Saturday, January 29, 2011

The countdown begins.........

Only 4 days until MOVING DAY!  Am I packed?  No!  Will I be?  Hmmm, there's a good question.....  For all intents and purposes the house doesn't actually close until Feb 25th so I have some time but with everything else that's going on, the aim is to get out and be done with it......just a quick cleaning after we've left and that's it!

If you don't hear from me for a few days, at least you'll know why!!!!  Yesterday I packed up the studio - insomuch as I put everything in bags, packed up the machines, organized the current projects and moved them all to the store for safekeeping!  This way I will know where I can put my hands on a project I want to work on - not worrying about anything getting misplaced in the confusion of the move!

I did it!....or have I said that already!  Laurissa's quilt is done!  I can see again!  What's sad is you can feel the quilting but you really can't see it!  Doesn't matter, it is done and that's what counts......
Last night was Applique Club at the store!  Nancy was going to throw me out because I wasn't appliqueing, I was hand piecing but the girls voted and said I could stay.  I was working on my Farmer's Wife - I now have 12 blocks done.....and I love how precise they come out when I hand piece them......"99 blocks in the quilt to go, 99 blocks to go......"
This is block #34 - Flock - a little more fiddly but easily put together........
I still haven't found all the templates that I had cut but right now I'd say that isn't on my priority list.  I'm sure they're with another box of fabrics at the new house and after Wedenesday I can search at my leisure.  I am so looking forward to "unpacking"!  I haven't been able to fondle my fabrics since October - I'm having withdrawal symptoms!!!!!  I also need to amass all of my blues so I can get started on my Welcome to the North Pole which is due in 3 weeks!  We all know how quickly time flies when there's a deadline involved!

At any rate I don't think I'll be getting much quilting done in the next 4 days so I'll have to find something else to relax me.....tonight will entail packing, packing and more packing, maybe some laundry!?!?!

Will keep you all posted, in the meantime - have a wonderful, productive day!

Jo-Ann




Sunday, January 23, 2011

Trials and Tribulations!

The order of the day - getting things done!  Yesterday began with my second meeting with a mover to get a quote!  His quote was so good I signed on the spot!  However, my son weighed in with "he and his friends will move us!"!  It was pretty tense in the house - Rich and I just sat there looking knowingly at each other as I signed the contract!  He really has no clue what this entails.....or why people use "professional movers" to move their valuables.....

Then I called the store to find out what was going on!  Sharon informed me that the water was turned off at 10:00 a.m. and hadn't come back on yet - it was 1:30 p.m. and I had to prepare dinner for 14 by 6:00 p.m. - this was not good news!

I rushed over to the store to see if I would be cooking at home and then transporting dinner or if I would have enough time to get everything done.  Luckily the water came back on around 2:30 p.m. so we were good to go!  I got busy preparing dinner and getting some stuff done in the office -

I have to say I love Friday night Sit & Sew, especially when I actually get to do some sewing too!  ....and I did!  I am embarassed to tell you that I am still struggling with Laurissa's quilt (which I intend to have done this weekend), that black on black is really murder on the eyes even with the Bendable Bright Light but I can say that without that BBL I would be sunk!  It's almost completed - another hour or two and I'll finish it tomorrow come hell or high water as they say!

Today was Heroes and Tiia brought a fabulous cheesecake, an Anna Olsen recipe with Bailey's Irish Cream - it was absolutely decadent!  I really need to get that recipe!  That was breakfast and lunch for me!  After work Jonathan and I went to Swiss Chalet to meet up with "family/friends", Mucie and Dov and my godson Oren and his son Shai!  Shai is now 14 months and just an absolute joy!  Every time I see him I just want to eat him up!  Loves to be kissed and when you ask him how old he is - he holds up one finger!  He's precious!

Then home to start packing but before I did I took pictures of the dining room from both angles for posterity......

I'm going to miss this house, but it will be fun to compare this to the new place!  I think next to my first love, which is fabric, my second love is decorating!  Aside from paint, there's really not much I have to do except place furniture and make loads of quilts to hang on walls, drape on sofas and adorn my new home!  It will really be great therapy for me to concentrate on this!  I need a good, productive year of quilting!  I mean really, don't we all! 

