Giving Thanks

Today in the USA we celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day. (Click on the word to read about it.) We've been invited to share the traditional turkey dinner with our children and grandchildren. For the noon dinner we will go to the home of my son and daughter-in-law and then for the evening dinner we will go to the home of The Doc's son and daughter-in-law. In between the two, we'll visit my family at the home of my sister and brother-in-law. This morning I am putting lights on a small tree while enjoying my coffee. I've already scanned the newspaper ads for Black Friday's specials, although I don't plan to go shopping. The bundle of ads seems smaller this year and I'm wondering if the economy affected those too. I send wishes to all my blog friends and readers for a happy holiday if you're celebrating too, and also a happy day to others who live in the various parts of the world. May God's peace be with you.

Things seem to be working better now

Last week my laptop computer crashed so I took it to a computer geek to have the problem diagnosed and hopefully repaired. Today I picked it up and, to my surprise, it was not infected with viruses as I presumed it was. The Tech did tests and scans then updated some software and that got it up and running once again as it should be. We have a desktop computer so I wasn't completely without computer access but it wasn't the same, as those of you who have laptops will understand. It's time for me to prepare something for supper so this post will be brief but I'll be back soon. Tootles.

Couldn't Help Myself.......

................ so I changed the page to a fall-ish color, added a Thanksgiving countdown, and loaded some Christmas music. Today I started Christmas shopping (online) and am getting in the mood. It will be here before we know it! Happy evening, will be back soon.

The Retreat

We're back ... and we had a wonderful few days at our first Thursday Quilters retreat. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts made it impossible for all members of the group to attend this time, but we know there will be another retreat off in the future sometime.

The fall weather was wonderful with not a drop of rain falling on us the entire time, warm days and cool nights, perfect for walking to and from the restaurant where we had our meals.

We made good driving time Sunday and arrived early so we visited the old former one-room school that one of my husband's family members bought and is in the process of restoring. One of The Doc's uncles was a teacher in the school many, many years ago. Here we are standing outside the door:


After we got checked in and unloaded, we set up sewing tables and got to work. The Cottage was ours exclusively for the duration of our retreat. We sewed in the great room where we had a beautiful view, a nice size TV for watching movies, a fireplace, and lots of comfortable seating.

Pam

Kathy

Phyllis

Betty

~

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Waiting on dinner to be served on our first evening

Walking to and from the restaurant was fun. Let's just say we shared quite a few laughs along the way.

The huge chicken pot pie that I ordered was so yummy that I had it again the next night.

The Cottage where we stayed.

The parking area outside The Cottage

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One day we drove to a nearby quilt shop. Since we were somewhat near Janet of On The Road With Janet blog (click to visit her blog), I sent her an email to ask if she might have time to meet up there. She came over with her daughter and darling grandson who never stopped smiling. What a sweetie-pie he is. Janet, it was so good to meet you and I thank you for driving over! I hope we can meet again and spend more time together. I'm putting our photo in the post below this one as I just now accidentally deleted it...Arghhh...sorry, Janet.

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The retreat was just wonderful and we hope to do it again. Next time we want to make sure that all the members in Thursday Quilters can be there so we'll plan it carefully. Betty isn't one of the TQ group but when one of them had to cancel rather last-minute, she happily filled the vacancy and came with us and we were so glad she was able to come along and share the fun.

Now that I'm home again, I have some things to do to catch up with the routine around the house, and, of course, there's the longarm waiting for attention. While I had a most wonderful time away with my friends, it's always nice to be back home again.

Meeting A Fellow Blogger

Getting to meet fellow blogging friends "in real life" is always such a treat. Janet and I both live in southern Indiana so we connected when discovering each other's blogs and had hoped that one day we would have an opportunity to meet up. While I was at the retreat I sent her a message to see if she would be able to meet me at a quilt shop we were planning to visit. Luckily, she was able to make last-minute plans to drive over and we did get our opportunity to meet and swap howdies. It felt like meeting an old friend after having our little on-line visits and sometimes sharing comments and emails. Janet, thank you so much for coming over and making our meeting possible. I know this won't be our last time to meet and look forward to the next one!

Longarm Is Set Up

Here's the first look of the Millennium which we set up yesterday. Time ran out and I won't be loading a quilt to try it out until later this week. I'm leaving today for a quilt retreat with the Thursday Quilters. I'm taking my laptop along in case I have some spare minutes for the computer. Wishing you a wonderful week and I'll have pictures when I get back. I now have some bags to pack so I must go. Happy Sunday.

Play Day

Yippee! A day off to meet with my quilty peeps and have fun. No moving things, no climbing ladders, no closet organizing, no trips to the Goodwill, just a day to sew and talk and laugh. Then after school I'll pick up two grandkids and bring them home for a while. Sounds like a wonderful day ahead.

