Pages

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

2013 Challenges

   Well, the group of ladies I first met in an on line group did an exchange a couple of years ago of signature blocks that would make either a wreath or a Christmas tree. I have the pattern that will make the star for the top of the tree, or I can make the wreath. The wreath is what I think I would like to make out of mine. We have one or two ladies who have completed their projects, and the rest of us need to complete ours. So we have issued a 2013 challenge to the remainder of the group
   who still need to finish ours, complete them by Aug. 2013. I have added to this challenge completing my own birthday block quilt. I have posted pictures of those block in the past, but here are a few of them just to remind you or show them off to those who may not have seen them before. Some of the other ladies also added their Birthday blocks to the Aug. challenge. So as soon as I get the commissions I have completed and my grand-
daughters birthday gift finished. This challenge will be my first priority for 2013. Along that same line, I have also made the commitment to go back and do the Free Motion Quilting projects from 2012, give them my attention. You see I had thought I would be able to do each of the Challenges they put out last year and improve my FMQ. I just got too busy and I never finished even one of the challenges. Then on my visit with my daughter in TN, my granddaughter
 commented on the commission quilt I had with me on the trip. She asked me why I always quilted in those swirly lines.I asked her why she asked" Did she not like the way that looked?" She said" no I like it okay, but that is the same way you quilted my quilt. I thought maybe it was the only way you quilt." So I explained to her it was a quicker way of quilting and I used it
 when I am in a hurry or behind on a quilt. I also told her I had just learned to do it when I made her quilt and that is why I used it for her quilt. She was happy with that. I however came to realize I need to be a better FMQ'er, and the only way to do that is to practice, practice, practice. The challenge projects should help me with that.  I will use these projects I have been challenged to complete this year, I may even use them on each block of my birthday block quilt. Quilt as I go, and
finished faster and easier.
  I do love these blocks, and I have not looked at them in a while, I look forward to finishing this quilt.  i have not made a quilt for me that is complete yet. I have either given them all away or sold them. I will love having a quilt that I made. Maybe I will even finish the one I have 2/3 completed for my hubby this year. I will not load on to myself the weight of complete all UFO's.

 Until the time I am able to get back with you yall have a very qilty week.
Tennye

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Great Vacation and Quilt Finally Delivered


 Hello and Happy New Year to each and every one of you. I had a very nice vacation with my husband. We traveled to visit our youngest daughter and her family for the New Years holiday. We left on the 28th and spent the night with my Aunt and Uncle in the DFW area. We got up early on Friday morning and headed for Tennessee.
   We had a little problem with our car on the way and had to have it repaired before we could continue our trip. That being said we were delayed two and more hours . It made us late enough that we were too tired to continue the drive. We found a hotel for the night and got some good rest. We got up early the next morning and found a Waffle House for breakfast.
 Finally made it to our daughters house about 10 that morning. We sure were glad to be there and the kids were as glad to have us as we were to be there. Our precious grandson seemed to remember us even though it is three or four months between times we have gotten to see him. It is amazing how smart those little ones are.
   He turned 1 Dec. 13th his sister turned 11 Dec. 10th, and then on the 2nd of Jan. his daddy turned 37. They have a busy winter with birthdays since it all starts with my daughter in Nov.
  Our friends who live in TN were able to come visit with us for a couple of days, it is so good to get to visit with them. They are the kind of friends you don't see for long
 Periods of time and just pick up like you saw them the day before. We always enjoy our time in TN with the kids. They wanted us to go see the top of Look Out Mountain where you are supposed to see 5 states. However the weather was raining and nasty, so even though we took the incline tram up and back down all we saw was the top of some thick clouds.
 I have a picture and I think it is very cool. My daughter does not like the tram so she and the baby drove to the top in our van, and then back down. We then went to a surprising cafe in a grocery store. The food was great, but had I been told to try it with out my son in law having already done so, I would not have gone.
On our trip home we stopped in DFW and spent the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle. Other than just stopping on a trip to TN we have not had time to visit them in almost a year. They are not just family, but friends and we always enjoy visiting them. During the visit I delivered the second quilt of clothes to the family who commissioned them to be made. As you can see the one I have photoed in this post. I was unable to take pictures of the first one I had my daughter deliver earlier in Dec. while she was in DFW for a training with her job. I used blues as sashing on that one, but the blocks are almost the same in both quilts. I have not heard from them, but I think they are happy with both of the quilts.
  Well, I have a lot of things that I need to get done in the next couple of weeks, and now it seems my mother is having a problem with her refrigerator, so I guess we will need to go find one. I hope it holds out until we can get a new one delivered. So I will be helping her with that. Until next time I do hope yall will have a very quilty New Year.
Tennye          

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas

  Well, I have not been up to posting for some time now, I am sorry for that and hope to get back to it in January. Hubby and I will be going to see our daughter and the new little one in a few days and I am still working on a commission due yesterday. Technically it was due a couple of weeks ago and with the funeral and hospital stays just prior to my dads death I got behind, by a couple of weeks. Then the second week in Dec. I came down with a horrible sinus infection that put me in bed for 5 days. Ughh! I am still dealing with the effects and just happy I can say I feel good even though my nose is still running and my head is still a little fuzzy. My sinuses hurt so bad that I broke my little toe in the middle of the night while I was at my worst and never even realized it was that bad. Still got a bruise on my toe and the top of my foot 2 weeks later. LOL
   I have a feeling that next year is going to be amazing, and my family and I will look back on this year and wonder how we could have made it through. I have big plans for lots of sewing and getting caught up on my own quilting projects. So until January yall have a very happy New year and a quilty 2013.
Tennye

Sunday, December 2, 2012

My Life in a Few Words

  Well, you will find some of this is a recap of things you have heard before I am sorry for that but it fits. Life has kind of made me crazy the last few months. Daughter and grandson came to visit and we had a fun family vacation on the beach. We borrowed my dads truck for the trip so we could ride together and my Van was just not acting right. Just after she left we had to put daddy in the hospital, and he was there a week.  The week following daughter leaving I got sick, along with 2 of the kids, the one who came to visit and one that lives with us still. Before I got better daddy was in the hospital, and mother came down with the mess we had. We brought daddy home to her being still sick.  He came home and seemed to be doing a little better, but started sleeping 15 or more hours a day, most days. Then my husband was laid off from his job of 36 1/2 years. He has odd jobs he does so we are not hurting as bad as we could, but still our insurance is gone. This all seems like it took just a few weeks, and yet I know it was the last two months at least. Mother got better and daddy did not, so when they asked me to take him to the Dr. for his appointments I was happy to help. There were to be two appointments with two Dr.s in the same building. After we saw the first Dr. he said he was just going to admit daddy to the hospital, so we should cancel the next appointment. The hospital and medical complex are in the same building, so we went to the cafeteria for lunch while waiting for a room. Well, we waited six or seven hours for that room, and we thought it would be any minute so we just sat there in the halls of the building. We had a great visit, and even though daddy was tired and wanted to go to sleep, he was in good spirits and acting like himself. Over all it was a long hard day, but we all enjoyed the time together. He was there seven days, and while he was not responding to the treatments as we had hoped, he was in good spirits and everyone had at least one or more good visits with him. Wed. evening my girls picked mother up to go see daddy. On the way to the hospital they stopped to pickup an electric razor for him, since his had broken. Before they even got into the store mother fell and busted her glasses and was in a good deal of pain. They called EMS and she was transported to the same hospital where daddy was.  She had a CT scan and x-rays on shoulder and knee. When they released her she was groggy from pain drugs, but had no broken bones or brain injuries. I took her up to daddy's room for a visit before we took her home. I stayed with her that night , I just didn't think she should be alone with those drugs in her. She broke her glasses when she fell so I took her to get new ones Thurs. She sure had a black eye and looked a mess.  I brought daddy home Thurs. evening after super and he felt really good and had lost most of the fluid he was there to get rid of. He and mother had a good day Friday as well. Some time around Eight thirty that evening he said he felt bad and went to bed. Sat. afternoon Nov. 27th around two thirty or three he lost his battle with COPD. I was there with mother and my family who live here were there in just a few min. We had to wait four hours for the funeral home to come and pick up his body, so we sat out side in the yard while we waited. We were not able to make any arrangements until Mon., with it being a holiday week we made the plans for Wed. With most of the family here we had 33 for lunch at my cousins for Thanksgiving. We are still waiting for the death certificates, so the paper work we need to get done is on hold until we get those. They should be here Mon. the 10th of Dec.
  Needless to say sewing has been on the back burner, and then out of the blue hubby decided we needed to paint the house while he was out of work and had time. We got a good start on that this weekend. Most of the front of the house is painted, and if the weather holds I am sure we should get the back done this week or over next weekend. I will be glad to get the paper work taken care of for mother, but in the mean time I have sewing to do, that needs to be done by the tenth. So I will be working hard this week, and may not have much time to write. I miss my time with you all and look forward to getting back to a normal schedule, I realize normal may not be what it has been, I still want to get back to it. So tomorrow morning I will get up and try to get a work out in and get busy with the laundry and the sewing.
  Until next time yall have a very quilty week.
Tennye

Thursday, November 8, 2012

I am Back I Think!!

  Well, I have been gone for so long and just stopped in for short little spurts, so I am not sure what I have said and what I have not said. LOL I have slept since then if you know what I mean. I have some great pictures and my girls have some great ones too. I just don't know where they are. I have some on the phone, some on the camera and some in the drop box. The girls do as children will do and tell me oh, mom I have those and you can have them any time you want them and then when I say" ok now would be good for me"they say sure. Then that is as far as it goes. The oldest has a share option on her drop box with me, so maybe I can get some from there. I will add soon, I promise.
   I finished the lovely quilt for my daughter and sent it right off to her for her birthday, then I quickly finished a raggy quilt for my grandson so they could take it home while they were here. However, her suitcase was too full and it is still here in his suitcase which we had to keep. LOL Such a tale that one. She mailed the baby's suitcase here so she wouldn't have to pay the 75$ the airlines wanted for her to bring it along. Well, we had things for her and added them to the box to mail them home. Same size box, much heavier, 3x the price for mailing it home. She decided not to mail it, but leave it here and let us bring it to her when we visit her in Dec. Then with the job loss I am not sure if we will be able to make that trip.Either way we will make sure they get all the stuff back. Maybe not all in one box and at one time, but back never the less. LOL
   Well, I have to go for now it seems with hubby here more often he wants my attention when I am busy and now is one of those times. So I am off for now and will get on those pictures later today. So until I have a min. I am wishing all of you a very quilty day.
Tennye

AAQI Raises $75,000 at IQF Houston!


We are over the moon!

During the four and a half days at International Quilt Festival in Houston last week the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative sold 1,597 quilts earning $75,000 for the AAQI.
You can read more about it on our blog:
          
Or, for a quick and condensed version see our official press release:


Well, just wanted to share the good news, so until next time yall have a very quilty day.
Tennye 

Friday, November 2, 2012

CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL QUILT AUCTION STARTS NOVEMBER 1ST


 http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-40258611477147_2231_2815704522
  Hi friends,
I have been so busy, i will get back in a day or two, however in the mean time please check this out. There is is a video you can watch as well.
 
 7064 � What?

CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL QUILT AUCTION  STARTS NOVEMBER 1ST
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AlzQuilts.org) offers an online auction during the first 10 days of every month. Each November, in honor of National Alzheimer's Awareness Month, the AAQI offers 12 very special quilts. This year the auction quilts have been made by world renowned quilters Alex Anderson, Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, John Flynn, Diane Gaudynski, Becky Goldsmith, Pat Holly, Libby Lehman, Marsha McCloskey, Sue Nickels, Mary Sorensen, and Ricky Tims.
 6435 � The Green Balloon
The quilts are about 16" x 16" and the auction is open to the public.

Last year the 12 quilts offered in the November auction raised more than $14,000 for the AAQI, an all-volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art.
Visit http://www.alzquilts.org/ciqa.html to preview the quilts.
On November 1st you can bid on the quilts here:
To watch the video: http://youtu.be/V8nCbK7Ej88 (Click the SHARE button and then select embed for the code to put the video on your blog.)
7914 � Crazy For You
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative® (www.AlzQuilts.org) is a national, grassroots charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI auctions and sells donated quilts, and sponsors a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's. The AAQI has raised more than $773,000 since January 2006.

Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operated entirely by volunteers. She is a quilter. Her mother had Alzheimer's.