Wow

  I wrote some the other day but didn't publish it and thought today I would come back in and finish it and fix it. I opened this and nothing is here. I guess I changed my mind.
  Well, I started this several days ago and got distracted by my family so I quit and thought I would get back to it in a few min.s but life happens. So today I am visiting my Aunt and Uncle with my parents and I thought I would just jump on and say I hope all my US friends have a wonderful holiday weekend. I will be in the Dallas area until Tue. then we will drive home and I will do my best to get something wonderful up for you to enjoy. Until then have a very quilty holiday.
Tennye

What a Mess!!!

 Well, I have had such a busy week and as such a somewhat disappointing one. Maybe it has actually been two weeks. We have had some company and I have had some customers from the past show up unexpected. One is a lovely young lady who has had me work on her prom dresses for the last few years. Apparently last year she had no need of my expertise, but this year she does. Her dress has a train on it, which she would like to have taken off and she also would like it to be a little tighter around the waist and hips. I thought I could do the job so I told her to bring it to me. Turns out she needs it for today and to do what she wants done I would have to take the dress apart. I am sure it would take me at least a couple of days and since I don't have that much time I have called her and told her I can not do the job. I hate to do that, it does not hurt my pride, but makes me feel defeated. I know it is possible to do, I just need more time. I guess she will learn she needs to give me more time if she needs my help again. I think this is her senior year though so from now on formals will most likely be purchased in another town. I wish her well and am sorry I could not do the job for her.
  Then her dad, called me, and asked me to hem some pants for him. He said there were four pairs but I only got three, so I will get those done Monday and he will be happy when I call him. He does not live with his daughter so he did not know that I had her dress when he called me.Add three pairs of men's pants to the floor of the sewing room.
  Remember the quilts I made a while back for the lady who lost her husband. One of the quilts has a need for a repair and she now wants to go on with the baby/wall quilts to have for the grandchildren when they start coming. So she gave me a large bag of clothes she still had to add to the ones I still have here. Add one very large bag to the floor of the sewing room.
  Last weekend one of our friends came to town and brought with her a large bag of clothes she wants me to use to make two quilts for her boyfriend and his brother. The clothing mostly t-shirts are from their mother who passed away in Feb. She wants them for Christmas gifts for the guys. Add one very large box to the floor of the sewing room.
  I told you about the cake pans I did inventory on for my mom a few weeks ago. Well, before the inventory my girls and I picked out some we wanted to keep. We put them in some bags and put them in middle daughters car. She and her sister are out of town this weekend and before they could go they needed to empty the trunk. Add two large bags to the floor of the sewing room.
  Needless to say the floor of my sewing room is a mess and since I am doing most of the hand quilting I am working on in the living room I guess it isn't such a bad thing, but it sure is a mess.
Have a very quilty weekend.
Tennye

Happy Monday To You All

  Well, here it is Mon. and I feel like I should not do anything but quilt. I had a lovely day yesterday just relaxing and spending some time outside. The weather was cool and clear and I did some light yard work, and then read for a couple of hours. Later hubby cooked pork chops on the grill and I made a salad and baked potatoes.  We put it all on the patio table and had a nice meal out there. When we finally came into the house we chose a movie and watched it, then it was still pretty early so we picked another one and watched it too. Still got to bed before 11.
  As for projects I have a dozen or two that I am itching to get started on for my new grand baby. I know I have time since it isn't due until Dec. It sure is hard not to get started on those things instead of doing what I am supposed to. Which I really should be doing now instead of writing, but I miss writing so here I am for today.
  I miss it so much when I am away that I wrote "in my head" an entire blog Fri. afternoon while I was quilting. Of course when I finally pulled out the computer to check my email I didn't take the time to write. Now I can only remember snippets of what I wanted to say. It had to do with exchanges on Yahoo groups and the differences in effort seen by different individuals.
  Have any of you done any of those kinds of exchanges? I have done a few, we did the same block and signed them for a specific pattern. Another one I did was birthday blocks, where each person chose colors they really wanted, and each person in the group made them a block for their birthday. I got 16 blocks and I still have not put them together but they are wonderful and I can't wait to get them put together. The thing is when I get that quilt made it will be mine, and I get to keep it. I am looking forward to that more than you would think. I currently do not have a quilt I have made for me. Most of my children and grandchildren do, but not me. I even have one made and started quilting for hubby.
  I did a small quilt exchange with another group and on the first exchange I never got my quilt from my partner. Next time I got it but it was kind of late. She did an excellent job and I love the quilt, it hangs over my sewing area so I can look at it often. Then the last one came in and I was so disappointed I could have cried. I did my best to make a quilt worthy of being a gift, and what I got back was a pre-printed panel quilted and bound. I am sure she did the best she could, but I was sad it was not at least pieced. That was when I decided not to do any further exchanges, I had too high of expectations and it wasn't fair to the other people in the exchange for me to expect so much. No, I did not tell her or anyone how disappointed I was,until now.  I emailed her to tell her thank you and that it came safely to me. I got no reply. Oddly this year I decided to give it one more try, and did the Easter post card exchange. I was not disappointed this time, with what I got back. What I was disappointed in was that the lovely lady I was to send to finally emailed me last Thurs. to let me know her pkg. finally got to her. Now I sent that to her two weeks, before Easter, so there was no reason for it to take so long getting to her. She has been so nice and understands ,it was not my fault, it was so late getting to her. She actually got a bonus post card because as I have told you all before the first one I made was too small to mail. Then the man at the post wouldn't let me mail either one without a envelope. So again I don't know if I will do any more exchanges, it just seems to be too iffy, and I have too many expectations. I know I am upset over the last one, and I may take another chance when I am over this one. So what kind of experiences have you had? I just wonder if my experiences are the norm, or if they are not. Please know I have no hard feelings to anyone in any of the before mentioned exchanges. Also nothing said here is to be taken as criticism I am sure everyone did the best the knew how to do.
I guess I may not have written what I thought out last week, but I said my due. Have a quilty week, or day until I have a chance to get back,
Tennye

