Junior or Senior.... that is the question...

The Rock Star had his last day of school Friday. He asked me Thursday night if I could have him "called out" of school at 10am... um....no.... School was scheduled to be out at 11am. He said he didn't have anything to do for that last hour. I said..."maybe you should study for next year"... HA HA...

So now I am a stay-at-home mom again for the summer. He can't find a job, although he has really tried, and continues to look. No one is hiring, and if they are they are hiring middle age people that have lost their primary job. I can understand that, but gee, he has obligations also. He must pay for his own gas, any entertainment, he should be paying for his cell phone and his insurance, but so far Dad has given him a pass. He is definitely more spoiled than the girls ever were. And they would agree if you asked them.

Our latest conversation was this -

Me-So you're a senior now.
RS-No, I'm a junior.
Me-No, you were a junior this year, now you're a senior.
RS-No, I won't be a senior until the first day of school in August.
Me-Whatever...
RS-Well, you aren't a kindergartner the summer BEFORE kindergarten? Are You??

So, if he just finished his Junior year, is he a Junior or a Senior?

And really, does it matter all that much?

I would rather he was one of the gainfully employed....

Hubby had to drop off some paperwork, so I rode along and he was nice enough to drop me off at the quilt store. I got the border/binding fabric for the mystery quilt and some really cute watermelon fabric. Not sure what it's for, but it sure looks summery...LOL

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Tomorrow the surprise is revealed....

New to me.....

A couple of weeks ago Miss Nancy and I took a class at the Quilted Fox. Susan Cleveland came out with a new technique (well, it's not that new. I have had the kit for a couple of years now) called Piping Hot Binding. There were only 3 of us in the class so we got a lot of individual attention. This is such a great technique and it really adds some interest to your binding.

We were to take a 12 inch block already lightly quilted to practice on. I didn't have anything just laying around so I decided to use one the redwork blocks from my Winter Wonderland quilt top. Let's face it. I am not getting that top block finished. I decided a while ago to repurpose the blocks into Christmas presents this year and recycled the pattern to another stitcher (for a little cash, I might add! HA HA)

So here is the finished little wall hanging. And little it is...it only measures
inches..

That little red strip of fabric next to the binding is the Piping Hot Binding. It is cut 1/4 wide and there is a little bit of cording inserted. Very easy, but lots of interest...





I plan to use this technique again on my Chinese Coin quilt. I just need to find some leftover fabric... or maybe get a solid color to use...

Today I am grocery shopping. I sewed a secret project yesterday and didn't get to the store. BUMMER, because everyone goes on the weekend and I try to stay away from the stores on the weekend...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

First of the season....

Only these ingredients-no substitutions allowed....




My favorite sandwich of the summer....





Happy Sewing,
Nancy

second post of the day....

If you came to read Top Chef it's the next post down. Just wanted to tell folks that this is a special week... What is it? Can't tell, but come back Monday to find out...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Top Chef...

My sister is a HUGE fan of the Bravo show Top Chef. A couple of months ago, she sent me a link to get tickets for the Top Chef 20 City Tour. My job was to check the website every day and when St Louis was in bold type I was to get tickets. Luckily I looked at the right time, as the tickets were gone within 1/2 hour. I clicked for 4 free tickets and called her at work.
Tickets-check!

Yesterday was THE DAY!! Miss Nancy and I met my sister at her work and while eating our lunch, we drove downtown to Soulard Market. LOOK,LOOK it's the Arch... I've been to the top once. The whole thing kind of sways and could make you feel unsafe...and if you are claustrophobic, you will never make it into the little capsule to ride up one leg to the arch.. It's TEENY TINY...





And a whole bunch of "suits"...probably off to lunch somewhere...



Oh, here's the new St. Louis Cardinals Stadium...I wonder if the name has changed since IMBEV bought out Budweiser... My sister LOVES the Cardinals and always knows if they win or lose. Miss Nancy's hubby (Hi Lloyd!!) loves the Cardinals also and their living room used to be ALL Cardinals, ALL the time!! He is a collector of Cardinals "stuff"...



And we made it!!



We got there a bit early (and snagged a great parking spot) so we had time for some fresh veggie/fruit shopping. Soulard is a year round open air veggie market.
I bought some fresh sweet cherries, plums and tomatoes that actually smell like tomatos. Do you smell your tomatos? There is nothing better than the smell of a garden fresh hot tomato...




