Red Quilts

Hopping Along

2012-01-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

Another winter storm hitting us today so I'm staying tucked in working on some fun things :) I have Block one of Hannah and Harrington done and aren't they so sweet!

Now I can hardly wait until the next one comes out! 19 more days lol! How am I ever going to possibly make it :)

I received the most wonderful package in the mail this week. Mary from Quilt Hollow had a wonderful giveaway a few weeks ago for some sweet patterns and I won! Just take a gander at my lovely box of treasure...

The patterns...already have wool dug out :), gingerbread and french vanilla marshmallows..already taste tested and 5* approval!, some wonderful herbal teas to calm my nerves and restore my energy, a two year planner...oh gosh, I can hardly remember what I'm doing most days so now I can plan ahead and keep track :), a devine, love that green!! quilter's sign....already up on my sewing room wall, and the items that made me cry with joy....two old wooden spools!! Thank you so much Mary:) The spools have been in several different spots around the house auditioning for the perfect resting place!

Mr. RQ has been home sick all week with the walking pneumonia. I didn't think the fever would ever stay down but he's on the mend. He ended up tearing a muscle in his ribcage from coughing so hard. Darn old stuff!

Happy stitching and God Bless!

Sunshine Squishies!

2012-01-25T13:09:00.005-05:00

Bringing a little sunshine into someone's day is one of the greatest gifts we can give :) I have someone I know who's going to need lots of sunshine over the next 6 weeks. I am talking about my blogging friend Kaaren. Kaaren is the host of the blog The Painted Quilt and is one of the most generous people, giving us free patterns every month. Any way, Kaaren has started radiation and chemo this week and will be away from her home 5 days a week for the next 5 1/2 weeks taking her treatments.

As most of you know, my husband went thru cancer treatments last summer and I KNOW how long and lonely the days can be after your daily treatment is done. I thought "we need to find a way to cheer Kaaren up on those long days!" So, here's what I'm proposing...I am going to send to Kaaren's home address weekly a thinking of you or funny card and something squishie like a FQ or something. Then, when she gets home on the weekends, she has little bundles of sunshine to open or she could take them with her to the hospital and open them there. If you would like to participate, that would be wonderful! Just leave me a comment I can reply to and I will email you her snail mail addie and her favorite kinds of fabric. How often you send is up to you but once or twice would be nice.

So often, the chance to send cheer and sunshine comes only after we've found out someone has been sick! Kaaren has been very courageous in sharing her illness on her blog with us and I hope you will join me in helping her to keep her chin up!

****Update: Please note-- If you don't have a blogger account or have your account set to No-reply, I cannot email you Kaaren's info. You MUST include your email address in your comment to me. I have been very humbled by all those wanting to join in...Thank you so much!***

God Bless, and Happy Stitching,

It's Hannah and Harrington Day!!!!!!!

2012-01-15T11:03:00.000-05:00

Oh good glory, I didn't think this day would ever come!!! I'm so excited!!! I've been pacing and watching the calendar and just about driving myself crazy waiting for the 15th to arrive and it's finally here lol! I'm talking about the first day of Hannah and Harrington's BOM from the Raspberry Rabbits, of course!

Michelle is such a talented designer and so generous to share Hannah and Harrington with us. Thank you Michelle, and of course, her employees Sir Walter and Lady Hannah :) who've been working so hard to keep the house clean so Michelle can do her designing..

I've got my patterns all printed off and even though I have other "work" that needs attending to today, I just don't know how I can possibly not start tracing off the images onto freezer paper.

Okay, deep breath now....LOL! Old man winter has definitely raised his freezing head and has brought us typical January temps BRRRRRRR. Misha and I are comfortable though.....

Please excuse the fact that, yes, I'm in my PJ's. I had just finished knitting these two scarves, one child's and one adult's, and Misha is such a goof and loves to have his picture taken....I couldn't have asked for a better model lol!