The intention is to take my time and do it right!  Of course, you may all be pretty bored by this procedure...it will include making a list of all of the UFO's I will be unpacking along with the stories that go with them!  But sometimes it's fun to see what others have stashed away!  You'll be surprised!  I could WIN the MOST UFO's category hands down!  They will be numbered......lol!

I still fully intend to finish Molly's Meadow first!  I already have a really good idea which wall it will eventually end up on.....stay tuned!

By the way - packing is a real pain in the butt!  I did get one box done tonight and will probably finish the dining room tomorrow night.....but there's way more then I thought there was (so what else is new!).....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Back again!

Sorry for the long pause between blogs but in this case it was not entirely my doing!  Bell Sympatico is partially to blame here!  My personal blog is usually done on my home computer, late at night, after a long day - however, it seems that our modem at home is giving us major problems and we have not had internet access consistantly for over a week!  That having been said I could have used the store computer but I never seem to be able to find that 1/2 hour and at the end of the day, I'm itching to get home and relax and quilt.

It's also been an eye-opening, busy week for me!  Yes, I sold the house, now comes all the planning!  The move, all the phone calls to utilities, etc., the address changes......it just seems to go on and on!  Not to mention the move itself which needs to be timed just right!

The lease on my Pontiac Torrent is up on February 12th and I have decided to turn it in on the 8th.  (This way I don't have to renew my license plate - my birthday is the 9th).  I haven't decided what I'm replacing it with or when so I'm trying to plan the move before the 8th so I at least have the car to do some running around.  I can't actually imagine myself without a vehicle but Rich said he will drive me where I need to go so for the moment we are going to try that.....we'll see how long it lasts!

The other deciding factor in this scenario is that I am having "minor" surgery on February 15th, so I definitely want to be in the new place before that and not facing the daunting task of moving, no less without the vehicle.  The house closes on the 25th, so, once all of that is behind me - I will make the "vehicle" decision......

It's a good thing I have my quilting to take me away from all the pressures of the day!  And so.....after sitting around a few days contemplating lifes ups and downs I got back to it!

Block 31 of Farmer's Wife is done!  I have one more block in my binder that was pre-cut with the templates I had prepared last year before I have to rip apart the store, the house and the townhouse to find those darned templates!  No clue where I hid them!  Of course, they are only plastic and I can make more but "anal" me knows they reside with fabrics I want to use in this quilt so I WILL FIND THEM!

I actually enjoy hand-piecing and this block really came out perfect so I am really pleased!  That's 11 of 111 - only 100 to go!  (100 blocks of the quilt not yet done, 100 blocks of the quilt - sung to 100 bottles of beer on the wall!)

 After completing Block 31 - I headed to the studio and worked on Molly's Meadow!  Wow - it is really coming along.  I have 10 of the applique blocks completely stitched and now they are connected to the checkerboards!  I am working one color at a time with the threads so that is the deciding factor in the assembly - but I'm loving it!  Actually hoping to have the center done this week.....not sure if I'll make that deadline but I am certainly going to try!
 This week is very busy at the store!  We had Baltimore Album last night, tonight is Art Club and tomorrow night is Sit & Sew so I'm at the store late all 3 nights which definitely cuts into my quilting time.....I even made plans to get together with friends on Saturday night so that may also be a factor in completing the center however, there's always Sunday night....

At some point, there needs to be some packing done - hmmm! Definitely not enough hours in the day.....but, we do what we have to do, so I know it will all get done!  Only my quilting suffers - ha, ha!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann 

Friday, January 14, 2011

It's official!

THE HOUSE IS SOLD!!!!!!!  I should be thrilled and I sort of am but now I have to plan the move......ugh!  It's really a good thing that most of the small stuff is already gone or I would be a mess!  Okay - so now I can move on! 

So what did I do to celebrate?!?!? 

Well, I organized The Farmer's Wife of course!  I had planned to do this a year ago when I started the project but as usual, other things took precedence and it didn't get done.

I would like to point out that I do not do this with ALL quilts, only "long term" projects.....and this is really a long term project (I mean it's already a year - lol).  Also, I want it to be as portable as possible.....