RAIN !!!!!

We are finally at a point of getting some real rain, I am so happy I could cry. I realize we may also get some hail and thunder and lightening, but the rain is much needed. I am sorry I have been off for a while, but I have been working so hard on this thirties quilt. I finally had to take a day off today just to let my fingers and shoulders recover. I also needed to make something, anything really just finish something. So I did, I finished a UFO that I have had almost quilted for three years or more. I somehow measured incorrectly and the backing was too short on two sides and then too long on one side and just right on the other. I was not sure what I wanted to do to fix it. Then I thought I was completely out of the fabric, and what to do, what to do.  Well, while looking for something else two or three weeks ago I found this little piece in a corner of my closet. I was so excited to find it that I got it out and put it on the sewing UFO pile to complete. Today I took the time to do just that.

This is one of those quilts that I started with my first group of ladies, I met with for three or four years. We met once a month at the church and we made new projects for learning and for charitable giving. We made bibs for the babies born in the church and we often tried to make projects from patterns we had never made. This one is a stack and whack that we just kind of played with. I saw one and we made a copy of the pattern but I don't remember really using it. I had 12 fabrics, and I cut them into a square about two inches larger than the final block.  I knew I was going to make a star( yes it is a star) like I learned to draw in kindergarten.  Stack them all up and make the first cut. Take one piece of the top fabric and place it on the bottom of the stack. Make the next cut, and again take one of the top fabrics and place it on the bottom of the stack and make your next cut. Then I figured out 12 was too many fabrics and it should have been 6 or less.  I goofed a little on my first cut and that is probably why it has been incomplete for so long. Then there was the backing issue. 
 I hope you all will forgive me for being a little iffy over the next few weeks while I am working my fingers to callouses on the quilting of this quilt. I will be back and in full swing as soon as it is complete, I promise, with the scraps I have been telling you we would get under control. So please have a very quilty week until I can be back.
Tennye

Cinco De Mayo Lets Party!!!

Well, I had no intention of posting today I am actually  somewhat behind in my work. I am half way through the second day of not doing the work I need to on my quilt. I started out to just quilt today all day, then as you all know how it is things happened. I had to do something for hubby, then I had to fill out a form I got in the mail, things just went on from there. While looking at my email which I decided to go ahead and take the time to do since I was hours late in getting started. In the process I came across this great recipe that I just had to share. Please go to this lovely ladies website and check it out. I plan to make them to take to the party we are going to tonight. Old friends are getting together at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for some good food and fellowship. I am sure some will enjoy a margarita or two and why not have these cup cakes for a desert too.
http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/05/01/margarita-cupcakes/

Okay I am off again to see if I can at least quilt for a couple of hours then go make the cupcakes and do my hair. Some where in the day I need to finish up the laundry too, I started it two days ago. hahaha.
Have a quilty day,
Tennye