When I say I've been busy, I mean B-U-S-Y. The past seven days have been physically exhausting but it has been the kind of work that produces visible results and makes one feel good (not to mention achy, sore, and exhausted). The rewards are coming, however. On Saturday I'll see my new longarm machine set up and ready to be used. There's one glitch that causes me to not get to put a quilt on it right away. Are you ready for the reason? Well........on Sunday I'm off to a quilt retreat with these very same peeps, yes I am. We've had this planned for months. I've been too busy to get a quilt project ready to take along so I am still hoping an idea will come to me, quickly, I might add. I've considered these: a log cabin, a disappearing nine patch, or just a regular nine patch. I just need something simple that I can cut & sew with no difficult thinking or planning. I've never made a disappearing nine patch so I have a question for you ... what size blocks work best if I want to make a bed size quilt. Comments and / or other suggestions are welcomed.

This morning I am making the final decision on the color of a daybed. I thought it would be a simple choice but I haven't been able to decide and I've thought, and thought, and thought about the choices. Last night The Doc and I looked at and discussed all the options and I went to bed undecided. I don't know why but I'm letting something as simple as a color choice be so difficult. I want to get it ordered today so soon I have to choose. I guess I'll end my post here and go take one last look at the color options.

Have a wonderful day!

Just Plodding Along

Much work has been accomplished but more remains to be done. I see light at the end of the tunnel now; on Monday I could barely see the tunnel. The machine will be assembled over the weekend so I've been able to pace myself, thankfully. Tomorrow I get a day off to play ~ it's the day for Thursday Quilters ~ and none too early, for I'm ready for a break.

How is everyone? It's a gorgeous fall day with sunshine, some wind, a cool 57 degrees F. I hope that you are able to enjoy your day / evening whether it's spring or autumn in your part of the world.

TTFN ... got to get back to work.

Break Over Early

We went to Kentucky for the weekend and when I got home I had a message on my phone answering machine telling me that the delivery for the Millennium is scheduled for today. I have been making room for the boxes and now my house is in a big mess. Anyway, I couldn't NOT share this bit of info so here I am again. That was a pretty short break but since there's no blog police to tell me what to do, I guess it's OK. I'll post photos later to share the goings-on. I wish some of you readers and friends were here to help me get this place organized! I'm just sayin' ;^)

Break Time Is Here

Nope, I'm not retiring to my rocking chair quite yet. But, life is busy, and getting busier, as I await delivery of the new longarm machine and the upcoming winter holidays. I am making space for the machine and there's redecorating to get done. Thus, the time has come for me to take a computer hiatus. How long I'll be absent remains to be seen, but I'm available via email. Thank you for all your kind comments and all the visits since I started blogging almost three years ago. I'm not saying I won't be returning eventually. Time will tell. Best wishes to you all.

Little Bits of Fall

The colors of Fall are everywhere and I enjoy them so much. I wish the season wouldn't hurry, but would linger, that the colorful leaves would remain on the trees a while longer and not fall to the ground so quickly.

These stacked pumpkins are by the door that enters Quilts 'N Bloom, an area quilt shop that is owned by one of my dear quilting peeps.

A view down a street in my town.

A small quilt that was a shop sample I bought some few years ago from The Village Mercantile, another area quilt shop.

Some of my pumpkin basket collection from Longaberger ~ retired and cherished.

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As long as I can remember, Fall has been my favorite season. Which season is your favorite?

Jennifer Chiaverini ~ Her Newest Novel Is Coming!

Hey, all you Jennifer Chiaverini ~ Elm Creek Quilts books fans ...

your attention please.

*

Her newest book A Quilter's Holiday is soon to be released.

The book will be on sale November 3, 2009.

I am a "friend" on Jennifer's Facebook page and I was lucky enough to be among the first 100 to volunteer to help her share the news via sending postcards to quilter / reader friends. As a reward for doing so, Jennifer sent me a signed card and a pin ~ Woo Hoo!

Thank you, Jennifer!

When I asked her permission to post this and the photo of the card on my blog, she told me it was fine with her.

So, be sure to hit the bookstores and get her newest book. I've pre-ordered mine from amazon.com so that it will come right to my mailbox as soon as it's released. Yippee!

Quilt Festival ~ Saturday

On Saturday morning I once again awoke bright and early and was back at the convention center when the doors opened at 10:00. Having looked at all the booths several times I had a list of things I wanted to see again. One booth had miniature sewing machines. I bought two for my collection plus one made like a pewter thimble.

Sandra Dallas was in a booth signing books. I bought Alice's Tulips which she signed for me.

While walking around I saw a man sitting in a booth who looked so familiar and I knew I had seen him before, but it took a minute for my memory to kick in. Then I realized whom I was seeing ... it was the one and only Mr. Jim Shore, there with his wife, in a booth. There was nobody around and I had the opportunity to stop and say hello and tell him how much I admire his work and that I have many, many of his pieces. I was so surprised by this event that I forgot about the camera in my bag and missed taking his photo, as well as Sandra Dallas' too. O Dopey Me! I could have bought a quilting angel and had him sign it but the brain wasn't in gear.