First I went to Staples and had them cut the spine off of the book - $3.00 + tax, then I asked them to make a copy of the spine on card stock for my binder......in colour of course (I'm anal that way!) - $0.49 + tax!

Here's the binder......
I purchased the kind of binder that has clear pockets in the front, back and spine and put the cover on the front, the spine from the book on the side and the back cover on the back...... I think it's a 3" binder.  This way I can find it in a bookcase or if it's lying on it's side (since I tend to misplace things!  Like books full of blocks!?!?).
 I also purchased page protectors - 100/$6.49 + tax.  They are the Staples brand and they are acid-free, archival quality.  In the first one I put the pages with the letters from the farmer's wives which is what the book was written about.....
 The next section are my spreadsheets which list the blocks and template numbers......the yellow ones are the blocks that are done!  There are "only" ten!
The next section is the template section, of which there are 106.  I have split them into 10 per page protector in order to keep them more manageable and easier to find.....I also purchased a package of yellow circle labels to mark the numbers on.....$4.96 + tax. 
 This page holds a copy of the block placements in the quilt - the back of the page is block 1......
 And finally the blocks, also marked with the yellow circles.....the finished blocks slip into the page protectors as they are done.  Keeps them clean and pressed and at hand.....
All I have to do now is organize the rest of my life like this and I'll be laughing!  I have to say it will be hard to misplace this binder(I'll  probably still manage to do it though!).  It cost around $25.00 including the binder but for a project like this I really feel it is well worth the extra cost to keep it organized.  I imagine it will be another year before this quilt is done and all of the blocks will be protected and in pristine condition when I'm ready to do the sashings and corner blocks.  Well worth the time and effort!

So now I can start planning my "big move" and paint colours and decorating and all that good stuff that comes with moving!  Okay, seeing the bright side again!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It took two days........

but I found what I was looking for!  Before I tell you that story, I will give you the update on the "House Sale" (yet again!).  So the offer is conditional on financing and inspection - the time runs out 5:00 P.M. Friday January 14th (that way we can go ahead with the weekend Open House if it doesn't go through)!  So tomorrow is the house inspection scheduled between 2 - 4 P.M. however, we have not heard back about the financing, so, I am still crossing fingers and toes (and walking funny) but if they can't prove financing it will be a no go!

So - back to my story!  What was I looking for?  Well, last night was the first meeting of our new Sampler Club - Dear Hannah, Dear Jane, The Farmer's Wife is Nearly Insane! and since some of the girls want to do The Farmer's Wife - I was looking for the book and the blocks I had done, started last year.

I started looking Monday night, all over the house, mostly in the studio where I have been keeping all of my quilting projects and I came across the large plastic container with the fabrics I had been using to make the blocks.  However, the book and the blocks were no where to be found......so, next stop, the townhouse, where Rich and Jonathan had deposited all of the packed boxes from the studio.

Yesterday at around noon Rich and I drove over to the townhouse and went through all of the boxes that were packed.  His comment of course was, "You could open another quilt store in the house with what you have here!"  As if!  These men just don't understand the word STASH!!!!  Not to mention all of the projects, patterns and books!  In any event, after 2 hours of searching - nothing!  So back to the house to give another once over in the studio (I thought maybe I put them in a drawer or cupboard) - nothing again! 

Last place to look - the store!  In the meantime, I wanted to work on doing all of the pricing of the stuff that came in!  It was class time before I knew it and I didn't really have time to look thouroughly!  The class started and I headed for the storage room to look!  I managed to clean up a good portion of the storage room but no book, no blocks!  So far I only knew where it wasn't and after 2 hours of looking the class was about to end and I was no further ahead......I was frustrated, upset and depressed, thinking I'll just have to start over again!  At 10:00 P.M. Nancy and I went home!

So again, where did I find them?  On Sunday I had a customer who wanted to know how to do Sashiko, so I went to the back storage room and pulled out my basket of Sashiko.  I gave her a quick lesson, showed her the thread and then decided to take the basket home with me for something to do when I'm watching TV.  I found a Sobey's bag under the table in the classroom, I looked into it and found a flannel project I had wanted to start, so I just dumped the Sashiko into the bag and took it home.  I put it at the side of the couch in the living room and took the Sashiko basket out and put it on the coffee table.  Around 11:30 P.M. last night I decided to see what had to be done to start the flannel project and took it out of the bag!  Underneath the pile of flannel was the Farmer's Wife with all the blocks in the book!!!!  I just started laughing!  I mean how dumb can you be and isn't it always in the last place that you look!  The upside is, that I got half the storage room cleaned up!

