be perfect. I have the backing and batting ready and I think I'm going to baste it next week and practice quilting on it. I made the top in under an hour which I thought was pretty good.

Tonight we went to Menard's and Lowe's. Paul was looking for just the right clamps and router. After we got home he made manicotti for supper and I finished up the Hearts Entwined tabletopper. I think I cut it too close, but it worked out so I think it's okay.

Tablerunners finished!

Last night when I got home I was bound and determined to get the tablerunners finished. I had two left to pin, so I did that while I waited for Paul to come home. We had leftover chili from the night before, so I didn't have to cook. Then while I was sewing down the bindings, Paul did his taxes, so we got to spend time together in the end. I got them all sewn down when he got finished, so we went upstairs and watched the end of Forrest Gump while I trimmed all the threads. I am so excited that they are done. I chatted online with my mom while I was reading blogs last night and we decided the big goal for Feb. is to get the landscape quilt done for the church banner. This is the one I am scared about, so it could be a long month!
Today I decorated my cubicle for February. Valentine's is my favorite holiday as it is also my birthday, so I look forward to it all year. I have five tablerunners/wall hangings that I put up. This year we are going to Engaged Encounter weekend over my birthday weekend, so nothing fun planned. I've been hinting around that I want new boots or an MP3 player. We'll see what Paul comes up with this year.

January Goals!

My January goal on my wedding countdown is to finish all 20 tablerunners for the reception. I am so close I can taste it I just have to stitch in the ditch around about 10 of the bindings to secure them and I'll be done! Okay, I still have to clip some threads, but that can be left for a night when I feel like curling up on the couch with Paul and watching a movie and can clip all the threads while I'm comfy.
My other goal was to have the tops finished on my YBR quilts. The tops are finished they just need borders which I plan to do this weekend. I have the fabric, I just needed to finish the bindings on the tablerunners before I could cut into it for the quilts. I still have 5 yards left for borders, so I'm doing good!
So considering I didn't have any UFO's to start the month, other than the tablerunners, but they don't count since they were WIP's. I think I'm doing pretty good to have a couple things done for FIUM! Hopefully I'll get a lot more done in Feb.
The Feb. goals are:
Make muslins of the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses
make the church banner
flowers (my aunt is doing)
gather pictures for bulletin boards
make coasters for out of town guests
ring bearer pillow
possibly my garter
Paul's vest muslin

Public Presentation

Yesterday I had to give a presentation and I could choose what I wanted to give it on, so I chose 4-H public presentations and the important information to know when giving one. I did my research, read through all the materials, planned what I was going to say, and practiced a lot. It went better than I expected, but not as good as I had hoped it would. I've given tons of presentations in my life, I mean I do have a degree in speech communication. I love speaking in front of people, but yesterday was a challenge. I really haven't given one in a while and I was a little nervous. I think it went well and I was pleased with how it turned out.
I was going to reward myself with an hour of sewing time before Paul got home, but instead I made cheezy meatball subs from a new recipe, noodles and sauce, and greenbeans and cheese. I was really quite impressed with how it turned out and Paul took seconds so I know it was good.
After supper I went down to my sewing studio. I had three tablerunners that needed to have the binding on the front and then I could change feet and sew the binding down on the back. I got the three done, then my mom had pinned two down, so I stitched in the ditch around those. I thought it was pretty late and since I didn't have a watch on, decided to go to bed. It was only 8! I usually stay up until 10:30-11 every night. So I read blogs, chatted with my mom, and then read for a while. I have ten tablerunners that need the last stage of the binding SID down from the front to the back and they will be done. I don't know if I can get them done before tomorrow, but I'll sure try!

Extreme Bulls

This weekend went by too quickly! Friday after work we went to the Extreme Bullriding event at the civic center. It just one of many events at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo which is one of the largest winter livestock events in the country. It was so good that we got tickets for the finals on Sat. night too. Sat. morning Paul took me out for breakfast and then I got my nails done (my treat to myself) and he got a haircut before we went to the stock show to look at the vendor booths. The booths are mostly selling stuff and it's fun to see what everyone has. There are over 400 booths to look through. In the afternoon my dad and brother Jim came out to the house and we got dad's cell phone working and input numbers so he can use it. Then we got ready and went back to look at the stock show and went to the Extreme Bulls finals which also included the Saddlebronc finals. Saddlebronc is my favorite event because a lot of my friends and people I know are in it. One of the guys I know won so I was excited.
Sun. I got up and went to church with my mom (she is working at the Sewing Center's Stock Show booth all week) and then we had breakfast before she went to work. I came home and took a long nap, did some work on the computer, and then prepared my presentation I have to give tomorrow. The only sewing I got done was half of the bindings on 6 tablerunners for the wedding. I'm slowly making progress! Today at lunch my co-worker Karen and I went to the Quilt Corral Too, where I found some really awesome purple fabrics. I know I just can't get away from the purple! I have to work more on my presentation tonight and then maybe I'll get to sew a bit. Wish me luck on the presentation tomorrow, hopefully I'll have great news to share when it's over.