The minute the Christmas tree goes up, this cat KNOWS Santa is coming! From that day on, he is into every bag and closet and nook and cranny snooping and getting into things....worse than a kid! And he's not a kitten anymore, he's eleven years old lol! He KNOWS which stocking is his and was very put out with me this year that I didn't hang his stocking and I got THE LOOK Christmas eve! Santa was bringing things too big for his sock....Here he is checking into the bag Santa brought him.

I know the pics blurry but he's rolling and loving all his new goodies :) Like I said, such a goof lol!

You may have noticed on my sidebar some of the new free projects being offered by wonderful bloggers. I've tried to put the date by them so I will know when to check in and hope you will check them out too and join us. Now GO GET HANNAH AND HARRINGTON, LOL!

Happy Stitching!

Catching Up!

2012-01-13T12:04:00.002-05:00

Whew! Does it ever seem to you that the more you do the less that gets done lol! I've been playing catch-up with the whole house for the past three weeks. For every item I cross off my to-do list, another 3 go on! I figure I will see the light at the end of the tunnel hopefully somewhere by the end of next week. I mean, one has to hope, right lol! Either that or burn the list!!

A belated, belated Happy New Year's to everyone in blogland! We had a wonderful New Year's Eve for the first time in lots of years. Usually, we are in bed before the clock strikes eleven but this year we spent it with family and new family/friends that moved to our town this summer. We really enjoyed our evening guys!!

Gosh, where to start. First, some of my projects I made for Christmas presents:

Notebook covers and a wool bag (I missed getting pic of yours mum)

Cutest and easiest little change purse from Valori Wells:

Snowman ornie from a recycled wool blanket, which are getting harder and harder to find at thrift stores!

A binder cover for my Bob dad who is a genius fiddle player!

Now, onto some Christmas photos:

My boys....who make every occasion memorable lol! DS #1 has been asking for several years for a guitar and we finally decided he must be serious so that was his special gift this year.

Getting into the spirit and having fun! This would make a good first album cover lol!

DS#2 surprised his Dad and I with a new snow blower for Christmas! What a wonderful surprise which of course caused some tear shedding :) It takes sometimes two hours to scoop our driveway by hand and with David still recovering his strength, the snow blower is a blessing, as well,
all the thought and planning behind it! Thanks to who got the ball rolling!!

Next: I mentioned earlier about some new family/friends moving to our area. They are relatives of my BIL and around here, your family is our family and we consider them good friends too.To make a long story short, Lana and I completely clicked and became fast friends and when she found out about my quilting addiction...er, hobby...she wanted to give it a try and asked me to teach her. Well, how could I resist recruiting another partner in crime lol! To say she took to it like a duck to water would be putting it mildly! Like a proud mama, I'm sharing some of her first projects:

I don't have picture of the runner I taught her on. The Christmas topper....well, you need to know she whipped that up from just a picture on the internet! Her second project! Without any help from me! The next quilt, a pattern from an old quick quilts magazine, looks NOTHING like the original photo. You'd never even know it was the same pattern! Either I'm a genius teacher or this girl has talent! ( and believe me, it's the second option)! I'm so happy she's enjoying her new hobby, her enthusiasm is infectious and her lack of fear to try something new is good for me too!

Tired yet? Just two more things: I used a tutorial from Kathie here to make this little mini. I even jumped out on a limb and used fabrics that are definitely not my usual picks but I was needing something bright and cheery to work with and I just love it. I'm going to just add a binding and hand quilt it.

and for family, a really nice picture of David and his sister at Christmas....

Hopefully, the next blog post won't be so long in coming! Happy Stitching and hugs to all!

Win a Gorgeous Bag!

2011-12-31T15:17:00.001-05:00

See this bag! Wouldn't you love to win this bag??!! Well, run right over to Gerri's blog and enter! but you have to be quick because the draw ends at the end of Jan. 1, 2012~ It is just so yummy and spring fresh! Hurry LOL! And don't forget to wish her Happy Birthday...she's a New Year's Day baby :)

Things that are Merry!

