I'm Just Talkin' About... NATURE

Yesterday my day was spent with NATURE, in the form of ANTS.  There were hundreds, if not thousands of the little tenacious crawlers invading my house!  This wild adventure actually started the night before as I crawled into bed I noticed an innocent little ant between the sheets.  Silly me… I thought it got there as a stow away on the cord of my heating pad (is that too much info?)  A nearby window had been open during the day and I rationalized its presence by thinking it had wandered through the window and found its way onto the cord that I then put on the bed.  I mean really, how else could it have gotten there?

The next morning I wandered down the hall towards the coffee and almost reached my destination before I realized my walk, almost the entire length of the house, had been in a trail of ants!  The trail started in the dining room at the cat’s food bowl and it led the colony down the hall to an area rug.  I get the invasion of the food bowl but don’t get the area rug.  ???

So in an attempt to GET RID of them I started with some wet paper towels.  Paper towels… not much of a weapon.  But my thought was, “I’ll just wipe them up.”  Yeah, not so much, there were WAY too many for that tactic.  My next logical thought was, “I need to do a MASS killing!”  Under the kitchen sink there was a bottle of Lysol Disinfectant Spray (now that’s a WOMANS tool).  It worked wonders as I sprayed it on the trail of invaders.   Then those wet paper towels came in handy for the removal of all those little DEAD ants.

It sounds like everything is under control, RIGHT?  But the more I got rid of the more I found!  They were not only in the dining room and down the hall; they were also in the KITCHEN and TWO bedrooms and BOTH bathrooms.  I did switch my paper towels in for Lysol Disinfecting Wipes (I use these things for EVERYTHING).  My thought was the disinfectant (what ever that STUFF is) would kill the pheromones they were leaving behind and they would think the trail was NOT in my house making them go back to where ever they came from.  I learned that without a trail they just run around EVERYWHERE looking for it!  So now most of these guys (or gals) were not as organized as the first invaders cuz they didn’t have the TRAIL thing going on.  Which meant the remainder of my day was spent killing them ONE ant at a time.  ALL DAY long I was KILLING ANTS!  Every time I entered a room I saw little ants running around aimlessly!  At 10:30 last night I was still killing ANTS (in the bathroom)!

This morning… I woke up to the cat (no I’m not changing the subject) on my bed playing with something.  Yep!  It was an ant, running around in my bed!  Once on my feet I saw all her little friends running around in my bedroom and bathroom AND more making their way across the hall into another bedroom!  So, here I go again… Killing ants… ONE little ant at a time…

Another FUN Day of Charity Sewing

Sew… Yesterday was the Peace by Piece Quilters monthly bee and it was a FUN and BUSY day. 

There were 29 of us filling Mission Hall of the church. 

At the end of the day we had 39 finished quilts ready to go out into the community for children needing a HUG.

Mission Hall is a large enough space that we can spread out to nurture the creative process.

Making a quilt includes a little pressing and to get the job done we have two ironing stations with two irons on each station.  Those stations rarely spend a minute without use.

Making so many quilts requires a LOT of batting.  This is our batting station which is usually busy all day.  It takes two volunteers to cut all that batting for the quilts ready to be quilted.

We had a surprise visitor to the bee this month, Pat.  All of our scrap fabrics are passed along to Pat and she uses them to make beds for dogs and cats that are currently living in shelter.  Pat did a little BED Show ‘n Tell for us and shared her bed-making process.

Every Year Mission del Sol church starts the New Year out holding fundraisers to raise money for their missions.  As a Thank You for allowing us to use their space for our bees we provide them with a quilt they can use as a fundraiser by selling raffle tickets.  This year we had three vintage quilt tops (aren't they AWESOME!) donated to us that are too large for children.  So we are going to finish one of them and give it to the church for their mission fundraising effort.

So we took time away from our sewing machines to inspect each one and make a decision on which one we would complete to donate to the church.

This is the one the ladies decided on.  I’ll be purchasing backing fabric in the near future so we can move forward with completing the quilt.

If you would like to learn more information about this group go to www.peacebypiecequilters.org.  Our next bee will be on October 4^th.  We would love to have you join us.

A Day Of Charity

Today I’m getting all the last minute STUFF ready for tomorrow’s charity sewing bee.  This bee happens once a month at a nearby church with ALL of the quilts going to seriously ill and traumatized children in the Phoenix area.  All of our quilts are distributed by AZ Blankets 4 Kids www.azblankets4kids.com.  

We do it all at the bees… sort fabric, cut it into kits, sew tops together, quilt, and bind.  The finishing touch is to sew the labels on.  Near the end of the day there is always a SHOW ‘N TELL of all the cute quilts we’ve completed that day, usually around 40. 

