I'm Home...Finally

I made my way home around 10:30pm on Sunday night. I had to clean my own home and do laundry etc so I took Monday off of work. Of course we had a lacrosse game too.

The April installment of the House BOM is now posted. You *need* to go and print off your patterns!

Stash report: zero in and zero out so total remains the same (whatever that was last week).

Diet Challenge: I stayed the same. Which is a miracle since I ate crazy this last week.

Now I will bring you back to more from my dad's house. This is a photo of the garbage bags we put in the garage that were taken out from the house. It isn't all of them as my uncle Tom had taken a load to the dumpster already.


Now for the fun part. Here is the counter top once we were finished. Isn't it pretty??

And the sink area was actually clean too!

This was that awful bedroom. The stuff piled on the bed is there so we could take up the carpet. We were using those boxes for stuff for a garage sale and those bags there, full of yellowed newspapers for recycle! See that "dust" on the wood floor? It is broken down carpet pad! the carpet was so thin you could see through it. There are beautiful hardwood floor under all of that yucky carpet.

This is after we took the Dyson to it.

Look there is a floor!!


DH and I are going back there on Saturday. He will be installing new faucets in the bathrooms (one is leaky). Me? I will be back in that bedroom and here is the plan. I want to get everything from under the bed cleaned out, push the bed to the built in cupboards and finish ripping up the carpet. I then want to wash those floors so they are clean. Then I want to empty the brown metal wardrobe that's in that room. I think that's about all I will be able to get finished in a day. I am planning on making them meatloaf for dinner too (in the crock pot, so it can cook while I work).

MSU plays in the final four on Saturday night too so we need to either stay and watch the game or be on our way home so we can watch it at home. I don't want to listen to it on the radio I want to be able to see it!

The rest of this week is crazy and I doubt if I will have too much to blog about, especially not quilt related. We have another lacrosse game today and I will be leaving work early to get to the school to ride the bus with the boys to the game. They needed 3 parents since the coaches won't be on the bus. Thursday is free but I need to get to Sam's for some stuff for my dad. Friday is another away game for lacrosse and I am driving so have to be to the school around 4pm for that. Then up to dad's house on Sat. Maybe I will have time to get back to quilting on Sunday. It would be nice. I have one quilt I really need to finish (for my friend Karen) I've only had it since their wedding last June!! SLACKER!!! sheesh!

Anyway I hope you all are having a great week!

Lots to Tell

Ok, I have a lot of things to catch you all up on. It was a super busy weekend but first things first.

Weight loss...NOT I gained a pound. Now that is out of the way!

This photo is for Anna and Lotte. Here is a pic of the fabric I bought in Indiana (all 20 yards) it does not take up much space, does it?


Oh but I was more badder this weekend! I took Friday off and went up to East Lansing to take DD2 out for dinner. Well, DD1 decided to meet up with us too. I took the time to visit 2 of my favorite quilt shops. Bad decision! I am going to come clean and show you what I bought. First up, I want to make a quilt for my dear friend, Mary. Her bedroom is aqua and brown. I literally have nothing in the right colors for her. This was all I found at both shops, but it is a start.



Next up was Wendy's shop and I hit the jack pot for shelby's quilt:

Aren't they beautiful?
And then there were these:

I love King Arthur and found this great fabric. I also thought the red and white would be nice for my red and white quilt, eventually. But I also have another idea for those red and white prints which I'll show you in a minute. I am hoping I can use those browns with the other aqua and browns but we'll see.

I thought I might be able to make this quilt someday and the Arthur fabric was on sale so I bought the last 1.5 yards!
Now back to the red and white. I had seen this quilt in the better homes quilt mag and thought it might look really cute in red and white. What do you think?

I can see it with a white background and red and white birds.

I met up with the girls and here we are at dinner. It was so much fun we just laughed and laughed. I really needed to see them again and re-charge.


Lest you think that I did no sewing (which is almost true) here is month 10 of the BOM finished. I also made a birthday gift (Yuki) but I can't show it until she has it.