2011-12-23T09:18:00.001-05:00

Old man winter has finally read my email and it's snowing outside! You know, the kinda snow that accumulates really fast. Just in time for a white Christmas! Yesterday, though, it was freezing rain and green, the grass not the rain :) and I'm not going to tell you how slippery this snow on top of the ice is going to make my road, which the snowplow people don't deem to be on their "priority list" lol! I need to make them a new list because the plow station is like 3 minutes from my dooryard. And if you're wondering what a dooryard is, that's the yard that is outside my door :)

Today, I have all my wrapping to do and yep, here I am posting and not wrapping...see how much I love you all. Okay, I hate wrapping! I'm procrastinating although I don't know what for because it's not like someone else could do it for me because then they would know what they were getting right? Personally, I think EVERY store should offer free gift wrapping. It would make getting ready so much easier. Yep, you just go ahead and wrap them all, no rush, I'll just be over here relaxing with my latte and shortbread cookies!

Now on to my things that are Merry list:

Merry #1-I have finished my next block in the FQ Shops 2009 BOM Mystery quilt. I have been really enjoying making this quilt. I hope next month to get started on the connecting pieces. This quilt should be ready by Christmas 2012 lol and then I'll be ready to perhaps start FQ Shop's 2013 Mystery BOM. Nothing like planning ahead instead of planning behind!

Merry#2-Getting to sleep on hand embroidered pillowcases with Santa on them! My mom made these for me last year and I just love them! Santa's checking the list and yep, I'm on it lol!

Merry#3-No words necessary :) Scored these at Walmart in Houlton because they don't carry them at my local Walmart!They taste Deeeviiiine:)

Merry#4-I recently won a "scraps" giveaway from Lynne over at Kansas Troubles, whoot whoot!! This is her new line that comes out in the spring called Sandhill Plums and believe you me, the pictures don't do it justice. It's so beautiful and check out the size of these "scraps" :) Not that I'm complaining, no, not me! You wouldn't want these scraps now anyways because they've been petted and stroked and laid out and probably have cat hair on them and smell like Christmas cooking.....NO, you can't have them! Lynne's still doing giveaways so run over and enter!

I hope you all have lots to be Merry about this Christmas! Enjoy the little Merries as well as the big Merries, be thankful, gives lots of hugs and most importantly, eat everything put in front of you LOL!

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

Santa, I've been a good Kitty..

2011-12-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

Christmas is almost here! I'm so excited!!! My boy comes home and with the other boy here, the house will be a riot of noise and hilarity!! I can't wait lol!

I have lots of things to share after the 25th or rather, after the gifts I made for everyone have been opened.

In the meantime, I thought we would have a little Misha appreciation day lol!

It's dang near impossible to get a picture of him with his eyes closed :) The minute he hears the camera come on BOOM! one eye cracks a peep.

What do you mean "I'm looking older..just hurry up and take the picture!" Not looking too impressed with me, huh. I think I had just woke him up...caught him sleeping on the quilt machine table again!

"I don't know Mom, are you sure that's the right seam to sew?"

My little supervisor...if you receive cat hair with your Christmas gift, this is why lol!

"AGAIN! Is that camera stapled to your hand or something!"

The nightly battle for who gets the most quilt! This is the quilt some wonderful ladies made for David when we first found out he had cancer. David still feels the cold alot and uses it every evening...the only thing is, the cat has firmly attached himself to this particular quilt too :)

An update on the cancer front...we had another checkup in Saint John this week. He's down another 9.5 lbs. He's eating mostly everything now. We put him back on Ensure Calorie Plus a few weeks ago because I had noticed the weight loss. His appetite is good so the Doctors and us feel it is from him working a little too hard maybe...GASP! A Manuel working too hard (inside family joke)just can't imagine that! Doc says slow down a little. His hearing test showed some loss from May. I knew it and now HE knows it lol! Not time for a hearing aid yet but he must be careful for a while yet as his hearing is still sensitive to damage. The chemo and radiation is the cause. They did bloodwork and other than that nothing different. Next checkup is in Feb/12.

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

Winners!

2011-12-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

Oh, what a long week and a really long day! Are you ready for Christmas? That seems to be the question on everybody's blog this week! Me, nope, not yet.