Eye Doctor and Fall

So all my mom's- my mom, my future MIL, and the two ladies I'm friends with at work who are moms, all kept bugging me to go to the doctor about the infection I had under my eye. So I made the appointment and went on Mon. He gave me ointment to put on and said it would be best to wear my glasses and not get the ointment on my contacts. He also gave me a new prescription for contacts. When they optical place wanted to charge me almost $20 per box more (and I get 4 boxes) than I could get them online, I said I don't think so and took my prescription. That's like highway robbery if you ask me! So I went home Mon. and took my contacts out and put the ointment on. I sewed my YBR and felt fine.
Tues. morning I wear my glasses, which by the way I normally only wear to bed. I don't really look that hideous in them, but I don't care for wearing them. But I want to get this infection cleared up, so I wear them. I'm on the computer all day at work and so with the glare, I was really getting a headache. About 9:45 I went to go to the bathroom and there were a couple people visiting in the hall, so I stopped to see what was going on. All of a sudden when I went to take another step I twisted my ankle and fell backwards on my wrist. I don't know really what happend, but because everyone saw it, it was reported to HR and I had to fill out the Workers Compensation forms, talk to the rep from there, and so on and so forth. By noon though I wasn't feeling real great and pretty much attributed it to my glasses. I ended up going home and sleeping all afternoon. Yesterday I still didn't feel like myself and ended up staying home sick. I slept all day and finally by the evening was doing better. My mom came out to check on me and I put my contacts in and I felt a lot better. We worked on the tablerunners and got those to the binding stage. Only 10 left to bind. This morning I'm feeling a lot better and my contacts are in and I put the ointment on too and my eye is looking a lot better. So maybe this weekend I can get the borders on my YBR quilts.
The Black Hills Stock Show starts tomorrow, so we'll be busy with that for the next week.

YBR

Today I had to go to the eye doctor since I've been having trouble with my eye and a rash below it. It doesn't hurt, but it looks hideous. He gave me some ointment and said it should be cleared up by Friday. I got out of there earlier than I get off work, but it wasn't enough time to drive back to work for, so I came on home. I got the kitchen cleaned up, cleaned the living room and bathroom, and started supper. When Paul got home he fixed ham steaks and we had supper. I finished up the other YBR top and then worked on adding some pictures to my blog and writing on one of my yahoo groups. Seems like the night flew by and I was going to start reading a new book tonight.

Hearts Entwined

This is the Hearts Entwined table topper I made from Nancy Halvorson's book Love Is. I only got this far in class on Friday night, so I need to cut around the hearts and burp it and quilt it and it'll be ready for Valentine's Day This was a very easy and fun pattern to make.

February Calendar

I have always loved Valentine's Day, since it's my birthday and my last name is Harty, pronounced heart-e and our brand has a heart shape and then a T after it, I decorate heavily for the whole month. This is my calendar top for February. I am not quite done, but this is as far as I got in the class last week.

My pickup stole my new quilt frame!

Well I am again saving for a quilt frame! On Thursday my pickup decided not to start, so I took Paul's to work and had my brother look at mine. Wouldn't you know the fuel pump went out. This was a very expensive part ($625), plus labor because my brother was on call and couldn't fix it. But he got it in to a shop he used to work at and they fixed it and gave me a deal, so I was happy! There went my quilt frame money though. Needless to say my gas gage works again and for that I am really happy!
Saturday morning Paul and I had to got to Hot Springs (about 2 hours away) for a Natural Family Planning seminar. It's a requirement to get married in my church, so we went and got it done. They are only held every other month and we didn't want to wait until the last minute. We were home by 2 in the afternoon, so it wasn't too bad. My aunt and I met at the new Quilt Corral and checked it out. I know I am going to be spending to much time and money there! It is really awesome. My aunt Jane and I then went to Ben Franklin and Hobby Lobby in search of flowers for the wedding. It was a very daunting task and I didn't realise it would be. I guess I just wasn't mentally prepared. I think we finally found what we were looking for, but now just have to wait until they go on sale.
Sun. morning I got up to about 2in. of snow on the grown and it was still snowing. It was actually a really pretty snow. I went to church and when I got home Paul had made breakfast burritos and pancakes for breakfast. He got ready and we went to town to register for our wedding. We wanted to get it done while we weren't so busy so we didn't feel rushed. Since it was snowing, most of the stores weren't real busy either. We registered at Someone's in the Kitchen, Target, and Kohl's. All in all we were gone almost 6 hours. It sure is interesting to go register and mentally exhausting. We have to fix a few things online, but the one site wasn't working right and said we wanted 4 of the same comforter. I don't think so! At least we got the majority of it done and we actually had a fun time doing it. I really wanted to sew last night, but I was just too tired to do anything but watch TV.