If you would like to learn more about our charity bees go to www.peacebypiecequilters.org.  Better yet, go to the website for directions on how to get to the bee and COME JOIN IN THE FUN!  We have a VERY LARGE room to sew in so there is always room for one more.  It really is a FUN way to spend the day and you go home with a WARM HEART.

Christmas Bedrunner DONE!

Another project has made it to the DONE pile!  This one wasn’t a UFO very long but I was determined to have it done by the Holidays.  The July 26 post ‘This Problem I Got…’  shared with you a less than desirable piecing result.  The whole thing had a slight “S” curve to it that was made very evident by those yellow squares that ran down the center.  I spent a considerable amount of time trying to get rid of that “S” and although it is less noticeable than it was, it’s STILL THERE.  This piece ALMOST ended up in the trash!  I convinced myself to spend a few hours quilting it to get a true visual on how BAD it was.  The only thing that saved it from going in the trash was that it wasn’t being made for someone else.  It was only going to live on my bed for maybe a month outta the year.  So here it is, DONE! 

That “S” will probably SCREAM at me every time I walk in the room and see it.  If it drives me too crazy it may end up in the trash after all.

Pattern by: cheri good quilt design  You can find them and their whole line of patterns at www.cherigoodquiltdesigh.com



I’m Just Talkin’ About… PETS

Jazzy & Rosy hanging out with me in the sewing room

I AM A CRAZY CAT LADY!  At least that’s what some people think of me, I can see it on their face!   OMG!   She’s a weird one, a CRAZY CAT LADY.

We Americans have our PETS.  The first animal that pops into our head when we hear the word PET we think dog or cat.  But some people have a PET in the form of a bird or fishes.  Some even call a horse or a reptile a pet.  And some get into the whole gerbil, hamster, guinea pig and even RATS (my brother had those!)  But I just want to talk CATS (and a little DOG) today cuz those are the most common according to the Humane Society of the United States.  So here’s a sampling of their stats…  

CATS

~86.4 million owned

~33% of US households own a cat/s

~$219 spent annually per cat on vet visits

DOGS

~78.2 million owned

~39% of US households own a dog/s

~$248 spent annually per dog on vet visits

For more stats visit www.humanesociety.org  

Now I did a little surfing on just how much money we PET owners spend annually on TOYS for our PETS, CATS = $21 and DOGS = $43.  And those numbers kinda prove what I really wanna talk about….  The difference between and CAT owners and DOG owners and the way those people are perceived by others.  I think, CAT owners spend half as much on toys because they don't want society to think they are a CRAZY CAT LADY! 

So here’s my story….

I’m a CAT owner.  Two of them currently live with me.  I have been the owner (or caregiver if my kids were the OWNER) of many different PETS.  CATS, DOGS, fishes, hamsters, guinea pigs and birds (that’s the list as best I can remember).  However, in my lifetime I cannot remember a time when I was not living with a CAT.

When a person enters my home I can tell pretty quick if they don’t like CATS by the way they react to my CATS.  Last week a quilty friend came over to raid my fabric stash.  When I opened the closet that contains shelves of fabric the gal gasp, “There’s a CAT up there!”  Which there was… My sweet little Rosy was on the top shelf taking her nap on a box.  I got the impression the gal did NOT like CATS cuz she didn’t make any other comments (like how cute she was or what a perfect napping spot).  Then there’s the gal (a DOG owner) that shared with me her surprise that there are a LOT of CAT toys in my house (I’ve been to her house, seen the dog toys AND petted her dog).  Some people totally ignore my CATS and others acknowledge their presence with talk or pet.

Anyway. It seems like a LOT of people (even CAT owners) think CATS are just a fixture or treat them as an on demand pet but DOGS aren’t often treated that way.  It is acceptable to most people for a DOG to greet company at the door and act as though it should be acknowledged (spoken to or petted).  Dogs’ toys are often strewn throughout the house and yard.  It’s acceptable for a DOG owner to play with their dog when company is present (or the DOG expects visitors to play with it).  Owners take their DOGS on outings to parks and get togethers.  Dogs usually have their own beds or they sleep on the couch or in a favorite chair.  DOG stories are shared and compared… like that of our children and grandchildren. 

But, as a CAT owner…  I get labeled a CRAZY CAT LADY when people see my cats have lots of toys (like a dog) and I actually play with them (like a dog).  I’m always talking to my CATS (like a dog).  AND they often answer me (like a dog)!  They greet me at the door when I come home (like a dog).  They will beg for treats (like a dog) and let me know when they are ready for breakfast and dinner (like a dog).  They get excited when I bring a new toy home for them (like a dog).  They follow me all over the house (like a dog).  They run to the door when someone comes to visit (like a dog).  AND I share stories about them with other people (like a DOG OWNER).