One booth had Little Bits patterns so I bought two: Little Logs and -more- Paperback Book Covers. Sewing these very small tissue paper foundation patterns will be a new experience for me.

The Cherrywood Fabrics booth had woven fusible interfacing and I bought a package. It's not exactly like the Weaveline that Gail Pan from Australia sent me, which I couldn't find available in the USA, but I am willing to try it out.

I spent some time walking through the quilt exhibit again and took photos. There were many people gathered around so there were many beautiful and interesting quilts which I missed photographing. Here are some that I captured with my point & shoot digital camera:

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On Saturday, two special things happened. The first one is ... drum roll, please ... I made a deposit on a longarm machine. Yes I did. Go ahead, laugh at me. Are you finished? I know I will get grief over this so I'm ready to be teased and hassled. OK, here's the scoop ... I painfully studied all the longarm materials I had gathered, I test-drove various machines, I listened to sales pitches for the brands featured, I compared prices. Here was the bottom line for me ... the choice was, hands-down, an APQS Millennium. When I visited their booth Saturday morning it was like seeing old friends. Jim, who had driven to my home five years ago to set up my old Millie, was there. He jokingly said he was going to make me the APQS poster girl. I had been to the Houston Quilt Festival twice in my life, and both times I bought a Millennium. Mark Carahar was there as well. He had sold me the other one; I had phoned him from the airport as I was leaving Houston in 2004, and he remembered me. They invited me to hang out in their booth and rest a while so I did and enjoyed some people-watching. Heidi Kaisand of blog Hen and Chicks was working in the booth also and I had the opportunity to say hello. She and I read each other's blogs. I'm still getting used to the idea of having another machine and The Doc and I are making plans for the changes we'll be making here to house the machine. Lots to do.

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I mentioned two special things happening. The second one was my step-daughter Jennie drove in to meet me. She took me to dinner at Damian's Cucina Italiana, the most wonderful Italian restaurant you could imagine. Everything about the place was superb. Dining there reminded me of the restaurants we enjoyed on our visits to Jennie and her husband during the years they lived in Manhattan. Jennie spent the night with me and Sunday morning we got up and went to her house. We picked up the family and went to their church (a fantastic church!), ate lunch at a yummy sandwich & bakery place, and had time for a visit before she drove me to the airport.

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Whew, what a whirlwind trip. I had such a wonderful time and have all these memories. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

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Posted below this one is the winner of the giveaway so scroll down to read it.

Thanks for your visits and comments.

Have a spectacular weekend!

I Have A Winner In The Giveaway

All the names in the contest were in the bowl.

They were mixed and mixed again.

I reached in and drew one piece of paper.

The winner is Sandy of blog "Sandy's In Stitches"

Congratulations, Sandy!

Your prizes are shown in the photo above.

Please email me your snail mail address so I can send them to you.

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Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway.

Quilt Festival ~ Friday

The Best of Show quilt ~ by Caryl Bryer Fallert, Paducah, Kentucky

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Beautiful piecing, beautiful stitching, beautiful colors!

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Thinking I would perhaps sleep in on Friday, it didn't happen. My eyes popped open bright and early. Normally I'm not a breakfast person but I did have an excellent big breakfast in the hotel. The buffet there has the best scrambled eggs and I went back for seconds. I tanked up with plenty of yummy food which kept me going until dinner that night.

