Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Twirling, or...How to Keep Yourself Occupied in 650 Square Feet

I think I've been busy.  No, actually I know I have....I just don't have much to show for it.  But, I think that's the nature of housework.  I forgot I was expecting company this week.  Wow!  How can you forget that?  You forget because you get busy with things that need to be done now.  Or at least things you have decided to put on your priority list.

I've cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen (3 times), done laundry (too many times to count), vacuumed (twice, and it needs it again because of all the thread bombs from washing fabric), dusted, sorted, de-cluttered, and put together donation boxes.  And you can't tell I did any of that!!  Oh, well...what's a girl to do?  You would think my sewing machine's are out of order, but they are not....
These two baby quilts developed out of the four patch blocks I talked about in the last blog.  The red is all used up (the rest is going into the binding).  I have 10 of these blue blocks left....they are going in the charity bin.  I have the backing and batting ready to be basted...tomorrow.  I am going to practice my free motion quilting on these, and then they will probably go to charity also.

I played Martha Stewart last night and decorated a few of my mini pumpkins....

My mom sent me a few Halloween decorating goodies, so I thought I would actually use them before the holiday is in the past.  I got glitter everywhere, but then again...I can't think of any glitter project that didn't get everywhere;)

I did have a bit of help with the fabric washing chore....

"Why is it empty, mom?  You know you have more to do.  Next!!"
I think he really does feel his only two jobs in the house are activity supervisor and quilt inspector;)

Some notes on recent comments:

To Katie regarding secret ingredients:  Use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but add 1/4tsp of black pepper and about the same of hot red chili powder.  Trust me.  Yum!!  You can even use a little less if you have reservations on how it will taste.  The pepper brings intensifies the chocolate, and the chili adds a bit of a cool feeling to pop off the end of the experience.  They are a hit whenever I make them.  That, and I always use real chocolate chips. I've found a generic organic brand that is just wonderful.

To Marsha regarding flour sack location:  Found it at Smiths.  It's not on the top shelf of flour options, more off to the lower right hand side.  I think all the Smiths are set up pretty much the same, so you should be able to find it pretty easily.  I got this one at the Smiths at my end of town.

To Beth ...Oscar feels that all quilts are his until they leave the house;)

To Love.....I have to cook from scratch now due to my allergies to all the crap they put in pre-made food.  But, I love the challenge;)

To Canuckquilter....Yes, a TON of basting and quilting ahead of me!!  I'm going to have to buy a box of bandages for my fingers from all the safety pin pricks;)

To Sandy... Without Katie, I would have added two more UFOs to my pile this weekend.  Instead, I got three moved closer to the line of being done;)

Oh, back to the company coming....I'm having trouble deciding what to give my brother's wife as a baby shower gift (that's what they are coming into town for).  What she's into can't be found at the local stores, and I don't think I have time to get a quilt together (yeah, right) that she would be happy with.  Or maybe it's because I'm just stuck on trying to make sure she likes it.  The jury is still out on that one.

The newest edition of my favorite video game came out today...Fable 3.  I love that game!!  I've let my hubby have the first crack at it since he has to work.  I will dig into it this weekend.  We may encounter a production stall here at the Quilting and UFO Emporium...LOL;)  Oh well, at this point, I just may deserve to put my feet up for a few days;)

I forgot to mention that my daughter and I have finally hooked the video chat connection!!  It is soooo cool to see her and the grandbaby in live video feed!!  I had to go get a new web cam as the one I had was 10 years old...can you say outdated????  We have another video session scheduled for tomorrow night.  That should be fun because the hubby and I will be carving pumpkins too;)

I have tons more to chit chat about, but I think I've bent your ears enough for this round;)  Hope everyone is safe, warm, and happy;)

Happy Quilting!!


8 comments:

Ruth said...

Busy, busy, busy! I was hoping for a picture of the finished Halloween decorations! The bright baby quilts will make some babies happy, I'm sure.

Katie said...

I think you've done more than I have! I haven't touched the washing machine in 4 days (and then it was only for clothing laundry) and just this morning I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen for the first time since Sunday. The red and blue baby quilts turned out great (and I see Oscar is trying to be an Oscar-nado, but Luka says he has a long ways to go!) and I hope the free motion quilting on them goes well. Enjoy your new video game, too...sometimes getting sidetracked is the best thing for me because it brings me back even stronger to my quilting projects.

Sandy said...

'Busy' doesn't begin to describe your week so far. I am impressed!

The two baby quilt tops are really lovely. You don't know anyone expecting twins, do you?

I have had lots of experience with glitter. (Add a four-year-old granddaughter to the mix and let your imagination run wild.)

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to please your sister-in-law. Years ago I received some great advice. When in doubt, give (or do or make) what you like or makes you happy. That way, at least one of you will be pleased.

Sandy

Sandy said...

I have always been impressed by your creativity (and your funky fabric). One project that has stayed with me is a baby quilt you made a while ago. The quilt itself was lovely (lots of blue fabric), but what wowed me was the family handprints you applied to the back. Now, not every gift can be that meaningful, but I'll bet that even your hard-to-please sister-in-law would love a gift that tugged at her heartstrings.

Sandy

Cynthia said...

Can't go wrong with a box of diapers for that shower gift! Good Luck!

Beth said...

I might have to lay down and rest from all the work you and Oscar did.
Your red and blue quilts came out so cute!! Can't wait to see them quilted.
Web cams are fantastic! I am so glad you and your daughter and the baby can see each other more often.
I talk to mt daughter while she is at school and it is fun.
Enjoy the weekend.

Windsom Winds said...

Good luck with your shower gift. I know that feeling all too well from recent experience. Have fun with Fable 3. My husband loves that game, but is super bummed that it isn't out on PC and the Xbox is the only system we don't yet own, so he has to wait. Personally I never got into Fable, but that hasn't stopped my recent production slow down due to other games.

---"Love" said...

Whew! I'm tired after reading about all you've done! On my fridge, I have a little magnet that says "Housework makes you ugly!" So I try not to do too much of that! Got to keep up appearances somehow! *wink* Your little quilts are really cute! Now get some rest! ---"Love"