But, I am ready to announce the winners of the pattern and the book!

The pattern Achy Breaky Hearts goes to......Barb who said...

Barb said...: What a fun giveaway, and I have been a follower for some time now. Thanks.Well, you're welcome Barb. Look for my email and let me know by Tuesday night your snail mail addie!The Book goes to......Kathie, who said.... Kathie said...great giveaway and ok just love that country village quilt and the cherry star picnic is wonderful and I just happen to have a lot of red and white fabrics right now!!!!!Thanks ! and yes I am a follower!; Congrats to Kathie too! Look for my email Kathie and let me know by Tuesday night what your snail mail addie is!; Just to let you know how important it is to leave a contact address, the first person picked for the pattern didn't have one available to me. Not on her blogger ID or in her message.; We had a lot of fun, though, didn't we!! Thanks to all who participated! I will be having another giveaway in the New Year to celebrate my Blog anniversary so keep your eyes out for that one!; Happy Stitching and God Bless!

It's Party Time!!

2011-12-09T08:02:00.001-05:00

Today's the DAY!!! The Quilting Galleries Blog Hop Party with Giveaways!!

I love Parties and I love Giveaways so I was so happy to have this chance to participate. Did you check out that huge list of participants!! That should keep you all busy for a few hours :) I know it will me.

I would first like to introduce Gerri Richards, a pattern designer and quilting teacher from Rothesay, New Brunswick. Gerri markets her patterns under the name Cool Cat Creations. I first met Gerri last February when she was a guest at a quilting retreat I attended. We seemed to click and I loved her humour, her patterns and the fact that she has 4 cats! Over the summer, on days that we needed a break from cancer, we would pop into Town and Country Quilts, in Rothesay, where Gerri currently gives classes; and, we would have some good chats and receive lots of hugs and support. It really meant a lot to us. One of the giveaways for this hop comes from Gerri's line of patterns and she graciously allowed me to interview her so you all could get to know her better!

Gerri has loved to draw and paint since she was a little girl and this talent was greatly encouraged. After studying tailoring and pattern drafting, she started her own line of children's clothing under the brand name of Miss Scarlett. In the meantime, she was always interested in quilts and ended up taking a quilting course from her local guild.

This lead to several years of volunteering with kids and quilts which eventually lead to teaching at Town and Country quilts. Gerri loves teaching, loves the people who take her classes and loves how thrilled they are when they finish their quilt!

The first seed of thought to designing her own quilting patterns came about one summer when everyone at a local market wanted to buy her wallhanging with 3 Cool Cats on it.

Several years later, she stopped in at Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire carrying a bag she had designed. They encouraged her to come up with a written pattern for it. Two and half years later, Keepsake Quilting catalog was featuring her patterns. Gerri says, "it's "Very Hard" breaking into the quilting industry as there are many, many designers!" I am glad she persisted!

Gerri tells me the most interesting part of designing for her is the actual making of the samples. "I just love playing with the colors, love fabrics, love the feel of fabrics!" Sounds like the rest of us quilters too!

When I asked Gerri about designing fabric, she told me she'd love to have a line of fabric; and, in actuality, has already started designing one. I can't wait to see what you come out with Gerri!

You can find Gerri and her patterns in the following places:

www.coolcatsandquilts.blogspot.com

www.etsy.com/shop/coolcatsandquilts

and on Facebook at Cool Cat Creations.

I am offering two items for my giveaway. The first is Achy Breaky Hearts by Cool Cat Creations! I fell in love with this pattern this summer! All Gerri's students were having a lot of fun making them hearts!

Looks good in country colors too! And, the hearts are made with a Jelly Roll...how easy is that!

Second giveaway, a new copy of Cutting Corners by Joan Hanson.

Wouldn't you love to make this??

Or this!! They're in this book!

To be entered, leave me a comment. If you don't follow me, I'd love to have you join! I will be using a random number generator to pick the winners on Dec. 17th. Make sure I can reach you by email because if I can't, I pick someone else. I will mail Canada and United States.