This sweet waitress at the hotel was the BEST there ever was ... she took care of me like I was a celebrity.
~~~

That night I was joined in the same restaurant by Anne Heidi, her mom, and their friend. We had a delightful evening. One meal together and it felt like we had been friends forever.

After dining, we snapped some memory photos in the hotel lobby.


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Here are some photos I took on Friday at the Quilt Festival:

Cheri Meineke-Johnson, who is known for her crystal embellished quilts
I bought "Cheri's Cool Tool" at her booth

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The gals in the Russian Quilters Association booth

A view of the vendors area from above - this is only a small portion of the vendor space

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Just a sampling of quilts that I found interesting:

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I had all day Friday to wander through the vendors booths and the quilt exhibit and linger as long as I liked. The convention hall was very crowded and patience was definitely a virtue. I did visit the various longarm displays and picked up their literature which I took back to the hotel to study. There were many companies represented and it was interesting to compare the various machines. Later in the afternoon I met up with Anne Heidi and we made our plans for dinner that evening, then I headed back to the hotel for a short rest.

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Yesterday I was gone again for the day. Some friends picked me up and we drove to the state board meeting for the Indiana State Medical Association ~ Alliance which was held at the Terre Haute Country Club. What an exciting day it was. The lunch was excellent, especially the creme brulee served for dessert. Oh, it was so yummy. Now, after all these days of fun, today I will be staying home and doing housecleaning.

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The sign-up for the giveaway ended at midnight last night.

I will have the drawing later and announce the winner on my next post.

See you then.

Quilt Festival ~ Thursday

When the Super Shuttle dropped me at the Hyatt Regency, I checked my bags and caught a quilt show shuttle down to the Brown Convention Center. Amazing. I left Nashville, TN at 9:00a and was AT the quilt show by noon (same time zone) in Houston. The first person I met up with was a blog friend. I phoned her and within a minute she had found me. We spent the entire afternoon together, first visiting vendor booths and then enjoying the quilt exhibit. Too fun!

My Friend Anina from Twiddletails

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I took some photos of machine stitching details, as shown below:

I liked this chenille technique chicken on the sweatshirt jacket ~ cute.

The gold design is done with thread - stunning
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The booth pictured below was full of gorgeous wools in fall colors

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One of my quilt heroes is none other than Hollis Chatelain, pictured below.

Her art quilts are the most amazing I've ever seen.

She won Best of Show at Houston the last time I was there, 2004,

with her quilt named "Precious Water."

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When I visited the APQS booth who was there but Karen McTavish.

Longarm quilters have her to thank for introducing us to McTavishing.

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It was hard to miss the 3-dimensional quilted elephant!

I took this photo to show to grandson Owen who loves elephants.

I hope he doesn't ask me to make him one :)

It stood approx 3-4 feet tall.

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The girl with violin quilt made me think of Abby and her violin.

This quilt won a ribbon.

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One of my favorites was the quilt below.

Imagine the detail in the making of this one.

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I had intended to remain at the show on Thursday until it closed the doors at 7:00p but I got a weak-in-the-knees feeling and knew I needed to go. The shuttle bus dropped me at my hotel door and I was able to complete check-in and take my bags up to my room. I decided after a long day of travel and not eating I would dine in the hotel restaurant at Don Shula's. Perfect choice ... I had a yummy filet mignon with an excellent sauce and a twice-baked potato ... it was so-o-o-o good. I planned to dine alone, but when I noticed a lady being seated alone at the table next to mine, I spoke up and invited her to join me. She accepted and we had a wonderful dinner together. I learned she is from Long Island. It wasn't difficult to figure out that many or most of the guests were quilters so there's never a lack of something to talk about.

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The sign-up for my giveaway ends tonight at midnight.
I wrote about it at the end of yesterday's post, go there for more detail.

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Once again, thank you for visiting. I'll be back soon with another quilt show post.

I'm off to Terre Haute today with friends to attend a physicians' spouses state meeting,

just a day-trip, no overnights this time.

Have a wonderful day!

Just Call Me Dorothy...

... for there's no place like home, but the Houston trip was fabulous and I had a wonderful, wonderful experience. I just can't tell all the fun things that happened, what I saw and did, in one post so I'm posting it in chapters. I want to journal it for my own memory as well as for sharing. Read what interests you and skip what doesn't. I begin with day one...

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Because I could save quite a bit of $$$ by flying out of Nashville, TN, plus arrive in Houston in less than 2 hours, I booked my flight from there. The Doc had been wanting a trip to see the famous Bass Pro Shops and Opry Mills, so we stayed Wednesday night in Nashville, then after he dropped me off at the airport Thursday morning, he shopped and later drove to our KY house where he hung out until my return. He had lots of things to do, including work on the boat, and visits with his son/family, so it worked out great.

I arrived at the gate just shortly before the scheduled boarding time. While sitting there, two Asian ladies arrived, one pushing what resembled a grocery cart, loaded with numerous small bags. Once on the plane, the stewardess began the ritual about seat belts and air masks and was interrupted by one of these ladies. Apparently she discovered her laptop bag was missing. Our take-off was delayed by 30 minutes while a search for the bag took place. It having not been found in security, or anywhere, the stewardess gave the lady a decision: leave without the bag or leave the plane, because the pilot wanted to take off. The lady decided to get off. I felt sad for her because she seemed to not understand English well and this must have been a difficult decision.