See, we are booked at 1:30pm



We checked in, got our yellow arm bands and stood in the freekin hot sun forEVAH!! We were HOT!! Luckily they had a tent set up so we got to finally sit in the shade. After watching a short video highlighting past seasons, the Chef-testants were ushered in.

Stephanie and Dale... Let's see if I remember (and my sister will leave a comment if I am wrong). Stephanie just won last season, Dale was a chef-testant last season, but didn't win. Dale actually tried out first, made it and then "nominated" Stephanie, who was his sous chef and she won! Amazing...
For the next 40 minutes they answered Top Chef questions from the audience and cooked up some meatballs with pesto and sauteed veggies. We got to taste them, too!!

The veggies with pesto tasted really good. The meatball was a mixture of pork, lamb and turkey and it was green. Uh sorry.... I don't eat green meatballs. And they were dry... Sorry Top Chef..you scored a big ZERO on the meatballs.



But Stephanie was cute and Dale was funny!! Here are some pics during the show.




My sister with Stephanie and Dale....




My sister with cardboard cut outs of some other chef-testants. I guess they couldn't come so they sent their cardboard "selves". Um...Hey SIS!! They aren't real!! Why are you hugging cardboard???



Time to go home. We had a great time. If Top Chef is coming to your town (they are in Chicago right now) go see them.... You will have fun...

Click here - http://thetour.bravotv.com/

It is raining today. Good time to catch up on some housekeeping and work on those mystery quilt borders...

Anyone else having problems with blogger? It seems to be deleting photos, making up words and going absolutely weird...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

The doorbell rang....

Don't we all love it when the doorbell rings? It could be family to visit, friends asking you to go on a special outing or the mailman... Last Friday my doorbell rang.
It was the mailman and she was holding a box. For me!! I couldn't remember ordering anything, didn't remember winning any prizes...so couldn't imagine what this was...

Well, this is what was in the box...

It is the most luscious lemon linen. With handstitching and a pocket and Tami's label. Lemon Tree Tales. Luckily there was a note in there saying she was sorry it was so delayed in getting to me. "huh?"

Oh but wait....there is more? Prepare to be jealous...Yes, this was also tucked into the box. OMG...It is absolutely wonderfully lovely... I love tea cups (I have an extensive collection still packed in boxes from our move 3 years ago). I love houses.






You cannot imagine the detail in this pincushion. There is hand embroidered grass, teeny tiny windows and a door. Flowers are strewn on the lawn and the walk looks like it was fashioned of ribbing from a sweater.. I LOVE IT and there will be No Pins in this pincushion.

And then I almost threw away a luscious FQ. Not sure what happened to the photo, but it is destined for a project...not sure when. It is getting acquainted with my other FQ and they are having a meeting. They will speak. Hopefully I will hear them over the hum of the machine.

I immediately emailed Tami and thanked her, but also asked WHY? It appears that I won her blog-a-versary prize over a year ago and my number on the to-do list came up. I originally won the lemon wristlet, but she felt bad so she added the pincushion. I would say well worth the wait...

Oooopppss!! Emergency....be back in a minute....

Ok, back now. Apparently the battery is dead on the Rock Stars car, so I just had to run him to school. Guess dad has his evening planned for him getting a new battery and putting it in.

No sewing today. I am off with my sister and a friend on a field trip and just like elementary school, we are taking our lunch. I will pack the camera (something I was never allowed to do in elementary school!) and share some photos tomorrow...

Happy Sewing,

Nancy

The weekend....

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I started the weekend with my sister on Saturday.

We went to the Fox Theatre to see A Chorus Line.



It was wonderful. Our seats weren't as close as last year for Jersey Boys, but they were still good. Because of the nature of the play, there was no intermission which made the restrooms very busy afterward...

Sunday hubby started looking for a project. He is a woodworker and much like a sewer he needs a project going all the time. Unlike me, he has NO UFO'S... He finishes everything. He builds wonderful furniture, but we are plum out of room, so I asked him to make me a frame for the little alphabet stitchery.
Ok, do I want dark or light?
What size do I need?
This is what he came up with....



I love it... He is thinking of putting a few on Etsy. Wonder if anyone would be interested?

I spent all of Sunday and Monday working on the guild mystery quilt.



Bev did a great job picking this one. Each month of blocks was so different there was no way to figure out the mystery. I got all the rows sewn together and got the first borders made. I need to find something for the second border. It calls for gazillions of little 4 1/2 inch squares as the last border and I am done with pieces. No more squares. It will be a solid border (as opposed to pieced) and I just need to find the right fabric. The LQS may have something I can use. Might try there today.