So without further ado - here is the book and the blocks!  (I haven't found all the templates yet!?!?!- but I'm sure they'll turn up!)
 Blocks 1 and 2
Block 4 
 Block 6
Block 9 
 Block 11
Blocks 15 and 16 
 Block 21
Block 29 
10 Blocks done - only 101 to go!  I am so relieved that I found them!  Since I am doing them by hand, I am even more relieved.....now I can get back to them!  Not to worry, Molly's Meadow has not been forgotten.  Hopefully I will have some time tomorrow night for Molly....

There's also another plastic container somewhere with more fabrics and probably the templates I'm missing for this quilt so I'll certainly have to find that as well but I can make more templates and find more fabric if I need to - that's not an issue at all.....so my day ended well!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Monday, January 10, 2011

Fingers and toes crossed!

It was what has become the usual Sunday ordeal today!  Getting Jonathan up and getting to the store on time with him in tow, never pleasant, but necessary due to the frequent Open Houses we have had to endure!  The day went rather quickly and around 4:30 P.M. I got a call from Tanzie to say that a couple that had been at the Open House today wanted to come by around 6:30 P.M. to see the house again!  She expected an offer! 

That kaiboshed any ideas of getting to the grocery store so plans for tomorrow's lunch changed rather quickly.  They arrived and walked around for about 1/2 an hour and then 10 minutes later I got another call from Tanzie saying she was on her way over for the offer presentation......

It was decent, although it took a bit of doing, she had left and her and Gord had to turn around and come back before it was signed, sealed and delivered.....but the offer is in pending financing (which this time does not look to be an issue) and a house inspection so by Friday at 5:00 P.M. I should know if there's a deal!  Hence fingers and toes crossed!  This could be it!

After they all left, I nursed my sciatica and took some drugs and figured I should get back down to Molly's Meadow and get something done....so with Totally Stable in hand, down I went!  Again I have to thank Barb for the great idea, what a difference working with the stabilizer - it makes such a difference......

Here are the first 3 blocks together......7th row center!  Looking good, I'm getting excited!
 A bit of a closer look and if you click on the photo you should be able to see the blanket stitch I'm doing around the edges of the applique in the center block.....
 I only have to edge another 24 blocks, 96 more appliques and I'll be done that phase of the project!  I did manage to put a small dent into it tonight and will continue with it tomorrow night I hope......I am really getting psyched about getting this quilt top done!

However, I am tired and tomorrow is another day, and I want to take advantage of the drugs to get some sleep - so I'll bid you all good night!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

P.S. If you couldn't actually see Simon peeking over the curtain in the photo yesterday, try clicking to make the photo larger..... 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Saturday January 8, 2011 - Let it snow?!?!

Okay not so much!  But I will not complain about the weather, we are not under water or being ravaged by tornados or mudslides or any of the other weather phenomenon happening in other parts of the world so we can live quite amicably with a little snow.......However, it's always that first one of the year that gets you!

I was contemplating calling this a "blizzard" this morning and not opening the store but alas, even though the following picture gave me a moment of pause - I knew in my heart that I would be disappointing the masses (okay just the quilting masses) if I didn't open the store and I was right! 
So I get to the store and it didn't look much better over there, I guess the property management didn't realize that it snowed or they might have sent a plow! 
Well, I have a secret weapon - I call him Rich and he came with the snow blower and dug us out of the hole at least.......bless him! 
 It was a good thing because there was a lovely couple waiting to get into the store before they drove home to Ottawa and they were really happy that I decided to fight the weather too!

The only problem was that my knee and my back were acting up all day so at 6:00 P.M. I packed it in (rather quickly I might add) and went home to bed where I promptly fell asleep for 5 hours - now I'm still in pain but wide awake!  With the weather the way it was we cancelled the Open House today but it will certainly be on for tomorrow so we're crossing fingers and toes again!