It was chilly and raining, a very dreary-looking morning.

Yippee ~ I saw the blue skies up above.

Seated next to me was a young man who is a professional drummer in a rock band. I asked him if he was famous (because I wouldn't recognize him even if he was). He told me "No, maybe one day though." He snapped my photo for me. When he sat down beside me he was coughing, and before thinking, I said to him, "Oh no, you're sick," to which he replied he had been sick for over two weeks and didn't think he was contagious. Almost every time I travel I catch a bug and was praying I wouldn't this time. Six years ago I flew to Houston for the quilt show and missed it entirely because I was stuck in bed with a fever and sickness the entire time. The next year, though, I flew down again and did see the show without getting sick while I was there.

The pilot made up half of the delay caused by the bag search at the airport, so we arrived in one hour and 45 minutes. The sun was shining in Houston and it was hot, 92 degrees hot. I bought a seat on the Super Shuttle which was an excellent mode of transportation, and the van was filled, naturally, with quilters. I met ladies from Boston, Philly, and various other cities. We talked quilt show non-stop. Perhaps the driver has been converted to quilting after a day of driving quilters around.

When I spotted this limo I thought how nice it would be to ride to the hotel in style...dream on, Connie.

The signs told us we were on the way. Look at the blue skies. I was so glad I left the rain and chill behind in Nashville.

Getting closer!

The window view from my room on the 27th floor.

The view of the lobby 27 floors below, taken through the glass elevator door.

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I haven't forgotten about the giveaway I posted about a few weeks ago. The sign-up for the drawing ends tomorrow night at midnight my local time, which will be Wednesday, October 21st. To enter the drawing you must scroll down the page to the Tuesday September 22 post titled "Fall Giveaway" and leave a comment on that post. Anonymous comments that are without contact information will not be in the drawing. Comments on any other post are not included in the drawing and only one entry per person.

***

Thank you for stopping by to visit me. More to come about the Houston trip. Till then, TTFN.

It's Almost Time ... Checking The List

Oh my goodness, it's all chilly and rainy this morning, not a great day for running last-minute errands, but I have a list and I'll have to go out. Yesterday morning I had my hair chopped off ... people who know me for my trademark bob that I've worn for a l-o-n-g time will be surprised when they see me. When I say short, well, just keep that in mind. I wore it this way back in the late 70's, then as trends changed, so did my hair. I did the long & full, feathered look back in the 80's, etc., etc. I wasn't actually striving for super-short hair when I went in for a cut a few weeks ago; my goal then was to get the old, dry, split-end perm from last winter trimmed off. However, it took four haircuts before it was finally all gone. I had hoped to keep some of the length, but each time my stylist cut it (she did exactly as I requested), I would come home and find that there was still some of that old perm on the ends that was still bugging me. Having had enough of it, I walked into her place of business yesterday and said, "I want you to cut it again and let's get all that old perm off." You know what, I feel so free with it short. I have always hated messing with hairstyles and with this cropped look I just wash, blow dry quickly, and maybe add a touch of spray, and I'm done. Works for me. (NO pictures today because I have nobody to take them. But, I'll be taking the camera along to Houston so they will appear in the near future.)

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My plans for meet-ups with my blog friends and family are made. I can't wait to swap howdies with Anne Heidi, Anina, Vickie (with whom I roomed at the May quilt retreat), stopping by the APQS booth to meet Heidi Kaisand, and also spending time with my step-daughter Jennie who lives in Houston. All this on top of my time walking around the quilt show on my own as I empty my wallet! :)

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The longarm decision-making lingers. I've been advised of a fantastic deal on one particular machine and I'm considering, praying, about that. Oh my, this is just TOO BIG a decision to make with haste. Three weeks ago the thought of purchasing a longarm was not in my mind. Then The Doc dangled the bait before me. I told him that he planted the seed, then watered it, and if it bears fruit, it's all his fault. I don't want to get carried away by excitement and then later kick myself in the behind for foolishness. Here's where I am...Yes, I miss not having my old machine so that I can quilt away to my heart's content. No, I don't miss running a quilting-for-customers business. Trying to justify buying a GOOD machine for making only some personal quilts is the difficult part. I'm referring to the expense; a really good machine that comes with all the bells & whistles to which I was accustomed, and probably wouldn't be happy without, costs a lot of money. Would I be happy having low-end equipment? I just don't know. You might ask, what didn't I like about a quilting business -- well, it was the responsibility of it all ... keeping customers waiting; knowing I should be working on quilts on days when I didn't want to work; days when tension was a problem and I was ready to pull my hair out, spending what felt like hours tweaking the machine, or worse, frogging stitches after finding bad stitches too late; most of all, it was doing custom quilt requests that I wasn't comfortable with. All of these contributed to my decision to quit and just sell the machine. That, plus I grew tired of having my living room crammed with the dining room furniture, which irritated me after four years of it. Now, if I should choose to take this plunge, knowing I could use a guest bedroom this time makes that part OK, but I still must consider everything very seriously. Sorry, I know I'm writing about this a lot, but I think I just need to vent these thoughts.