On Saturday we had an all day (9am to 4pm in the freezing cold) lacrosse tournament. DS rolled his ankle in practice on Friday so he was in a lot of pain, but of course he still played.
Sunday we went to Kalamazoo to listen to a vacation club (type thing) presentation. It was a great deal and we bought into the club. Looking forward to the membership materials so we can plan some vacations. It is almost time to be able to do some traveling ourselves so it was good timing. Anyone out there have experience with Coast to Coast?

I guess this leaves just the stash report eh?

I added 5 yards.

Net stash busted YTD: 5.25 yards

That was painful. With all the lacrosse and all the graduation (God willing) plans we are in the thick of, I don't know how much sewing I will get to. I am hoping to be able to finish Karen's quilt blocks this week. I hate those blocks but am going to try to force myself to work on them. I only have 8 left to make them I can assemble it. Their anniversary is in June so I want to have it finished before then. No rest for the wicked!

Art Binder, Stash Report and Diet Challenge

TA DA! Here is my version of the at binder found here.

I think it turned out so well for the first one. I will definately make more of these!


In addition, my friend Jeanne, found the pattern for the little bag that was in yesterday's post using honey buns. I think this will make a great project for my quilt groups to work on after we make some of these binders.

Now on to the stash report:

I used 3 FQ's yesterday to make the art binder

Total stash used YTD: 10.25 yards

Diet Report:

I lost another ~a pound (I don't have my weight stuff with me at work today). I do know that this brings the total loss up to 15 pounds...exactly. YEAH me. That being said, I *know* that I have gained since the weekend (remember I weigh myself on Friday) but I guess that doesn't count and now I will just have to work that much harder this week to get back to where I was on Friday. Bummer.

Oh well. I did manage to do quite a bit of leaf raking out of the outdoor living space in my backyard and I also got 2 flower beds raked out too. I still have a long way to go but it is at least a beginning (and some physical labor for me!!) My back is kind of sore today. I have to begin to whip the yard into shape for the graduation party this June. It will probably take me that long too, LOL. So less time for sewing. I need to get back to Karen's quilt (8 more blocks to go). You all know how much I hate those blocks! With the end in sight though it would be foolish of me not to hop right on it and get it done. Stupid job getting in the way of me getting everything done! LOL!!!

It is my friend, Yuki's, birthday today so HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUKI!!!

Hey, me again. Hop on over to Sharon's blog and see her version of the houses. Too cute! Thanks, Sharon for posting them on your blog.

Monday, Monday

Only 2 more sleeps and then LTW and I are winging our way to Indiana for the quilt show and classes with Marsha McCloskey!!!

In the mean time, my stash report is small since my excel file is on my computer at owrk. I used an additional 3.5 yards this past week but can't give you any more info than that!! Sorry if you are dying you can figure it out from my last post!

As for the Weight Loss Challenge, I did lose this week, YEAH! I lost 1.6 so I lost the 1.4 I had gained and an additional little bit. Still not a great week but I broke a major milestone (for me). Unfortunately since there are some people in my "real life" that read this (you know who you are) I won't reveal my weight. Let's just say I was pretty happy to see the scale! Now it will probably not be too good after traveling with LTW but who knows. Maybe I'll be good. If I do well with my eating I probably won't do well about adding to the stash, LOL

Oh well, on to My Neighborhood BOM. Someone new has joined in, Kathy over at Imabaglady has these cuties to show for her work. Her daughter is having fun helping her choose the fabric and to add things as they go along. I love them! Thanks for sharing, Kathy!

Remember, if you are playing along, don't forget to send me the pics or tell me to go to your blog and copy them so everyone can see them!!

What happened over the weekend?

Funny you should ask! I had a busy weekend. DD2 came home on Friday and we went to see "He's just Not That Into You" It was a really cute movie. Sat morning we got up, DH made us pancakes and the DD and I drove to U of M to watch her friend, Kara, swim in the Big Ten Championship meet. After the meet we met Kara and her parents at Zingermans. They are a woonderfully, fantastic deli. So before we ate I gave Kara her quilt. She looks pretty happy don't ya think??