Thought I would share this photo taken yesterday afternoon!  This is Simon asking to come back in - kinda gives "peeping Tom" a whole new meaning!  Look closely between the house and the tree......
Doesn't look like I'm going to be doing any quilting tonight either - that's two days and I'm getting a bit antsy so I'll definitely have to get down to the studio tomorrow.......

Hope you all have a great day!

Jo-Ann

Friday, January 7, 2011

Quilting is addictive.....

I say this as if it's an epiphany of some sort!  My problem and I'm pretty sure I am not alone, is focussing!  As I work on Molly's Meadow - which I intend to complete before I get sidetracked - I am already planning two future projects!  I already have a list of 4 or 5 previous ideas to deal with as well as (I refuse to answer on the grounds it might incriminate me) a number of (never mind how many!) projects which have been started and need to be completed......

Now I get it - Too many quilts, not enough time!  The other problem is I also want to try a number of new techniques which will of course lead to MORE projects!  Where does it stop????  Do I really want it to stop - I think not!

Tonight I was supposed to try the Totally Stable on my blocks but I will be honest - I walked in the house and forgot to take the bag of stuff I bought at the "F" store (Fabricland) which also has the Totally Stable and two more thread colours in it.  The stuff from the "F" store is for another project, hopefully to be made with the leftovers from Molly's Meadow.  It's another FREE PATTERN we will be handing out at the store once the sample is done......could take awhile, we'll see!  I mean they have now become related projects since I'm using the same fabrics......right!?!?!   The excuses I can come up with are amazing!

The other issue is that tomorrow we go back to Open House status - ugh!  So I really needed to get a bit of tidying done.....I wa also pretty tired as Rich and I spent the day running errands, Costco, Fabricland, Staples, picking up some fabric at one of my suppliers and then finally 3 hours at Humberview Motors hopefully ending up with me getting a new car?!?!?!  The Torrent I am driving is a leased car and is due back February 12th so I really have to get something done about that.....

Been a long day - oh yeah, and then I marked all the new fabrics and Nancy put it out on display....I'm thinking an early night is in order.....tomorrow is Healing Heroes and maybe I'll get a chance to do some quilting!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Only one photo.....

.....tonight!  All my checkerboard blocks are done - YEAH! and now I am doing a blanket stitch around the applique on the alternate blocks.....
I was originally going to do this with invisible thread but then I decided I liked the look of matching threads better so that is the plan.....however, I am finding that the Soft Fuse is not strong enough to just stitch around the applique by machine.  Barb suggested that I try Totally Stable so I have put the project to bed for tonight and will try that tomorrow....thanks again Barb!  She knows everything - an encyclopedia of quilting - she should write a book!  Seriously!!!!

Got an e-mail today from my friend Laurissa who I am going to take behind the store and shoot!!!!!  Check this out http://www.civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/ and you will see why!  Just another project to start......what a brat!  She knew I wouldn't be able to resist this one!
I am going to put this blog on my list of favourites and it seems there's going to be a new block each week, so, maybe I can keep up - I mean what's one block a week!  Really (until you get behind 3 or 4 weeks!?!?!).

Okay, gonna call it a night and head for bed early for a change....

Hope everyone has a great day!

Jo-Ann

Wednesday January 5, 2011

No - I did not miss a day!  Technically I did but it was because Blogger was "down"!  I tried a number of times last night to get on but had no luck....Jonathan taught me a little trick too!  If you go to Google Search and type in "downorjustme", there is a Google site you go on to find out if the website is down or it is just you having the problem!  At least I knew it wasn't just me......

When I finally got home, around 8:30 P.M. last night I was knackered!  (I love that word - it's so much more expressive than exhausted, it sounds more like knocked out, which was really more appropriate).....Rich and I spent most of the day searching for a car to buy!  Going from dealership to dealership to see what they had and what I wanted and of course - the most important thing - the prices!  My 2007 Pontiac Torrent is a lease and it is due back in about a month so I am trying to decide what direction to go!  At this point - an old klunker or a moped are looking pretty good!  It was gruelling andof course nothing was resolved.....