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When I booked my reservations for this Houston trip, I quickly felt slightly panicky, like "what am I doing, going down there alone, after being in this slump for months, not having interest in quilting." Today, I'm happy to write, I feel good about going. I feel that it was meant to be and that events are just falling into place. I wish there were opportunities to see more of you friends down there, perhaps there will be a next time.

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Thank you, Dear Readers, for being there; your visits, your comments, and your friendships mean a lot to me. While some of our connections are only via the net, I feel like I truly know many of you. I am not taking my laptop along, so whether or not I post anything during the trip is unknown, but I'll be reporting in when I return. If I don't pop in for a quick G'bye before I go, I'll see you soon. I wish you a spectacular day and thanks for your moral support. Hugs.

Counting Down The Days, Thinking...

Well, I'm counting down the last few days before shuffling on down to Houston. Yesterday I got all the ironing finished so that's out of the way. Then I got the binding stitched on the small quilt that I made for my DIL Carrie and want to give it to her before I leave. Last night I tried to finish the binding on the one I made for her sister Jill but just couldn't stay awake. Because of the 3:00 a.m. wake-up yesterday, by 9:00 last night I was in bed asleep. This morning is our small Bible study and then I'll head out the door to get some errands done, the usual Monday routine - bank, grocery, cleaners, and Walmart for misc supplies. Bible study is usually on Wednesdays but we changed it this week.

I did some measuring of my own yesterday of the other spare bedroom, the one that's larger than this one where I have my sewing room set up. It is large enough to set up a longarm if I utilize the wide closet for the sewing area and put a small table in the corner for a cutting surface. That will pretty much fill up the room but it is possible. At this point, I'm truly undecided about what I will choose to do. First, I have to see the longarms, hear about each machine's pluses, test-drive them, and most importantly, weigh the cost. A good model with all the bells and whistles is one big chunk of money, as I already know. But if I want something for personal use only, I could just buy a frame that will hold a sewing machine. Although I have read a bit about them, I don't know much. If you have one, please leave a comment telling me how well you like it. In this present economy, writing a check for a large amount is just downright scary and I don't know that I have that much nerve. There is a lot to think about. The longarm that I owned for four years was an APQS Millennium and it was a wonderful machine. There are other companies that manufacture longarms. I'd love to receive comments from owners of those machines telling me what you love most about them, and if you were to do it over again, why you would or would not make the same choice. I did go online to read about what is currently being manufactured but I just don't have the time to spend on reading it all. I want to leave you with the correct impression, which is, I am going to Houston with an open mind, to see, to learn, not necessarily to buy. This is a huge decision which I don't take lightly. Sometimes decision-making comes easily for me. I usually know what I want and don't want. But for something like this, a huge commitment, I want to know that I know that I know. I do not want to make a mistake.

Writing in the Wee Hours

Where I live it's 4:00-ish in the a.m. and still dark as I begin this post. Couldn't get back to sleep after waking up, so I made coffee and came to the computer. Although I liked the new template for my blog, the design had limited sidebar space, and I had pretty well maxed it out. After previewing all the other choices, here I am back at the original one, with only a few minor changes, including larger type to make reading easier. Thank you, my readers, for putting up with the changes as I try this 'n that. With this template back, I feel like I'm back home.

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Just four more sleeps now before heading down south to Houston. It's difficult for me to travel lightly ... it's a concept I've never mastered. However, I'm working with my packing list, trying to pare it down to bare bones. I spent some time yesterday re-sorting the things I've set aside and going over the list once again, looking for items to X-off. There are just some things, though, that are must-haves for my comfort: a book; my Zune (it's like an iPod); hand stitching project; Sudoku book and pencils; camera; these things don't require much room and will be in my carry-on or purse. Everything else will be stuffed into the large rolling softside which I can wheel around. If I was driving down, the back of my SUV would be stuffed, as the photos of when I went to quilting retreats will testify. Still, I'd much rather fly than take a road trip. I am not a fan of travel by auto for long distances. I just feel so trapped with all those hours sitting in that car, boring, boring, boring. At least flying entertains me. My little grandson Owen, who is soon to be age 7, told me his favorite part of flying is "blasting off" ... I think I prefer landing. Then I know I have safely arrived. Not that I'm afraid to fly, I'm not, never have been. I can't remember ever having concern about it. But I do admit that a sudden drop from the sky would be horrifying. I just don't think about it. Before take-off I always whisper a prayer to the Lord to ask for travel safety, putting my life in His, and the pilots', hands.

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The washer & dryer saga ... The new units were delivered and installed as scheduled. I love them. The Doc is impressed with the choices I selected. Can you tell there's a "but" to this little story? There was some drama with getting them broken-in on the delivery day. It went something like this: The night before they were to come, The Doc sent me to purchase new water hoses. There were plain rubber ones, and then there were sophisticated, strong ones, with filters in the ends, which cost twice as much. I chose them. Bad decision. Here's what happened ... during the first load of laundry, the hot water hose filter clogged up and wouldn't let water into the machine. Of course, that wasn't obvious at first, we learned this through the process of elimination. Long story short, new rubber hoses were exchanged for the others and voila, the problem was solved.