I had to put the word "Hope" on this quilt to donate to Relay for Life at our church.
Since it was already quilted I used fusible and stitched around it by hand. I also put the binding on. The blocks were donated and one of the CL's put the quilt together, but I finished it!
In addition, I got the Chubby Chicks quilt all put together too. I love this quilt!!
I really loved how the flying geese border math was already done so it actually fit together like it was supposed to. WHEW!! These chicks are just so adorable!!
Now on to the more mundane:

Stash report

Amt Added this week: 4.5 yards
Amt used this week: 10.25

Stash busted YTD: 45.75

Weight loss this week wasn't, LOL. I was very bad. I gained 1.4 pounds, bummer. I resolve to do better this week. I hope you all did better than me!!

Stash Report and Loser Monday

I have nothing to report for the stash report. I won't count it as out of the stash until I send the top to LTW and since I have not sent anything, nothing in and nothing out.

Weight loss Monday:
I lost 3.8 pounds for a total now of 12.2 pounds total. Yeah me!!

I am working on Karen and Cory's quilt and got 2 more blocks finished. I am also working on the Chubby Chicks pattern for the St. Patrick's quilt give away for 2010. I decided on Sunday that I would make the pinwheels and flying geese for the pattern and then do a few more blocks for K &C's quilt. Well, apparently my Bernina had other plans. I began sewing and was humming along nicely when all of a sudden I ran out of bobbin thread. No big deal, I wound some bobbins and popped one in and WHAT??? What is this tangled mess of threads?? Unthread the machine, replace the bobbin and let's try this again. What??? Still tangled threads?? *sigh* This sad senario repeated itself until I finally realized that she needs to go to the shop and have Jay look her over. I tried everything I know how to do but to no avail. MAJOR frustration. Now I have another little machine that I take along places but there are things I can't do on her (Like blanket stitch) or interesections. I *can* do those but the little edge on the 1/4" foot makes going near pins difficult. It also lacks the Angler, which I really really love for HST. I had received a perfectly clear (like the angler) for Christmas so I put it on the Janome and did a little sewing. But my heart wasn't in it. I took out the chicks and did the blanket stitch by hand around some of those. Actually around a LOT of those. My fingers are sore this morning. I asked DH to please take my machine in to see Jay and have him fix her. He is being a good sport and will go first thing. I need her back by the end of the month as I am taking a class in Indiana the beginning of March ( with Marsha McCloskey) to learn feathered stars. Keep your fingers crossed for me!! *sigh* it's always something, right??

Stash Report a Day Late

I figured out the numbers for the Stash report so here goes:

Added this week: 6.5 yards
Used this week: 15.5 yards

Used YTD: 42.5

Probably more importantly I am actually finishing some of the quilts on the list on my sidebar.
I finished the back for the "S" quilt. I hope to get photos of the "S" quilt tonight!!

Monday Monday

I'm going to get the business "stuff" over first.  Stash report is no fabric in and no additional fabric out. Thanks, Ruth-Ann, I totally forgot about the fabulous green tree fabric you gave me, so sorry.  Now I will amend it to 1 yard in and no fabric out.

Added this week: 1yd

Added YTD: 11.75

Used this week:  0

Used YTD:  33.25

 Weight loss not such a great week, but whatever.  I'm back on track.  I gained 1.6 pounds so now my weight loss total is only 3.8 pounds.  

I thought you might like to see the baby star quilt.  I finished the binding this weekend so now it is completely finished.  I can't label it until the baby is born in July.  Didn't LTW do a great job with the quilting?  As usual.

I love the shooting stars!
Here is what I used for the back.  My niece loves cats and this is flannel.  So soft.
I did manage to get this block 7 of the Designer Mystery BOM done this weekend also.
The biggest accomplishment was that I managed to get all my house blocks sewn around this weekend too.  It took quite a bit of time to do that for 24 houses and I will get some photos this week for you.  I have a stripe for the inner border and I am thinking of using the BIG pink polka dot for the outside border.  LTW tells me that she has the Paisley Party quilt finished for me to bind so I will work on that this week too.  I am planning on laying the house quilt out on Tues or Wed where I have room and finishing that top this week.  I may even get to Kelsey's "S" quilt this week.  Those are the 2 I am going to concentrate on this week.  How is your week shaping up??

Weight Loss Monday and Stash Report

Jack, Jack the pirate cat

He is orange and he is fat...

I thought I would lead off with a photo of Jack and part of the poem DD1 made up about him and segway into my own diet, clever,eh?

I am weighing myself on Fridays.  I know it is not what Sharon told us to do but I'm doing it anyway.  She doesn't live in MI,** giggle**.  I was down by 3.8 pounds this week for a total of 5.4 pounds for 2 weeks!  YEAH me!  I am finding it difficult to do all the pre-planning I need to do so I can make this lifestyle change.  It takes a lot more effort to eat correctly!

I did just as well with the stash this last week also.  I was a little worried as I bought some stuff but I used way more.  I also cleaned out some flannel that I didn't want any longer so it is out of my stash too.  Does this count?  I tend to think not as I am not using it.  I am giving it to someone else to use.  Why don't you"weigh in" (pun intended) and let me know what you think about that, ok?

Added this week:  7.75yd

Added YTD:  10.75

Used this week:  28.5yd

Used YTD:  34.25

I hope you all had a good week too!

What I did this weekend

We got snowed in this weekend.  I met my friend Yuki on Friday after work and we had a great time.  It was just beginning to snow.  This is what my deck looked like on Sunday.  It just snowed and snowed from Friday night until Sunday morning! Brrrrrrr!!!
I did manage to get the border on my baby basket quilt.  I need to take a photo of it though. 

 I had cut out this quilt a long time ago (maybe 5 years or so) when I made one just like it for a gift.  I had it on my "to do" list so I hauled it out and worked all day and night on Sat and some of Sunday to get it finished!

I am quite happy that I managed to get it finished and I even used a back from my stash!  LTW turned me on to audible books that I can load on to my new iPod.  I decided to try it out so I could "read" and quilt at the same time.  This was amazing!!!  I LOVE IT!!  The only problem is that the ear buds made my ears ache a little.  Well worth it!!  My niece is having a baby and I needed a baby quilt for her baby and I don't know the gender so this will be the one.  It's nice to have 2 baby quilts going to the quilter already.  
I suppose I need to do my reporting now.  I am happy to do the stash report so here goes:

Fabric Added This Week:  0

Fabric Added YTD:   3 yards

Fabric Used This Week:  16.5 yards

Fabric Used YTD:  13.5 yards

In addition, I am using 6 yards of fleece to make a fleece blanket.  I had it left over from something I wanted to do that didn't work out and thought it would be a good way to use it up too.  It is plain green and plain white so I cut out the big block "S"of either color and appliqued it to the opposite color side.  I will cut and tie it on Wed when we have quilting at the CHV.  Does this get to count in the stash reduction?  It is not a quilt but it did take up space in the basement where I store the fabric.  Someone needs to let me know.  I also sewed all the 4 patch units for the Paisley Party quilt.  I will take it and lay it out on Wed also.  I probably won't get to sew it but that's ok, maybe on Thursday.

Tomorrow the CL's meet and we are all bringing our one yard pieces of fabric for the 5 yard challenge quilt.  Funny, the CHV morning group is going to do it too, not with us but at the same time.  I'm glad to see they are interested it this too.  We are going to have our fabrics in individual paper bags and every person will get a number.  Number one chooses from the bags first and opens her bag.  Person number 2 can either take from #1 or from the bags that are left and so on.  It should be a fun night.  I'll try to remember to take some photos to share with you all.

Now on to the weight loss reporting.  I made a decision that I will weigh in on Friday mornings.  I think the Monday weight will always be higher so that's what I'm going to do.  So that being said, I lost 1.6 pounds this week!!  Yeah me.  My stash went down and I went down.  The weekend was difficult but I did pretty good.  How many of you doing this challenge are compulsive weighers?  I weigh myself daily and when I lose I am encouraged but when I gain I am discouraged (although it usually makes me more conscious of what I eat the next day!)