First YBR top done

I finished the first YBR top last night. It doesn't have the borders on, because I'm not sure what I'm going to use for them. I have some fabric I planned on using, but I really need to finish the tablerunners first because it's the binding fabric for those. I'm not sure how much will be needed, so I really should have those finished before I use it to border the YBR. I'm also considering using a lavendar for a small border first, so I'm going to ask the gals at club tonight what they think would work best for bordering it with. I hope to do the other one this weekend as I have Sew and Sews club tonight and a tabletopper class tomorrow night. I didn't get a picture as there was no one to hold it. Guess I finished too late last night.

Yellow Brick Road Blocks done!

Last night when I got home we cooked hot dogs and warmed up the chili and made Chili dogs. They were so good and added just enough variety, so we didn't have to have just chili again. Paul even baked cookies last night too. I went to the sewing studio with the goal of getting the first set of blocks done. They were going together so well that I worked on and finished the second set. It was 9, so I thought about stopping, but decided to cut out the last blocks. Wouldn't you know once I started I just had to finish the blocks, so at 9:50PM last night I had 80 blocks finished! My goal tonight is to get them layed out and sew at least one of them together. Tomorrow night is Sew and Sews club, so I need to have show and tell. The only things I can think of that I finished are the B/W quilt and Paul's PJ pants. Guess I need to look back and see if I finished anything else. Maybe I can get a YBR finished and ask about what to put on for borders.

Butchering Weekend

Well I am having trouble getting around to writing like I normally do. I feel like it's been weeks since I wrote. The worst part is I read all the blogs and then don't have time to write my own. Friday's after work we normally go out to supper, but we're trying to eat at home more, so Paul fixed tacos. I had a long day so I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend and sewing. My dad called to say they were butchering two hogs on Sun. and needed our help. So Paul and I had to change our relaxing weekend at home plan, to a trip to mom and dad's. We did errands in town Sat. morning and then got ready and went to my parents. We were there in time to eat and go to church. After church mom and I worked on a timeline for getting stuff done for the wedding. We set which month things need to be finished in. Tablerunners and quilt tops are to be done in Jan.
Sun. morning we, including my brother and sister-in-law, butchered the two hogs. We had bought half, Jim &Addie bought half, and my parents got a full one. We got one done before lunch, and the other after lunch. We had supper and then came home. We were both exhausted, but so glad that is done for the year. I don't think we can put another thing in our freezers though! Last night I made myself go down to the sewing studio and sew for an hour. I was so exhausted, but if I didn't work on the YBR's they were never going to get finished. I did the first two steps of sewing and cutting, so at least I have a good start on them.
Then I searched the house high and low and still can't find the booklet I have to make wedding related hardanger pieces. I know I had it this fall and showed my mom, but for the life of me I can't find it now and I really wanted to make the front for the unity candle. I guess I'll have to keep searching, but it's really driving me nuts not being able to find it.

Amaryllis in Bloom

My Amaryllis is blooming!


The tallest part got to almost 29"

I took pictures of it last night in the dark, so hopefully you can see them. It's actually really pretty and was fun to watch it grow.
Last night I went to Sit & Sew. I worked on the design of my landscape banner for the back of the sanctuary of the church. I think it looks pretty good, but I didn't unpack to take pictures. I just used scraps of similar colored fabrics, so I hope it turns out the way I would like it to. I'll have to take pictures of it tomorrow.
Tonight I am going to a calendar class. Well really, it's kind of a BOM only, it's a finished block that you put on the quilted panel and add a paper calendar every month. I think it will really turn out neat. Tonight we do Feb.

Blooming!