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Yesterday The Doc told me he was taking me out for dinner, a nice dinner, not just out for a sandwich. It was very nice! He took me to my favorite steak house and let me tell you, the food was excellent. Although I've been quite good about sticking to my weight-loss eating plan, it was mostly ignored last night, except I did decline the appetizer of fried onion rings, which I love at this place, and also dessert. My dinner choice was a filet mignon with mushroom sauce, a twice-baked potato (ordered w/o the cheesy sauce on top), sugar snap peas, and a spinach & strawberry salad. The Doc ordered sea bass with vegetables and a salad. Being of a suspicious nature, I asked Doc what was his motivation for this nice date. I asked, "Did you buy a new boat?" to which I got an emphatic "No." He said he hadn't taken me out for a date for a long time and it was overdue. Please, read on...

Speaking of boats, here's the little story ... last week he told me that when I get to Houston I can buy a new longarm. I gave him a strange look like ?????????? (Thinking, where did that come from? I had never said one word about wanting one and, truthfully, it had never crossed my mind.) When I quizzed him, he told me to buy a longarm so then he could buy a new boat. Ah-Hah! Now I get it. Sneaky. Oh boy, he should keep his mouth shut. I was just fine until he brought up the subject. Now I know that when I get to the Houston show I'll walk by all those longarm booths and my mind will start whirling with excitement. Last night, during dinner, he brought up the subject again. I asked him just where would I put such a huge machine, reminding him that I like having my dining room back. Would you believe we sat there and brainstormed all the possibilities. I was wondering if he was serious or just yanking my chain. People, I believe this man is dead serious. He said to me, "I know you will text me from Houston that you found this great deal on a longarm and you will just have to have it." In other words, he was telling me up-front to do whatever I choose, no questions asked. Oh my! Now I'm going to Houston, knowing he expects me to possibly come home owning a new longarm. So, Dear Reader, you're just going to have to wait and see how this little story ends, as I know not the ending myself. And, uh, I don't think he's serious about the boat thing, he said that to tease me.

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As of now, I've made connections with people with whom I will be meeting up at the quilt show. A few of them involve dining together and/or shopping and hanging out. I'm so excited. Today I'm phoning someone who lives there to see if we can make plans to meet up. With all this and the above-described excitement, I expect I won't be able to sleep Wednesday night. The remaining few days before I leave will be busy: Bible study Monday, lots of ironing to get done, errands, packing, and all the last-minute details that will need attending to. Today I hope to finish sewing the bindings on two small quilts that I made for gifts so I can get them delivered to the recipients. And now, I need more coffee so I will end here and wish you a beautiful day.

Hashbrown Casserole ~ Recipe with Pictures

This is the recipe for the potato casserole that I made yesterday for the potluck dinner. It's yummy and serves several people. It's a recipe that I only recently added to things that I make but I've eaten it at family get-togethers and always liked it.

HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

1 package frozen hashbrowns

1/2 (1 stick) melted butter

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream

1/2 cup chopped onion (I omitted this)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Topping:

2 cups crushed cornflakes

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (for the topping)

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The ingredients:

First, defrost the hashbrowns. I did this by removing them from the freezer and putting them in the fridge the day before. When they are defrosted, you can begin mixing the recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and begin adding the ingredients listed into a very large mixing bowl, except for the corn flakes and the 1/4 cup of butter that is listed last in the recipe. Save those for making the topping.

Mix well as each ingredient is added.

When all the mixture ingredients are added and well mixed, spread into a 9 x 13 inch casserole baking dish.

To make the topping: saute the crushed corn flakes with the 1/4 cup melted butter, then sprinkle on top of the casserole.

Cover the dish and place in the pre-heated oven.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes at 350 degrees:

Voila!

Baked and ready to serve

Enjoy!

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When I was shopping for the hashbrowns, I noticed another variety of this brand that includes peppers which I thought looked good also and I may try them next time. I happen to love potatoes prepared almost any way possible ... one reason I am now on a weight-loss program ... heh heh heh ... Wait a minute, that's NOT funny, is it. I hate to admit it but most of my favorite foods are things that cause this problem.

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This morning is the little in-home bible study that a friend, my mom, and I have started. We meet here at my house and schedule it when we all three have a day that works. This is only our second meeting. Last time we all enjoyed it and are excited about the study. We started out in the book of Galatians. I have always enjoyed in-home bible studies and was excited when Pam asked me if I would be interested in us starting our own.

Thanks for your visit and good luck with the recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

Still Blog Tweaking

Thanks to those who voted yesterday in my blog poll re the template / color changes I've made. I'm still experimenting as you can see. The flower photo I used temporarily wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I'm looking for pumpkins, bittersweet, etc. In the meantime I removed the banner photo, changed the red to a softer color, and kept the larger font and template.

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Today brings a meeting with a group of which I'm a member and it's a potluck lunch so I'm making some Hashbrown Casserole to take. It's yummy potatoes. When I make it I will take a few photos and put the recipe on the blog later.

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After two weeks of my diet of sorts, I am having success and the pounds are beginning to come off, I have lost four. I am not following any diet plan, but I am eliminating snacks, desserts, sweets & fatty foods, and eating sensibly. I'm not experiencing hunger or cravings, or I would be caving in by now. I have a goal to reach my normal/desired weight no matter how long it takes to get to that point. Why is gaining weight more fun? ;D