So anyway… I guess my point is… please don’t label me as a CRAZY CAT LADY.  I’m not weird just because I find pleasure is living with a couple of CATS and try my darnest to make their life living with me pleasurable. Like a DOG owner.

Another UFO Done!



Finished size:  98" x 98"



This quilt top was completed in 2006… THAT WAS 6 YEARS AGO !   Geez, that’s a long time.  Anyway… It’s done now. 

So this one started as a Block of the Month with my AQG quilt group www.azquiltersguild.com, the Cactus Patchers (I’ve mentioned them before) www.cactuspatchers.com.  

That year I was on the Cactus Patchers Board as the Friendship Group Coordinator.  It was my job to find ongoing projects for members to participant in.  What’s better and easier than a BOM?  Every month I handed out a 12” block pattern that was kinda starry in design (cuz I like star blocks).  Using the pattern each participant made a block (or two in my case) using their own fabrics.  At the end of twelve months we each had our own set of twelve (or more) blocks.  Right there was an UFO for a lot of people!  Pushing forward I began the design phase of creating a quilt large enough for a queen bed.  I soon found that even though I had been the over-achiever and made TWO blocks from each pattern there was just NO WAY they were going to make a queen size top without a little something extra.  Sashing wouldn’t get the job done and I couldn’t bring myself to make twelve more blocks to use as alternates between all those BOM blocks.  So… I made a BIG Feathered Star.  It kinda fits the theme of all those other blocks and I had always wanted to try making a Feathered Star.  Perfect!  Well, at least I thought it was.  I found a Feathered Star pattern in a magazine and got to work.  The snag came once the Feathered Star components were completed and the final assemble of the star began…  They didn’t fit together, the pattern was WRONG.  Grrrr…..  Somehow I got my brain to work through the problem and the star was completed!  From there the top went together pretty quickly.  And… then… it got folded up and placed in the closet where it sat for 6 YEARS.



Quilt back with label sewn in.



Fast forward to 2012 and the time had come to GET IT DONE.  That meant getting a back and a label together.  I shared that adventure with you in a the blog post on July 10 titled “I Seam To Be On A Roll!”.

Pillow Shams

Since there were fabrics left over from the top construction I was able to put a couple of pillow shams together.  Nothing fancy here!  I know myself well enough to know if I planned to make something really cool (like a small Feathered Star in the center of each sham) I would REALLY just be creating ANOTHER UFO instead of pillow shams.

Everyone Loves A Bed Turning

A few days ago a friend, Cathy Witske, had a few of us quilty gals over for a Bed Turning.  Cathy has been making quilts for a long time and has a pretty impressive pile of quilts to show for her years of work.  Since I’ve known Cathy her mission has been to make a dent in her SCRAP collection.  She does such a GREAT job of using scraps I thought I’d share with you a few of the quilts in her finished pile.  I also snapped a picture of one special quilt that helped create that scrap collection.

Most of Cathy’s quilts are hand quilted but this one was quilted by one of Cathy’s helpers, a professional longarm quilter named Monica Croom.



Doesn’t that yellow just set all those scraps off perfectly?  The squares in the border

are one inch finished and pretty much perfectly pieced.

This one hasn’t yet been quilted but still inspired me.  These stars were 12 - 16 inches (I don’t know exactly) and there was six of them.

This quilt is entirely done with appliqué.  It was not quilted which allowed us a peek at Cathy’s absolutely perfect hand stitches.  What a TREAT!

What a simple quilt to piece with Nine Patch and Quarter Square blocks.  And if that’s not enough to make you say Ohhh then the appliqué border sure will.

Don’t you think Cathy has the scrap thing down?

That’s a WHOLE LOTTA bow ties!

This is a BUNCH of little pieces.  I don’t even keep pieces this small cuz I know I don’t have the patience to work with them.

This one was layered but not yet quilted.  Again… a GREAT use of that easy Nine Patch block.

Cathy is in the process of hand quilting this one.  I don’t know how anybody has the patience to do that!

This little piece was about the size of a place mat.  All those black strips were created by a narrow strip of fabric folded in half lengthwise and sewn in the seam.  They are three dimensional!

And here’s the CROWN JEWEL of the BED TURNING! 

It’s not yet quilted but ya know she’ll hand quilt it.

These are a small sample of the quilts Cathy had piled on her bed.  Are you inspired?