And most, of all, don't forget to check out all the other participants in the Quilting Galleries Blog Hop with Giveaways! Happy hopping, good luck to everyone and God Bless!

Pretties in the Post

2011-11-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like getting pretties in the mail to make your day happy! A few weeks ago, I won these pretties from Sandie at Crazyboutquilts. The draw was for a new magazine but Sandie, being the nice sweetie she is, tucked in a few surprises that I absolutely loved!

My new magazine(it's got some awesome projects inside!), a sweet autumn towel( I LOVE CROWS :). AND, some FQ's of vintage sheets!!!!! OH my goodness, you don't know how much I love these Sandie!

Crazy about the oranges!

Built in rick rack ...isn't that so cool!

Pretty and soft :) Thanks so much Sandie!

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

What's up with that?

2011-11-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

I've got a bee in my bonnet that been buzzing around for over a year now and today, I've finally had it and it's got to come out! I am a very heavy browser of quilt patterns. I love them, love buying them, love how they inspire me and make me dream how to use my stash with them, love the fabric shopping needed sometimes....you get the picture. Doesn't matter to me who the designer is or if it is in a book, magazine or single pattern, if I like it then I will get it. That is until the past year or so.

Now, this is not a critical attack on quilt designers, so please don't all email me hate mail. These are just my observations and my OWN frustrations...again, that bee..

I love finding a new quilt that I just WANT to make. What I hate and find so frustrating is the sizes that quilt patterns are being made in these days. Just today, I was checking out some new patterns, was really excited about two of them but when I checked the quilt sizes, one was 56 x 86 and the other was 76 x 76. I mean, what's up with that!!! Who the heck has a bed in those sizes. I don't know about you guys, but I have a normal, regular sized bed. It came from one of those stores that carries alot of regular sized beds. I guess the 56 x 86 could be a lap quilt for a really tall man and the 76 x76 would fit a double with a nice overhang but that pattern didn't even offer the information needed to make it queen size or any other size. It's just so frustrating these odd size quilts that are being designed. I guess my point is, I don't mind if it's designed an odd size but for what I pay for the pattern/book, couldn't they at least offer the info needed to make it fit regular beds or more bed size options. I don't want to have to sit and figure out all the calculations needed to make it fit my bed. I don't want to "throw" on some extra borders to make it fit. As a result, I find myself being very choosy about the patterns I buy. It's too bad, because there are alot of nice patterns on the market that I would buy, if only. I know you can't please everyone but am I the only one who has noticed all these weird sized quilts!??? I'm just saying "what's up with that?"

There! The bee's out and I know it won't be making any honey but at least the buzzing is gone lol!

Last week, I whipped up this little mini with KT fabrics. It was a kit from the shop. It always amazes me that small doesn't mean faster! LOL! I spend a whole day piecing the little thing :)

This quilt is from an old magazine that I don't even have the cover for anymore. It looks totally different with the color choices I made. I'm not particularly happy that I can't see the stars. I think I should have placed the beige to make the stars instead of the darks. It just needs the borders then it's another "top in waiting"...like I needed another of those ;) lol!

Happy stitching, hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers, and God Bless!

It's that time..

2011-11-21T08:14:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the year when you can't post pictures of some of the things you are making because, then, come Christmas, there would be no surprises! And, that simply would be no fun....but it's no fun either not being able to share :(

I've finally found my sewing/quilting groove again but it seems to go at a slower speed than before or maybe it's just that I'm getting older and the old grey mare just ain't what she used to be lol! Whatever the reason, it really feels good to sit down at my sewing machine and complete something.

So, I've decided to share some fun pictures from earlier this fall.

This year, when going thru some old embroidery patterns, I found an envelope with the street address in Saint John of where hubby lived his first couple of years. We decided to look it up and see if it was still there and sure enough, it was! Here's hubby in front...this is in old west Saint John, near enough the harbour that you can see it.