This is a small peak. It's not a real surprise anymore. Those triangle strips are the borders. ALL fabric was from my stash. Even the borders. And yes they are the same fabric in different colorways. I must have really like it as I have a couple of yards of each... In fact I might have enough of the red to make the final border...hmmm.... would that be weird? The red goes toward the center so they wouldn't be next to each other. Might lay that out on the bed and see how it works.
I would love to do the whole quilt from stash...and only have to buy the backing..

Our little 3 year old cocker, Oliver, decided to have a couple of seizures this weekend, so I have to get a call into the vet. Not sure what is going on, and we have never had a dog with seizures before, so we will see what gives.

Tomorrow, I am doing something really cool. My sister will be taking a half day off work, I will picking up Miss Nancy and we are going somewhere to see something...

Come back to see what....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

We Remember...

Image from flickr-paparutzi

Our mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors that have served our country and given the ultimate sacrifice.

I remember my nephew that is currently serving in the Navy.

We won't be doing any kind of picnic thing today. Rain is predicted for most of the day. We did BBQ last night and of course the rain started just as I put the burgers on the grill. Had to pull the grill into the garage to finish them, so now my car smells like smoke....lol

I am still sewing...and hope to get the borders on the mystery quilt today with a big show n tell tomorrow. I have lots to show, a win, a top, and a great show...

Happy Memorial Day,
Nancy

Someone poke out my eyes.....

Weeknights will never be the same until the fall. All the shows have had their season finale. In your house, this means that you go outside, take a walk, plant a garden.... In my house, it means that I don't have custody of the remote control after FoxNews at 7pm. Survivor is over. Two and half Men is over. ER just totally left me. It also means that we will be watching the History Channel, Sci-Fi Channel and anything to do with either the Civil War or dead people. Just poke out my eyes now, please....

So what will I do?

I guess I will make charity quilts during the day ...

Here is the first one... since I didn't put the seminole borders on this quilt, I had bunches of strips left over. It's small, but someone will love it.



And I guess I will stitch in the evening...

This little stitchery is the one of firsts...
First one where the pattern was printed on the ink jet printer.
First one I used variegated thread.
First one I used a backstitch.
Not bad for firsts....



EDIT-The pattern for this stitchery is HERE


So, I guess I will get a lot of sewing and stitching done cause there sure ain't nuttin on TV..... (unless you count dead people)

Happy Summer,
Nancy

A mother passing by her son's bedroom was astonished to see the bed

was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then, she saw an

envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow.

It was simply addressed, 'Mom'

With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter, with

trembling hands.

'Dear Mom,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to

elope with my new girlfriend, because I wanted to avoid a scene

with Dad and you.

I've been finding real passion with Stacy, and she is so nice, but I

knew you would not approve of her, because of all her piercings, tattoos,

her tight Motorcycle clothes, and because she is so much older than I am.

But it's not only the passion, Mum. She's pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the

woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter.

We share a dream of having many more children.

Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really

hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves, and trading it with

the other people in the commune, for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want.

In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS,

so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it!!

Don't worry Mum, I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself.

Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so you can get to know your

many grandchildren.

Love, your son, Nicholas.

"P.S. Mum, none of the above is true. I'm over at Jason's house.

I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than

the school report that's on my desk"


I love you!

Call when it is safe for me to come home.


Kind of puts the whole "raising kids" thing into perspective....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

PS....I finished a project last night so tomorrow there will be pictures...

Tuesday Talk....

Nothing....as in NO-THING is going on here. Last Friday we took off early and headed out to look at some land. Our hope is was to find a bit of acreage to retire on. After a day of looking we have changed our plans and won't be doing anything until closer to retirement. We do still have the Rock Star that (fingers crossed) will graduate next May.

The weekend was quiet and yesterday was Quilt Guild. Our vice-president resigned to take a full time job and I was voted on and installed yesterday as the new vice-president. Where upon I was immediately told I was responsible for all the programs for the next 12 months. YIKES!! I have June, July, and August set, so now I have to start working on Sept,Oct and then Jan - May....We don't have a meeting in November as it is too close to Thanksgiving and December is our Christmas Party.
I have two members working on a couple of classes, but really need to figure out some more stuff.... I could use some ideas? I am in NorthEast Missouri so if someone knows anyone that teaches around here, email me?? Or if you have something that you have done at your guild meeting that was fun....