I haven't heard much rumbling in blogland about the amaryllis plants, but I just wanted to say mine is over 26" tall and blooming! I thought it would be out today, but it's not quite open. It was fun to watch it, even though it didn't bloom by Christmas.
I haven't done a whole lot quilt related in the past few days. Sat. Paul and I went to the Bridal Showcase. I am shocked at the cost of photography! I think I should go into that career in my next life. It's over 1200 just for the photographer, before pictures, mileage, or more than 2 hours. Seriously there is no way we could have the photographer at the pictures beforehand and the wedding and do it in under 2 hours! It would cost more for the photography, than for the entire wedding!! So after being very dismayed, we decided that we'll have to find a budding photographer, or my brother offered to take some pictures on his new digital camera. I think we may have like 3 friends take pictures and hope for the best.
My brother Ed and Paul fixed my pickup powersteering line and Paul's pickup fan pully or something like that on Sat. afternoon. Sun. we were up at crack of dawn and picked up Ed to go ice fishing. It was about 40 degrees, but the wind was kind of blowing. We didn't have very good luck. We came home and took naps.
Tonight I did a bunch of calling for the wedding and then I cut all the light fat quarters for my two YBR quilts. I got a little sore, so I had to quit. I'll do the others tomorrow night.

2007 Quilting and Sewing in Review

This year flew by just as quickly as the last and I'm sure next year will as well. Luckily since my mom is awesome she got me a quilt journal several years ago to record my first quilt ever, a King Size t-shirt quilt of all my shirts from high school. Needless to say I was very active and had tons of shirts! I made it out of flannel (hey I didn't know any better) and it's really warm. I made it in my freshman/sophomore years in college, on breaks and during the summer. From there I took a couple classes at a quilt retreat and was hooked. Since I didn't have my own machine, I had to use mom or grandmas. I made a commissioned quilt for a lady in town and loved every minute of it, learning a lot about making t-shirt quilts. So I made a lot with the Brother machine I got for College graduation from my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. In Nov. 2004 I upgraded to a Janome 3050 and continued sewing a lot. Last December I filled up that first quilt journal (you know the green kind found in a lot of the sewing/quilting stores). So I asked for a new one for Christmas. I started quilting in 1998 and finished that book in 2006. Mom gave me a new one and I've been busy filling it this year. Guess what? It's full! I completely filled the whole book in 2007. So I'm on a quest to find another quilt journal tonight. I am starting off this year with a new book I hope to fill as well.
2007 quilting/sewing in a review:
- 2 baby quilts
- 18 tablerunners
- 17 wall hangings
- 10 postcards
- 5 full size quilts
- 11 purses
- 4 bags
- 6 blocks
- 7 pieces of clothing- pants, dress, jackets, & vests
- ironing board cover
- 3 pillowcases
- treeskirt

December Quilting Accomplishments!

December was a busy month, but I did get a few things done. I feel great that I got all the Christmas presents made that I wanted to and a few others as well.

~PJ pants for Paul for Christmas
~2 Snowflake tabletoppers for Bob
~Tablerunner to match tree skirt
~Core Values wall hanging for Blake
~Hunky Carpenter wall hanging for Melanie
~2 Candy cane tablerunners for Sandy and Karent
~2 LS picture wall hangings for Ann and Angie
~2 pillowcases for Billy and Kari
~ Santa table topper for Marcie
~ Purple tablerunner for Janelle
~Treeskirt
~ Fleece blanket for Ed
~ Pillowcase for Ed
~ Black and White quilt, quilted and binding on for me!

Hopefully in the new year I'll get a lot accomplished in regards to sewing for the wedding. At least with the blog I stay caught up on my picture taking.

Happy New Year Quilting Buddies!

2008 is going to be my year! Hope everyone had a Happy New Years day. I was up at the butt crack of dawn to go ice fishing with my fiance and his mom. My little bro was going to go, but he was sick, so didn't. It was really windy and cold and with Paul's Vexilar and AquaVue toys, we were able to see there were no fish swimming in the 5 holes we dug. There were 3 others fishing and they weren't catching anything, so we left and came home. We had to stop and get Paul a new pair of Carhardt Coveralls though, because he gained a bit of weight in the last year. We'll both be working on loosing before the wedding. I took a nice long nap when we got home. Then I watched the Rose Bowl Parade to see my SDSU PRIDE of the Dakotas Marching Band in the parade. I was in the PRIDE when I was at State, so I'm a big supporter of the band. I missed out on the 2003 appearance in the Rose Bowl parade because I graduated in December. We played at the Packers game, Fourth of July Bicentennial of DC parade, and numerous other big events while in college. Both my best friends/bridesmaids were in the PRIDE with me.
Since 2008 is going to be my year... I started my quilting on a good note. I prepped all the fabric for my bridesmaids quilts and cleaned my sewing room. With the wedding 5 short months away i have a lot to accomplish.
I am making lots of quilting items for the wedding!
~ 3 Lapsize YBR quilts for my bridesmaids and flowergirl
~ Landscape banner for the back of the sanctuary of the church
~ 2 Bridesmaids dresses and a flowergirl dress
~ 20 Quilted tablerunners for decorations, 2 done, 10 quilted need binding, and 10 need basted, quilted, and bound
~ Jacket to go over my dress if it gets chilly, it is SD after all
~ Mother in law quilt