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I've made a few connections with some blog friends with whom I'll be meeting up in Houston. Are any others of you going to Quilt Festival? I won't be attending Quilt Market so I am going to miss seeing those of you who will be there only.

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I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!

Thanks for the visit :)

The Bag

Just for the record, making the bag took hours longer than I anticipated. With the same amount of work I could have pieced a quilt top. The Bernina was stressed to sew through all the layers on the side seams. It is ready to take to Quilt Festival in Houston next week and depending on my mood-of-the-moment, I can display either my name or nickname. The bottom needs a liner to stiffen it so I'll use cardboard unless I find something more suitable. The inside and outside both have pockets to keep me organized.

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Today's to-do-list has many things written on it so I will say Tootles and See Ya' Later.

Thanks for the visit.

Embroidery On The Bernina

Yesterday found me still sewing and I completed block 6 of the Quilter's Journey. I then began the process of making the tote bag. The Bernina that I have will do embroidery but all that I've ever done with it is monogram things very occasionally. Forgetting how to use it between those times, I have to sit down with the manual and learn over again how to use the device. It can be frustrating and yesterday was no exception but determination saw me through. Not remembering where I had stored the stabilizer didn't help and I thought I would never find it. Do you do that too? If I clean and organize, and move things to a different location, I often later can't remember where they are. Perhaps I should develop some type of system where I keep an inventory of what is where ... it would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to accomplish such a list. Below is a snap of the bag-in-progress. I'm making it up as I go along; I have no pattern, no exact measurements, just a sketch of what I want it to be. This is definitely a learning process for me. The fabric is all Kansas Troubles that I've had in my stash. The colors are so rich and beautiful and perfect for fall.

The photo shows that I did manage to make it do its thing

I used ordinary sewing-quilting thread because the embroidery threads were not the colors I needed.

By the time I did the second one it was getting to be fun. I didn't have anything else I needed to embroider so I put the module back in the closet until next time. When that time comes, I'll have forgotten what I did and have to use the manual again. I guess I should do a practice piece periodically to keep it fresh in my mind.
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When I returned on Friday from my outing with my mom, I found that we had no Internet service. I called the provider and was told the soonest that anyone could come to the house to service the problem would be Tuesday afternoon. That would be five days of outage. So when I got up yesterday I called again and, of course, reached a different person on the tech help line. When I asked if they could schedule something sooner he told me that someone would come to the house that day. Within two hours someone was here and got me back online. I am glad that I placed that second call!

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It's another chilly morning, a cool 41 degrees F. Two of my grandkids spent the night last night and are still sound asleep. I woke up early so I made coffee and came quietly to the computer. It's still dark and feels like night. When they go home later I'll get back to work on the bag.

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The giveaway that I announced on a previous post won't be held until I return from Houston Quilt Festival so there's time to sign up.

To do so, scroll down the page until you find the giveaway post and leave a comment on that post ~ that's the only way to enter the drawing.

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Thanks for your visits and your comments. Happy Sunday!

Thursday Quilters ~ October '09

Yesterday the weather was beautiful as we Thursday Quilters met for our monthly Bee. If there's a birthday to be celebrated among the group, we bring along goodies. October is Kathy's b'day month so it was her turn this time.

I told Kathy she couldn't open her gifts until I snapped her photo

This gift is a cover for her Featherweight.

Pam (left) hand appliqued the front and pieced the back.

Of course, we all were wishing it were ours birthday too!

Gloria is holding a belated birthday gift from Bonnie, a heart pincushion.

I have one like it and I hung it on the wall in my sewing room.

Phyllis is hand quilting a small quilt made from feedsack fabrics.

Pam is hand quilting this large quilt.

I took along the shawl that I'm knitting ...

Obviously it's not ready to wear yet and has many rows still to knit.

I was aggravated when I noticed I had dropped a stitch and had to un-knit about four rows ... grrrr

Bonnie showed us the vintage quilts she displays on her quilt ladder in her sewing area.

The quilts were made by her mother and grandmothers.

They are quite dear to Bonnie.

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This stitchery hangs in Bonnie's sewing room.

Cool, huh
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When The Doc came home from his office last evening we decided to go have supper at Bob Evans and I ordered chicken pot pie, one of my favorite comfort foods, and it was very good. When we came home I sewed 3 mini-blocks for block 6 of Quilter's Journey BOM. Tonight I hope to finish the last mini-block so I can have this block completed. Once it's complete, my next project is to make a tote to take to Houston. I'm planning the design in my head and will figure out the size that I want. I do want inside pockets and something to lay in the bottom to stiffen it. I'd like to use my embroidery module on the Bernina to monogram my name or something on the outside pocket. I use it so rarely that each time I do it I have to re-learn the directions, something that slows me down, of course. I should use it more often to stay in practice.

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This morning I'm taking my mom to see some of her high school friends

for an informal reunion - lunch. She can hardly wait. It has been 64 years since she graduated.

I think that's wonderful and I'm glad I'll be there to share her good time.

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So glad you stopped by ~ Wishing you a lovely day!