This is what happens when you turn 65! Beware! Not sure who's coming thru---Phylis Diller or Elton John lol!
**Elton** is not Mr. RQ but my Step-dad LOL

This is how the children who have lived away from home look when they return home to eat home-cooked turkey dinner---stay out of my way and how fast can I shovel it in :)

And, Santa, all I want for Christmas..........:) Happy stitching and God Bless!

Have you Heard?

2011-11-14T08:03:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness, there are lots of fun things going on in Blogland right now. First, I have been having a lot of fun hopping around the

Henry Glass Jolly Holiday Party Blog Hop!

Jacquelynne, from the Noble Wife has the list up on her blog. I have already downloaded several free projects. I love Henry Glass fabrics and you can enter to win something from them too! Doesn't get any better than that! You all should check it out!

And, I won a wonderful new magazine on Sandie's blog yesterday! I am so tickled to know I am getting something in the mail besides a bill lol!

I have some more quilt show photos from this fall to share...ones that I would love to put on my bucket list which is unfortunately "Closed" for either renovations or deletions or finishing. I haven't decided which yet. Taking some of those projects off my list feels alot like pain.

I love this churn dash made with not the usual size pieces. It was completely made from plaids and the plaids were all cut "correctly" as in not wonky, which in this quilt, I think really added to it's appeal.

This quilt's blocks appealed to me because of the addition of the reverse color applique that the quilter used on the HST blocks. A very simple quilt to piece and visually appealing. The applique was fused and stitched. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be complicated...

I have the 5th and 6th block done in my 2009 Mystery BOM from the FQS. And, YES, I see the error in block 5 LOL! Obviously, I have a sight problem because I didn't see this until after the photos were downloaded! Got that fixed right away!

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

I Sew'ed!

2011-11-06T16:49:00.000-05:00

Remember the other day, when I said I was going to have to force myself to sew something, anything!!! Well, I did! I can't say I was jumping for joy while sewing but it did feel good to accomplish something; and, the next day, I felt more inspired to sew something else. I didn't make anything complicated or mindblowing but here it is:

Some little projects for guild..teacups and a needlecase.

I've knit several of these ruffley scarves. They are so fun to knit!

Some redwork teatowels...I think adding the red rickrack put them over the top!

And, totally not quilt stuff, but check these carrots out! They all came out of the same row in the garden!

Okay, back to quilt stuff! LOL! This summer I won a $50 gift certificate in a blog contest Sue was hosting. I finally got around to spending it last week! I ordered some Ruby to go with my Bliss....oooooo Happy Dancing here!! Some Ruby yardage for borders and a charm pack of Comfort, which is absolutely yummy! I am so enjoying my goodies! Thanks Sue! and 1Choice4Quilting!

Mike, from 1Choice4Quilting, was so helpful and they even put a the prettiest piece of Christmas fabric in with my order. I highly recommend them!

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

Words worth Hearing

2011-11-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

You have to give some consideration, and, sometimes a little applause, when someone steps up on their soapbox, bravely faces the masses and speaks her truth. It's important to recognize that in this wide, vast world of people, that it's HER truth, HERS to speak and HERS to live. If you agree, that's fine; if you don't, that's fine, also. It is, also, important to recognize the freedom of speech that we fight daily to maintain. Where is this going, you ask? Well, it's going to Bonnie's (from Quiltville) last blog post. I invite you to go read it.

Personally, I enjoy hearing women stand up for what they believe to be right. Sometimes I learn something from them, sometimes not; but, in the big scheme of things, I believe it's important to support women's voices and their right to have one.

Happy Stitching and God Bless!

Playing Catch-up!

2011-11-01T14:09:00.000-04:00

A big quilty wave to everyone! I've been away from my blog for so long that it's a wonder I still have any followers!

I've been busy doing.......well, nothing! Resting, working, resting...oh, yeah, I did clean out my quilt patterns and 3 rooms of junk which will go into a huge yardsale in the spring. As for sewing, nada....my sewing is in a funk! Even my funk is in a funk! LOL! So, I've decided that I can't wait anymore to "get in the mood". I going to have to take steps to "encourage" (force) the issue and make myself sew something! Anything!!!