It's going to be a very busy few months.
Well it's time to get ready to go back to work. Hope you all have a Happy New Year.

Black and White Quilt FINISHED!!!!!

Here's my black and white quilt, completely finished, washed and ready to use. I think I'll take it to work first and let my coworkers see it first though. I am so happy to say it was finished in 2007! I started it in March at a class by Kay Capps Cross, a quilter from Minnesota who was giving a lecture at the Sewing Center. She uses mostly black and white in her design work. Since I spent most of the summer making gifts for my brothers wedding, I didn't get to work on it. I am so happy it is done and I can focus on wedding quilting!

I MADE IT!

I didn't think it was possible, I even put it out of my list of goals for the end of the year, but my goal/wish/dream came true! I finished my black and white quilt tonight!!!!!! I had about half the quilting left and needed to put the binding on. I worked on it a little bit Sun. night, but still had a ton of quilting to do. Since I do it all on my home machine it was taking forever! I had to work today and Paul and I had plans to go to dinner and a movie tonight, so I figured I wouldn't work on it any more until the new year. I started this quilt in March, so I really wanted to have it done this year! Well I got off early, so I worked on it until Paul was home and ready to go out. We went to supper at Outback and had a great time. We were going to go to a movie, but he was tired and it was so cold and windy and we're supposed to get a storm, so I suggested we go home. He thought that was a great idea. So he watched movies and we drank at home and I quilted my b/w quilt. About 10 he ran me a hot bath since my shoulders were so sore from quilting. I so enjoyed it and then I was determined to put the binding on before midnight. I sewed it to the front, flipped it to the back, used steam a seam to put it to the back and stitched in the ditch around it. I finished my stitching at 12:05! Only because I ran out of bobbin thread the last half of the bottom! I am so excited to have it done and now I can finally move on to my wedding quilts. I am so excited to get started on them! May everyone have a great New Year and I'll post pictures after I wash it. I'm off to lala land for some sleep. We're going ice fishing at 6 in the morning. Hey what can I say I quilt all year and he only gets to go fishing a couple weekends a winter. I'd rather go with him, then him be all alone on the lake. I'm taking my Quilt Albums book and I should get the first novel read before we come home. Sure hope it's not to cold or we'll have to stay home.

Happy New Year's Eve!

The past week just flew by and I can't believe it is almost over. The last time I wrote about my 14" amaryllis, which is now hovering at 20", but no bulb yet. Thurs. I worked and then met my mom so we could get our nails done. Just as we were done buying a Jennifer Chiaverini novel at Borders, Paul called to ask me to go to his uncles' apartment with him. Uncle Bill's son Ben was here from CA, so we went and visite with him for a couple hours. It was after 10 when we got home. So much for shopping with my mom. Friday night I met up with mom at the store and we did our shopping. I even got home pretty early for me. Sat. morning I met up with a guy I had been working for over the course of the past year and settled with him. I was so excited to have that taken care of before the end of the year. Then it was off to shop with Paul. We got a lot done, but mostly for ice fishing. Sat. night I was my mom's date to her Christmas party since my dad didn't want to go. We had a great time and since I worked there some too it was really fun to visit with everyone. Yesterday I slept in for a change and then went to church. In the afternoon Paul and I went shopping for more ice fishing supplies and made it home for a nap in the late afternoon. We watched Shrek 3 which was really good and then I knew I had to sew! I took out my b/w quilt again and quilted 2 sides. Now I have one end and the four corners left. I really wanted to get them done, but we'll see how it goes tonight. We are going out to supper and a movie, so I don't know if I'll get it done. Tomorrow we're leaving before dawn to go ice fishing. Maybe if I'm not too tired I can sew when I get home. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and gets lots of quilting done.

Amaryllis

Well here's my entry in the contest. It's right at 14" today. I think it grew 6" since this weekend. I moved it to a warmer spot and it seems to be doing better.