Needless to say, my bed looked very inviting but a dose of caffeine in the veins and realizing I only had two more loads of laundry to do prompted me to take the trip to the basement, where Molly's Meadow awaited me!

So tonight I will share some quilting tips I've learned!  I teach these in my beginner classes because they are "the best tips I never knew!"  This is a good quilt for me to share tips because I am being painstakingly accurate for some odd reason and showing extreme patience.....(so unlike me!)

Pinning

First of all - to pin or not to pin!  If you press properly (99% of the time to the dark side) then sometimes you can get away without pinning - you "nestle" your seams and most of the time you will get a match, especially in larger blocks.  Originally I was taught to pin at the seam, you know, match up the seams and put a pin in - this works about 75% of the time, I find it throws the seam off a bit more often than not.....

Then Barb taught me to pin on either side of the seam - I actually pin only on the left side and it works like a charm.  So for the 22 checkerboard blocks I have left to piece, it took an hour or more to pin the 44 seams and loads of pins - there are 4 per piece......but here they are.....
You will also note that I sew right over the pins....I can do this because Barb introduced me to the most phenomenal pins - Clover Glass Head Patchwork Pins - Fine...(I happen to know a store that carries them - currently out of stock but they should be arriving any day).... 
This is a closer look.  I don't speed over them but they don't break the needle if the needle happens to hit them....... 
The needle bends them - here's one the needle ran over tonight.......I'd say it's a write-off but it happens very rarely......
Once the seams have all been sewn and the pins removed, over to the pressing station........ 
 See how perfectly the seams match........it really was worth the time I took to pin....
 This may be a better photo of how they match...it's really gratifying when they come out this perfect!  So my vote goes with pinning......BUT, I want to stress that if you are using thick, clumsy pins you will not get the same result!  The right quilting tools are as important as the quilting tips.....
 I managed to pin and piece these all together last night but did not press them or add the last row so hopefully tonight I will get that done......along with securing the applique pieces on the alternate blocks, then I can start building my quilt!  I'm really looking forward to it.....

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Jo-Ann

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Back on track......

It was quite an ordeal trying to get all of the errands I needed to do done today.  First, we got a call from Remax that someone wants to see the house today so Jonathan, Rich and I got busy and in one hour we had the house spotless!  It was so cool!  I mean, it has NEVER taken me as little as one hour to clean my house, even with help! 

Then, I dropped in at the License Bureau to get something today only to find the line up was out the door.....saving it for another day.....

I made it just in time to the bank before the mad rush!  I was at the teller and when I turned around the line was 12 deep.....so at least that got done!

I also picked up a painting at ...Of Things Past which had been there for awhile.  When I cleaned out mom's apartment, Jonathan talked me into selling a painting which my aunt had painted many years ago.  Unfortunately they (Of Things Past) only thought it was worth $500.00 so I did the math and decided it was worth way more emotionally to me!  You will get a look at it once it's up on the wall at the new place!  (The red!?!?! wall - possibly!) 

I had a chauffeur today for all my errands.  Rich drove and I erranded!!! It was nice to have company....and we stopped at home for a quick dinner of warmed up chinese food!  Then off to the townhouse to drop the painting, the rent cheque and pick up mail!  Then finally - home!

I was exhausted and seriously contemplated heading straight for bed (it was 7:00 P.M.) but a dose of coffee and a seriously high pile of laundry headed me in a different direction and I am so glad it did!

Down I went to the laundry room and got two loads of laundry underway......(it's still spotless!)

Then I headed for the studio where Rich has installed another set of "rabbit ears" so I can watch TV, and I set up Molly's Meadow.....I have work stations!

The pressing station.......
 The blocks done station.......(and it all packs up into the plastic box when I want to move it!)
 The sewing station..........actually I have two of those, the other one is for Country Haven!  I am of the belief that you should use the same machine to piece a project!  So Country Haven will be completed on my Janome Gem while Molly's Meadow belongs to "Sonia" (my Janome 6260)......
...and finally the cutting station........which is also where I am preparing the applique blocks..... 
So while I quilted I got to watch Bones, Pillars of the Earth and Flashpoint!  I am very excited about Pillars of the Earth as I have read it twice, so far it's true to the book, I hope it continues that way - and great actors! 