I did go to two lovely quilt shows over the fall and have some fabulous pics to share. Some of the quilts are going on my ever expanding bucket list. The bucket list is getting so long now that I think I'm going to have to make a new bucket list with (no, don't say it !) deadlines! Yikes! Deadlines....that's a dirty word in my world :) I hate them, don't do them and wish to eliminate the whole idea from the dictionary. Do you have bucket lists and deadlines? I am in awe of Thelma's bucket list and how she keeps her deadlines. Have you all seen her latest quilt finish? Oh MY WORD!! I know it's a sin to have envy but I absolutely WISH I owned that quilt! You have to check it out :)

Now some quilt show photos:

I absolutely loved this Bunny Hill Bom from a couple of years ago. I have the pattern and yes, it's on my bucket list, lol!

I have a weakness for Redwork and this one is certainly a fine example. I was doing redwork in the early '80's before it even became popular again. I kept seeing antique examples in the then new Country Living magazine and thought, heck, I want some of those and I can do that. All these years later I still love it! I have more favorites for another day and maybe, just maybe there may be a special giveaway coming in the future. It's about time this blog starting having some fun again! Happy Stitching and God Bless you all,

Thank you LORD! Good News!

2011-10-04T10:13:00.001-04:00

The results are in from David's CT scan and he is officially disease free!!! No sign of cancer at all!!! Isn't it wonderful! Isn't it a miracle!! Now please all join me in my HAPPY DANCE!!

Now, we have to keep him that way for five years then we can say that beautiful word...CURED!

Thanks and praise first and foremost to our wonderful Lord and Savior for this wonderful blessing! Thank you to all our families and friends and community who supported us emotionally, prayerfully and financially! Thanks to all my blogger friends for your notes and letters and prayers and pick-me-ups! Thanks to each person who gave me hugs and let me cry on their shoulder and listened to me whine! Just thanks to everyone!!!

There's still a road ahead of us and we hope you will continue your prayers. The side effects of the radiation and chemo are still taking their toll on David for a few more months.

Jumping for JOY, LOVE and LIFE, blessing to you all, hugs Shelley

Do-in's

2011-09-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wonder why some days you just wake up and are going about your day and,then, with no warning, get yourself in a pickle? You wish you could press a button and have a do-over or something, like maybe physic abilities. But then, I guess we wouldn't be human, would we; subject to all the things that are not in our control.

Mary asked me the other day to show what I'd been up to. Now, I WISH I had a whole pile of really interesting things to show and talk about but I have only a few :(

I did make a fast baby quilt a week ago for a very special mommy-to-be. Somehow, the baby shower date just came so much quicker than I expected lol!

And, I did the old wrap the gift before you get a picture of it thing so I ended up having to take the photo after the baby shower. I used EQ7 to design my paper pieced sailboats and I used super easy Thangles to make my pinwheel blocks. I put Snuggle's on the back and it quilted up so nice. I love Snuggle's way better than the Fireside or Minkee. It's so super soft and you can buy this yummy stuff at The Christmas Crab Quiltery in my home town.

Then, I have been slowly working on this times 5--

boxes and boxes of yard sale stuff. I am doing a major purge and some days, I think it would be just easier to call the garbage man than have to go thru it all.

Lastly, yesterday and today, I made pickles.

Million Dollar Mustard Pickles....I think they call them that because it costs so much to make them even if you grow your own cukes and then they take two days to make but I'm sure they'll taste yummy in a few months.

That's about all I've been doing besides getting rest and recovering from the stressful summer. David went back to work last week but he is coming home very tired and I know it will take a while longer before he's got his full energy back. We go for PET scan next week and then get some preliminary results the following week. Soon it will be time for more birthdays and Thanksgiving and , dare I say it!, Christmas LOL!

Happy Stitching!

Prepping for Irene

2011-08-26T09:05:00.000-04:00

Well, according to this morning's hurricane tracking, everyone on the East Coast can expect some bad weather over the next 3 days.