Today I turn into a cleaning lady for my Mom. She is out of town so it will be nice for her to return to a nice, clean house and I get a little fabric/fun money..


Tomorrow I will hopefully have a new project to show off. I took a class last Thursday night which was really fun...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

The Hospital stay (or The Invisible Nurse) ...

Last Thursday evening I drove down to my sister to spend the night. We took off and had a Chinese dinner and then watched Survivor...(what's up with voting Debbie off? Why not surprise Coach?) anyway.....

Friday morning she had to report by 6:30am so off we went at 6am. I took hot tea with me because it would have been cruel to make her smell coffee and know she couldn't have any. We found a parking spot (of course FIRST we had to drive around the whole parking lot and get lost in the parking garage and then end up in the same parking spot we had at the beginning, but whatever!). We finally made it up the elevator after being sent to the wrong check in desk... apparently I am no good at directions inside a hospital and she was weak from no food/no caffeine. We check in at the desk (oh, we missed that the first time also and had to back track). And what does she get. A BEEPER!! A freaking beeper! Like a beeper from Olive Garden that says your table is ready. It comes with instructions. First time it beeps the patient goes to op registration. Second time it beeps, pt goes to pre-op holding. Third time it beeps, family (2 at a time please) can go to pre-op to sit with said pt. Now just imagine....a LARGE waiting room, many pts, many beepers. Dang it, beepers were going off right and left. What a nightmare. So, her beeper goes off, she leaves and comes back with bracelet on. Beeper goes off again. She returns after having blood drawn. Beeper goes off again. DON'T COME BACK THIS TIME!! She hands me the beeper and no, she doesn't return this time....
I sit and sit and sit and FINALLY the beeper goes off and I can go back to pre-op holding to sit...in a hard chair...freezing my freakin butt off cause the hard chair is under an air conditioning vent and apparently the nursing staff is HOT and it must be 40 degrees in there. Of course the patients all have nice heated blankets! I sat and shivered and finally one of the nurses brought me a heated blanket. oh yes...that was nice....

So now I have to leave. They have given her a "happy shot" and she is off. I still have the beeper cause it's gonna go off one more time when she hits post-op. I got some hand embroidery done (one little girl asked me if I was knitting...lol) and finally the beeper went off. I was given a paper with her last name and room number on it and told to HAND OVER THE BEEPER (gladly) and "please proceed to the 6th floor waiting room). Now, I was lucky enough to find that on my own, so it must be my sister that gets us lost. HA HA...

I sat in the dark (some ICU families were sleeping) waiting room and it was getting to be lunch time so I took off for the cafeteria to see what was good. YUM...big pieces of pizza and a bottle of water and where will I sit? Oh look, a hospital volunteer sitting by herself. I used to work in a hospital and if you are ever in a hospital cafeteria for a meal with no one to sit with, sit with a volunteer. This lady was very nice, and after a nice conversation we found out we had quite a bit in common. Her husband was a Shriner, my dad was a Mason,mys sister and I both belonged to Jobs Daughters, my quilt guild makes charity quilts for Shriners Hospital (over 600 to date) and so on.... I had a very pleasant lunch with her and for the life of me, I can't remember her name. Oh well, it's very unlikely she reads my blog..

After lunch, I returned to the 6th floor and asked one of the clerks (I am sure they have an official title, but all hospitals call their clerks something different, so there) and my sister had come up from post-op and was in her room..


"Well, there you are!!" my sister says as I enter her room. What?...I just ate LUNCH!! She arrived in her room around noon and for 5 minutes had been wondering where I had gone off to.... She did really well. She ate about 1/2 of the lunch they brought and snoozed off and on during the afternoon. She ate some ice chips and about 3pm we realized that from 12 noon until 3pm NO NURSE CAME AND CHECKED ON HER! Isn't that unreal? She is a fresh post-op and NO ONE CHECKED ON HER...No vitals, no nothing... It's a good thing I was there, although nothing happened. She finally beeped the NA to get up to go to the toilet (that word was for you Anne! and all you other Aussie's that read my blog HA HA, cause I would have typed bathroom, not toilet)

She told me that she was gonna eat dinner (5pm) and then tell the nurse to get the paperwork done, she was "out of there". The nurse did finally show up around 4pm or so as which point my sister asked for more ice chips and of course the nurse forgot about them and the NA showed up and my sister asked HER for some and then she must have said something to the nurse because we ended up with two cups of ice chips...LOL

And we were...(out of there) but not before
I had to help her out of bed as the nurse just stood there watching
The NA ran a race (really! I walk fast and couldn't keep up with her) with the wheelchair through the hospital to get her out
AND ran my sister's foot into the wall....