How far did I get?!?!  The alternate applique blocks are done to row 6 of 7 - the checkerboard blocks are now all cut and ready to be pieced.  Actually I will have a total of 38 blocks and I only need 25 but maybe I will piece the back or use the extra checkerboard blocks to make another project!?!  So I'm back on track! ....and the pool table got a workout tonight to!  Jonathan and his friend Frazier singing and shooting pool!  What joy!


Since I'm still waiting for the dryer to finish, I may just go down and do a little more tonight but hopefully my meeting tomorrow night won't run to long and I can get back to what I want to be doing....oh and those people who wanted to see the house today are coming tomorrow afternoon after all the rush!  Oh well, fingers crossed!  (Could be they are the same people from last week?!?!)

That was my day, hope everyone has a great day too!

Jo-Ann

Best laid plans.......

I really was going to spend the evening doing laundry and working on Molly's Meadow!  After a very busy day at the store, I was really looking forward to my planned evening but.....I got a better offer!?!  Dinner and a movie!

Rich came by the store and pulled a Mr. Clean act on the kitchen (bless him!) and then suggested we go out for dinner!  Great idea!  So I closed and came home to wait and fell asleep on the couch!  we ended up ordering chinese food (Chopstix on Keele) which came really quickly and was really fresh!!!!  They always give us great service and fresh food! Then we watched The Town on DVD - I definitely recommend the movie!  It was really good.....

I just realized that when I move I may not be able to order from there anymore - shoot!  Oh well, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it - I can always do take out on the way home!  Ah, ha!

So for me, tonight was a right off!  Probably not a bad thing but I feel like I cheated because I got absolutely no quilting done today - however, as busy as we were at the store I got almost all my ordering done (including batting!!!!!  YEAH!) which was the biggest thing on my TO DO list.....

Tomorrow is "run around" day!  I have a million errands to do and in the spirit of New Year's resolutions I intend to get all of it done......here go the lists!  I always start off the year with the lists.....

So I'm off to try to get a good night's sleep......

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Back in the bowl......

I got home and had some fun quilting.....but then realized, even though I was really on a roll, that I had to go back into the "fish bowl"!

So, I have enlisted Jonathan to move some quilting stuff down to my studio and out to the car and here we are back again!



I think the coolest part of this exercise was that it took less than half an hour to get it all back in order!  I am fighting it, but I feel a resolution coming, it would be so cool to have the new place set up so that I could do that!  I think I know the secret too!  I was only working on one "major" project, so it was a snap to put it all away in my plastic container and have it moved AND it will also be really easy to pull it out tomorrow night in the studio and keep working on it.....this could become a HABIT! 

The kitchen is going to take a bit longer since we've been cooking and I really need to give the floor a good wash but no more than an hour!  The bedrooms are already done and I just have to go over the bathrooms......this is just too cool!

Well I better get going, I just hope it pays off really soon.....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!

It was nice being home the past two days!  We closed around 3:30 P.M. yesterday and I rushed home and put the Prime Rib in the oven....

The plan was to have a nice dinner around 7:00 P.M. and although we did have dinner around 7:30 P.M. but I really wasn't impressed!  I think from now on I will reserve my Prime Rib experiences for restaurants, either that or I will think twice about where I purchase it!  I took advantage of that Metro deal last week thinking I was really getting a deal!  The meat turned out to be tough and stringy - I was very disappointed! 

I have been quietly working on a quilt top I was not supposed to start until I finished some other projects, but there it was, sitting there IN MY FACE and I couldn't resist!  Molly's Meadow!

It has taken over my living and dining room with a number of work stations.....above is where I'm working on the applique blocks!  Here are the completed applique blocks....

Here is where I'm chain piecing my checkerboard blocks.......

.....and here are the completed ones!

It is my reward to myself for completing the charity quilts for Gillian!  It is the reward to myself for successfully living in a fish bowl, under a microscope for a month!  Okay - it's just an excuse for starting this project!  After I posted the two "customer" photos of quilts they had completed on the Cock A Doodle blog, I realized, this quilt already has a designated spot in my new home so why not!

Anyway, since I really only have tonight and tomorrow night to work on this before I return to the fish bowl mode - I'm off to do some quilting!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann