Happy New Year

  Well, it is another new year, and I am looking forward to some new experiences and new quilt projects. I hope all of you will get excited too. I am still working on the photo issues, but I have to admit I have not taken much time to figure it out. Therefore I have just not posted. It seems the posts with photos are much more popular.
  I have gotten involved with some great quilters on Instagram and been in a few swaps so far. I have three that are due in Jan. and April. I love it because it keeps me in the sewing room. I have also joined a group committed to sewing our stash in 2015. I can't think of a better idea than that, and have been trying to do it for several years now. I think it will be easier with some accountability. I have a plan and even got a start on it New years eve. Not a great thing to have to admit, but I got started working on a rag quilt my girls started four or five years ago. I worked on it for 4 hours and had to un do almost everything I did. I forgot it had to be planned a little more than just to sew it together.I have laid it out and redid the first 2 rows. I get started on the things I have signed up for and it gets put aside. I will do one or two at a time until it is finished and then I will move on to the next project. I want to complete at least 12 projects that are in process this year. That will barely make a dent in my WIP's, but it will make me feel better. If I can accomplish that this year then maybe next year I will be able to do the same or better.
  Well, I actually started this post a couple of weeks before the last one I posted, so I think I will go ahead and put this one up too. Yall have a very quilty week and I'll be back soon.
Tennye

January of another Year

  Here it is the last day of January and I have not posted anything this year, and truthfully not that much last year. I am going to try and make a better showing this year. I am still figuring out the whole photo up load thing. I hardly ever use my camera for pictures now that I have a phone with a great camera on it. My daughter got us a terabyte drive and a device to use to wireless up load when I take pictures. It s great , but I don't understand how to use it and she isn't very patient. LOL

This is the most recent picture I can seem to get to. I made my grand daughters some slouchy hats last year and I was getting ready to send them off when the cat decided she should see how warm they were.
  Well, I have joined more mini quilt swaps since I last posted and today I received my mini for the #schnitzelandboo swap. I love it, and hope I can post a picture soon as well as a picture of the one I sent out.
Okay, this is enough for today I am off to watch a class or two on Crafsty for paper piecing.
Until next time yall have a very quilty week,
Tennye

Just another Week

  Well, I have been busy , but today is my day to do laundry, so I have not been in the sewing room. I finished up my Instigram mini for the swap Tue. afternoon. Then had class with my little girl I teach on Wed. I don't usually get much time in the sewing room on class days. I got out a pattern for the next little quilt I am going to make. I still have a few things to make for my partner in the IG swap, and I have started on the Christmas Stocking swap, but still am not sure what I will make for the stocking. I need to get the 2 swaps completed, but I also have a wedding on Sun. I need to get the gift completed and I really want to get my grand daughter her birthday gift. I have to believe I won't be able to finish something on time. Sadly it will be the grand daughters birthday.
  My partner for the IG swap has a thing for mermaids, so that is what I made for her. Now just to figure out what other fun things I can make for her, I did some fabric purchases for the last swap, but really can't afford to do that this time, so make gifties will have to do, I hope she won't mind. I will post pictures after she gets it in Dec.
  For the Stocking swap my partner really likes snowmen, so for her I have bought and started making snowmen. I asked my daughter to do an embroidery for her and I will frame it, she is starting that next week. I have several ideas that I have never made before, but that is what these swaps are for in my case. I chose to make and do things that stretch me for the swaps. I have done several pieces of applique for the last 2 swaps, and now I am on to other things. I signed up for a class doing paper piecing, on Craftsy. So my next swap I will likely make a paper pieced mini. I'm excited about it, and a little nervous as well.
   My daughter and I have set up a pogo plug with a terabyte external hard drive I had, that was not in use. I have done my back ups and now I just have to learn how to get pictures off it when I want to post them on here. I have to admit since my phone camera is always with me I hardly ever get the camera out and use it. I think that may be a mistake, but for now its what happens. Until the learning curve is past I won't be adding photos to my posts. Lets hope the curve won't be too long. LOL
  Well, gotta go for now, until next time yall have a very quilty week. Tennye

I have been thinking....AGAIN

   Hi, how are things? I have just gone through the busiest crazy fun week. Second time ever I got to have all 5 of my children home, with all 5 grandchildren and all except 1 of the spouses. I thought I would have time to sew while they were all home. Hahahahaha who was I kidding? I went to stay with my daughter in Chattanooga when the baby was born back in April. I love that I got the chance to spend some more time with the new baby. He is almost 6 months and the cutest little guy I have ever seen. His big brother is pretty cute too, but you know how it is when it's a baby.  So a week with the boys was great, but then there were the girls. I had the one for the whole week, and another for almost a week. Sadly the oldest was only here for the weekend. Now all of them came to be a part of their sister/Aunts wedding. My middle daughter got married Sat. evening in a lovely back yard wedding. Now the day started with a huge rain storm, and that did cause some distress and some fast thinking and working. My new son in law and his brother found some hay and then all the guys in the wedding and some extra friends got out and spread the hay for the wedding to happen with out much mud. It was a beautiful wedding and they are married. Was this a stressful time, yes, but it was wonderful to have them all together and such fun. I have come to the conclusion that my family love each other and are willing to be here for any thing the other needs.
  I have gotten into Instagram and I kind of tripped into a Mini Quilt swap for cat lovers. Gotta get it in the mail tomorrow. I really should be sewing the binding on, since I didn't get it done last week. I decided to join another one that is due the 1st of Dec. and then I guess I got crazy and joined a Christmas one too. LOL It all seemed so easy at first, then after I signed up I began to panic. I am excited though. I told my grand daughter I would be late with her birthday gift since she will be 16 on the 18th of this month. I have 2 other grand daughters with birthdays in Dec. and a grand son too.
  So until I get back I hope you will all have a very quilty week.
Tennye
I was going to add pictures, but I need to figure out how with my new cloud.

Trying to Switch Gears

  I was just going through the blogs I follow and wondering if I need to just shut this blog sown. I read only the first line of a blog and it hit me I need to talk about that. Have you had those days, weeks, or even months when you need to be doing one thing and you really want to, but you don't. It isn't even that you don't have time or desire, but for what ever reason you just don't go do it. Well, that is how my life has been for months, I know I was out of commission for 2 months and that kept me away from here. That wasn't a reason for me staying out of the sewing room, well the time I was out of town was a good reason to not be in there. Needless to say I let that time I was sick seems to have given me an excuse to just give up on the stuff I need to and want to do. My next to the youngest daughter is working on a quilt for her new nephew and she too is having a hard time getting it done. She isn't really a quilter, or even a sewist as the blogs are want to call what I call a seamstress. However she made her first nephew a quilt when he was born and now wants to make sure that her younger nephew doesn't feel left out when he grows up. I am guilty myself, I got so busy before he was born that I didn't get his quilt finished and now it just seems like its hard to get motivate.

  Well, Aften (daughter) came over on Sat. with her quilt project and asked for my help getting it moving. I spent most of the day getting a section of her quilt made and completed, so , now she can get it finished. She is frustrated with how long it is taking, and finding it hard to make herself sit down and just do the work. I think I am feeling just a little of the same frustration myself. Oh well, on I go off to get some laundry done and maybe even spend some time in the sewing room and get some blocks finished.
I tried to post some pictures of the quilts in question, but alas they have not uploaded to my dropbox, so I don't have access to them on here.
Until next time yall have a very quilty week and I hope it won't be so long before I get back.
Tennye

Missin Again

  Well, I have been gone for a long time and once I got home hubby and I were both sick. I spent three wonderful weeks with my daughter and her family. She gave birth to my newest grandson three days before I got there and I stayed with her as long as I could. Hubby made a trip to see his father and family in Pittsburgh, PA for a week and then came to spend a week with us at our daughters. Unfortunately he had not been there more than a day when he came down with a coughing problem . The next day I too came down with what appeared to be the same thing. Sore throat, cough and we both lost our voice. We stayed until the end of the week and we had a room reservation for the trip home so we left even though we both felt horrible. We took turns driving that day, other wise we would not have made it. We had the hardest time staying awake. Our plan had been to stop in the DFW area and spend a day or two with my aunt and uncle, but we felt so bad we thought it best to just go home.

It was a rough day, but we were so glad to be home. The day we left for home our granddaughter saw the Dr. and she told them she had strep throat. However when I saw the Dr. here at home they told me that was not what I had.  I took a round of antibiotics and five days after I finished it I felt as bad as I did the day I started them. So total we have been sick for 3 weeks. I am trying to get back to work and so is hubby, but odd times we have coughing fits still.
  I have two quilts in progress as well as pillows for my friend out of his moms clothing. I got a call from a past customer who is wanting a couple of quilts too. Needless to say I have lots to do, so I need to get my strength back.
  On the 1st I was invited to do a 30 day challenge, 30 sit ups for 30 days. I have done pretty good with it, in that I have done it every day, but my sit ups don't really look like sit ups LOL they look more like an aggressive crunch. Maybe by the end of the month they will be full sit ups.
  I am so happy to be home and feeling some what better, I hope my little student will be back this week to finish her project we started in April, and I have plans for other things she can do over the summer.
  I have pictures, but I still haven't figured out how to get them from my cloud to my computer, so until I do I won't be posting them. Something to look forward to, until next time yall have a very quilty week.
Tennye

Howdy there Yall

   I had a little trouble getting up today, with the time change. Then I found myself wanting to just go back to sleep, but I didn't I kept trying to function as usual. Coffee was just not enough, so I had a little chocolate. That didn't help. Hubby was not supposed to be home for lunch and Aften is trying to get back to fasting one day a week. So I didn't need to have lunch ready at any special time. Aften needed to go to the post office before she came home and she called and asked if I would like to go with her to Good Will to look for a night stand for her room. Seems she is changing sides of the bed and the one on her new side is just a small table that won't cut it. LOL We didn't find any thing she liked, so came home and visited until she needed to go back to work.
  I have been wanting some toasted little pieces of french bread, and we had a short piece of it left from the weekend. I cut it up and put some olive oil on it and placed it in the toaster oven to cook while I finished heating up my lunch. I got it all heated up and took it to the living room since I was eating alone. I am really enjoying my meal and suddenly I smell a burning smell. I remember the toast, and it is too late. I run in there and smoke is coming out of the toaster oven. I turn it off and turn around to put my lunch down. When I turn back around I see flames pouring out of the oven, I guess I though turning it off would stop the cooking. WRONG!!!!! I can't think what to use to get it out and put the flames out. Finally I get my thoughts on and find a pot holder and pull it out. Flames leap higher as I give them more air. I dump it into the sink and turn it on. This did not douse the flames as I thought it would. I had to start using my hand to splash it over the flames. What a mess, but I am really awake now. Well, thanks for whoever started Day light savings time!!! Not a fan.
  Yall have a very quilty week, until I talk to you again.
Tennye