We stopped at Walgreens to get some "happy pills" and went HOME!!

She is back to work today with only tylenol, a heating pad and a pillow...

Of course I won't name the hospital....but I will think twice about ever going there as a patient...

I am playing with bubble jet 2000 and bubble jet set today.... I want to do some fabric printing using the computer on the mystery quilt.

Tomorrow is a class at a LQS on Piping Hot Binding...Have to get my sample ready to go and pack up for that...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Check this out....

Giveaway of a QUILT!! Yes, a finished quilt!! See that button over there to the left? Click on it or HERE to enter.

Good Luck...
Nancy

Happy Mothers Day....

To all mothers


Thanks also to all who asked about my sister. She came home the same night and is doing really well. I will devote a whole post to it this week. We had some great times....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Another project started....

Because I don't have 3 quilts ready for quilting...
Because I don't have a BOM stitching block to do...
Because I don't have to finish a BOM for the quilt guild....
And because I am caught up with my Calendar Quilt (not!)

I decided to start a new project...

Here's a sneak peak...



I am teaching myself learning to do the back stitch. Honest now..how does it look so far? Three strands of DMC yellow/orangy peach variegated.. on some fabric from the local Walmarts...(yea, I said WalmartS, just like everyone else in this town does and yea, my WalmartS still have some fabric).

The Guest Blogger is having some hospital time tomorrow, so I am being a good younger sister and taking her there and bringing her home. Will spend the night tonight (we will watch SURVIVOR and since she lives alone NO ONE WILL TALK!! YEA!) and then also tomorrow night. I wonder what she wants for her last supper....LOL Maybe CHINESE? I never get Chinese!! She can eat until midnight. Should I wake her up at 11:30pm for a snack?? LOL

See ya in a couple of days. I hope to work on my stitching as I sit in the waiting room..

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Busy...busy....busy....

This is keeping me very busy....






As Abbie was eating lunch, I was using my wonderful artistic skills drawing.
Holding this up, she yelled "DA DA".....HA HA...It does kinda look like him...



Taking her to Redwork tomorrow, hopefully she will be good...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Raffle Quilt....

This is my guilds raffle quilt. It is a queen size quilt made using Alex Anderson's Never Enough Romance fabric from a local quilt shop. It is all hand quilted and is absolutely beautiful. Tickets are now available for purchase and if you are interested leave me a comment and I will send you information. We do not draw the winner until our Christmas Party which is the first Monday in December. This year that will be December 7, so you have plenty of time... Shipping/Insurance is your responsibility... I myself have vowed to redecorate my bedroom is I win... I plan on buying TONS of tickets..


UPDATE - Tickets are $1 a piece or you can get 6 tickets for $5...

Abbie came to stay today and we had just enough time for dinner, bath, some play time and bed. I am sure I will taking photos tomorrow so be on the lookout. She is staying until Thursday as Mom and Dad are taking a wee vacation with no kids!!
First up is heading to Walmart to pick up 45 photos of the quilt so I can get all the little bags ready for the guild members to sell tickets...

Then maybe to the park?

See ya tomorrow!!

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

How I spent my Summer Vacation Weekend....

Remember my post "I'm not a shopper"? Well, I'm not a gardener either, but this weekend DH, the Rock Star and I worked in the front yard.

First we went to Lowes, Michael's and Target (Michael's and Target have nothing to do with gardening, but they are close to Lowes and I had a list). We wanted needed to do something to the front yard. We are going to be run out of the neighborhood if we don't do something soon...:- )

So here is the before photo of the left side of the front of the house. Please cover your eyes if you are a gardener because this is just plain sad... There used to be four bushes out there. Only two hardy ones survived our feeble attempts. I figure they are gluttons for punishment.. and lordy look at that grass. You would think we could at least grow grass for goodness sakes. But no, we can't do that either. {heavy sigh}



After.. Not much better, but the best we folks can do. Please don't laugh. That bush on the left is supposed to be hardy, fast growing and pretty indestructible. We will see..



So, now to the sewing room, where I know where everything is and I know how to use it!!

Happy GardeningSewing,
Nancy