Quilty Pleasures blog

Well, Hello there friends,
I have been quilting until my fingers are sore, and today I had to go out and replace my thimble. I have had what was called a leather dime thimble(coin thimble) since I began quilting. Now that may have been thirty years ago, or maybe a little less. I spent 6.99$ for my first one, the last one I bought was @10.49$ and today I spent 12.99$ . I know things have gone up over all those years and I really hated to have to buy a new one for twice what I paid for the first one. Mine is about done, but I will keep it for emergencies in the future. That is actually why I still have it now, and it is a good thing I did keep it. I seem to have lost the old new that I was using while making the Christmas crafts I made. I just saw it a month ago and now it is gone. I hope I will find it next time I do a clean up in the sewing room, but if not I have a new one now. The needle kept slipping between the leather and the metal disc that is called the dime or coin. That hurt, those quilting needles are almost as sharp on the thread end as the sharp end. I thought about taking a picture and posting it of the old and the new, but that would mean taking out the camera and hooking it up to the computer and ... Might take a whole 10 or 15 min. That means I just don't want to do it right now. hahaha
The title of my blog is the name of the Quiltmaker Magazine blog and it has the posting for the 
*100 Blocks Blog Tour. I don't have the linkup for you, but the book "100 Blocks " Volume 3 is to come out soon . I have 2, and believe I also own 1, but have not been able to find it. Anyway if you go to the different block designers blogs you can have a chance to win a new book for yourself. The designer will send out one with her autograph for one special comment. I am trying very hard to get one, so if you might like a chance to get one too you can stop by and comment until the 7th of the month. Good luck.
 I have some things I need to do so that I will get back to quilting so I am off for now.
Hoping you will have have a very quilty day,
Tennye

NEXT!!!

 Good afternoon,
   Well, before I go on with today's post I would like to make sure that no one is offended by yesterdays post. I was only making an observation from my perspective. It has been pointed out to me that making bags is a garment type of sewing that, maybe, some quilters are not comfortable with. It is true that I did learn to sew clothing long before I learned to quilt and therefore the process of making bags may be something that comes easier to me. I never looked at it that way, but it has also been pointed out to me in the past that I have a God given talent that others do not have. What might come easier to me will not come so easy to others. So please know I was just making an observation from my own perspective and not being critical of these ladies. For the one who commented thank you for your input.
  I am looking forward to the next thing I shall do to offer you something you can make to enjoy or offer to your friends and family as gift. Thank you to those who offered your feedback on my tutorial. I enjoyed doing it, and am looking for the next one. I have not forgotten the quilt as you go classes I promise, it just has not been within my time constraints to get back to it. It will be worth the wait that is why I have not just thrown it together and laid it out there. I want it to be the best it can be for you. So until I am back I hope you will have the quiltiest of days.
Tennye
 

Just an Observation

 Hi all, I have had a busy few days, and I still have much to do. I am trying desperately to get this hand quilting project completed so I can deliver it to the lovely lady it belongs to. She has been kind and gracious and I want to please her.
Woo Hoo, hubby has gone back to his normal routine. Don't get me wrong, I love him and when he is doing what he needs to, he and I get along great. He has been on a forced vacation for the last week plus and has not had enough work to keep him busy, but we had no fore warning so we made no plans for fun. So when he is home, he wants me to do what he wants me to and not what I need to do. Having him back at work will make things easier for me to get my work done. That is after I finally get done with the stuff he still wants me to do.
  I mentioned last week I was doing an inventory of my mom's cake pans and accessories from her years of making cakes for customers.    Well, our printer is not working correctly, and since mother and daddy got their new computer their printer is so old it is not compatible with Windows 7. So I put the file on a stick and we went to Office Max to print it. While we were there waiting I noticed the two ladies standing beside us. Both ladies had a Vera Bradley bag and one took out a wallet that was also Vera Bradley. I have a wallet from her myself, but have chosen to make my own bags rather than support her business. So I asked one of the ladies if I might look inside and see how she finishes her seams. Then I noticed they were there to have something done to an EQ7 manual . I asked what they were having done with it, just out of curiosity. They told me that one of the ladies is a teacher and authorized something of EQ. They, then went on to tell me ,they were Vera Bradley snobs and would only have her bags, in the next breath, they told me they are in business together doing quilting and embroidery. Now is it just me or wouldn't it better serve their business to make their own bags and show off the quilting and embroidery they do. Leave someone else product on the shelf for others to purchase and hope that when they saw your work, they would prefer it over the mass produced. Purchased from a discount house or main stream department store. Just wondering?  I know I want people to love my stuff because it is uniquely my own, and not overly produced. Love it because they will not find three other ladies who have the same purse while out shopping.
As I said this is just an observation.
Have a lovely quilty day.
Tennye