I hope all my wonderful blog friends are getting prepared with all the essentials plus some handwork to do if the power goes out. Hopefully, the damage will be minimal and everyone will be safe. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers until she passes.

We got a new mattress this week. Our old one was 23 years old and it has had the biscuit. The new one is one of those extra deep ones and I feel like I'm sleeping in the Princess and the Pea bed lol! I don't know if I'll be able to get used to it but the biggest thing is....My quilts don't fit!! Oh, they cover the top and come down the sides some but I still see lots of mattress! So, what is one to do?.....

Guess I will have to dig out the old quilt books and visit the stash :) Or, go thru all my unquilted tops and see if I have one that just wouldn't stop growing....you know the kind...the ones that just need one more border before it'll look done. I think some of them just grow their own borders while they hang in the closet waiting to be done, like they are punishing me for not finishing them sooner LOL!

Happy Stitching and Keep safe with Irene!

Silver Anniversary!

2011-08-24T12:37:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Mr. RQ and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! It was just as beautiful a day weatherwise as it was 25 years ago. We didn't do anything special at this time.

We want to do something wonderful when David has recovered more fully from his treatments. He is finally on solid foods for the most part, although some still give him some difficulty.

I've had a tough time since we've been home from the hospital. I've been to my doctor and hopefully will be back up and going strong in a few more weeks :)

My mother and I went to a quilt show on the weekend and I got a couple of photos of some quilts that caught my attention.

The three quilts above will all made using the X-Block method. I found it really amazing that one ruler could create all these designs. I especially liked the diamond patterned one. And I found it refreshing to see that the quilter used the simple tacking method to complete her quilt. I thought it really suited it and was glad she had put it in the show. Sometimes, I think we feel that unless our quilt is finished with hand or machine quilting, that it's not good enough for a show. Not so!

This quilt, though too bright for me, intrigued me with it's visual impact. And, when I saw how simple it was to piece, then it really caught my interest. Lots of opportunity to play with color here! The blocks are simple HST blocks with black being the constant. One could take this design in so many directions!

I'm a sucker for charm packs and I'm always on the lookout of simple yet visually appealing ways to use the charms. This quilt is made from a charm pack of Arthur's Attic and black frames. It really appealed to me :)

This quilt spoke to my heart as the fabric reflects the patterns and colors of my childhood. I have eyed this quilt kit for several months now at Rather Be Quilting quilt shop in Maine. Interestingly, the quilt was made by the owners' husband and it's his first quilt :)

This was a very interesting tabletopper. All those pieces are connected and if anyone knows the name of the pattern, please let me know.

Remember this creature from the black lagoon (I posted about it back in January)

Well, I had passed all the flowers onto another quilter and here's what she made!

Didn't it turn out nice!!! I tried to convince her to send it back to me but sadly no LOL! I like it so much better now :)

Happy Stitching!

Done but not over

2011-08-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

Well, we're done....done the treatments that is. But it's certainly not over. I'll warn you now...the pictures are not going to be pretty. It's been a very rough two weeks...very rough. Mr. RQ has lost about 25 lbs going on 30...the skin around his chin where he used to have some fat just hangs, he's lost muscle and he's weak. The biggest issue at this time is the sores in his mouth...they are preventing him from eating and drinking much. It's even difficult to talk. Most days, we are lucky to get a cup of food into him. And they are going to take a couple or more weeks to get better according to the dr.'s. He still has lots of nausea and very very tired. We are just going hour to hour not even day to day.

Here are a couple of pics of the radiation burns on the outside and of course, they are much much worse on the inside.

and, since these pics were taken on Monday, the skin has started to blister and peel.

We go for his first checkup the end of August just to see how he's doing and then we go to 2nd checkup first of October and that is the one that will tell us how well the treatments have worked. Please Lord, let the cancer be gone! He may be done with the treatments but the treatments aren't done with him. They continue to do their job over the next few weeks.

Just wanted to update everyone and I hope to get back to more routine blogging soon! Oh, to have a routine and some consistency again! God Bless all of you who have been standing by us with love, prayers and hugs(real and virtual)!