Birthday Eve

Birthday Eve!  And it is appropriately cold and freezing for a January birthday.  Today he brought me a card and a bunch of bright colored flowers.  Yesterday he brought me an ugly bracelet.  The many cannot pick out jewelry.  Although he did OK with the silver bracelet I directed him to look for the day before.  And Sunday he gave me a coat hanger thingy with circles on which to hang scarves and belts. Tomorrow is the culmination of the Birthday Week Festivities.  So sad to see it end!

So this is Tuesday, the holiday yesterday really messed me up.  I need to get my driver's license renewed and all the state offices were shut down.  And today they THINK it MIGHT snow again, so the city and state are shut down as well.  I wonder if they will give me two extra days to get my renewal?  Probably not.

I also needed a CAAWS document notarized and there was not an attorney in the city working.  I ended up at the accountant's office and he had one of their lawyers notarize my document for free, so I made money on the deal anyway.  I used to be a notary years ago, it probably would be a good idea to re-certify, although I have no desire to take the classes again, or the test.

I was early to the meeting so I walked around his building twice for a total of just over a mile. 



So what's a girl to do?  SEW!  And I did.

I was able to get the last two sections of  birds together and the whole thing somewhat squared.

I  declared it finished just about the time I decided it needed to have four white border strips added for when I quilted it.  I can trim down to whatever size I want, but I  will have the extra fabric as much as I want showing. 

Of course there were a number of plaes where the abutting fabrics were not square.  In other words MOST of the places required figuring out how to sew the darned things. And it was not always easy to get the fabric to sit flat.

In fact, I am somewhat of a genius in getting it flat at all.  Lynne must be a super genius ......  or maybe she is a better quilter in the block stage, making sure they are of equal or compatible sizes when she makes them.

But I got it worked out.

Took me a whole day.

Better Idea:  Next time I will just send the birds to Lynne to put together.

 
 It has been so very cold in Southern Louisiana.  Here is my fish pond with icicles!  LOL.......lordy, lordy!

Dd you see me and my brother in the last post?  Do we look alike?  He looks like my dad and I look like my Aunt Edie, dad's sister.

I will have to ask cousin Karen for a picture of the three of them.  They are the children of my father's brother, who we never thought looked like the other two.  As he got older he did, though.

But boy did Uncle Angelo's kids look like the Graci side!   The Graci Men in two generations have one face between them!


I am finished quilting the Zig Zag quilt and I added the binding.  It still needs to be hand sewn down.  I am very optimistic that this OMG finish will be a success!


So I need to look to the future projects.  I have so many of them.  And they all shifted places in the last few weeks since I found Kathy Doughty and Material Obsession's books Mixing Quilt Elements and Adding Layers.  I have two quilts I want to work on first.

What do you think of these colors together?  The background is a golden, although it is not solid.  I thought it was solid but when I got it down it had a swirl pattern.  I can use it on the back side but and you will see a faint pattern up close.  It won't really matter either side.

Do I need to mix it up more?  Do I needa different fabric in place on one?  This is the scary part for me. 

The rust color palate will be fan blades radiating out from the center (which will be a melon shaped center).  The two blacks will be cornerstones.

These will be large.  So there will be 4 of them on the quilt which will be 88 x 88.  Like I said, large.

You know, I wanted to make some sofa pillows.  I might as well make those first.  they should be quick (she says as it takes 10 days to make two pillows.....) LOL. You know that is going to happen.

I also have the pieces that Judy gave me at the last Fiber meeting.  I really want to play with that one!   Not Judy's thing, but definitely MY thing.

And I have another one with trees and dancing ladies and wild things hanging in the trees.   Also from Kathy Doughty/Material Obsession.

Of course, there are about 257 UFOs I can pick from as well............but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

Another Bunny From the Looney Bin

I made one bunny.  Still need to contstruct the onther.  It needed concentration and I had to rip out a misplaced section once, so I knew I needed to concentrate.  I had serious weather issues, well, not me actually, but McGee.

The thunder and lightening boomed and flashed violently for 2 hours while the little dog alternated  between cowering in the laundry room and standing on my compter desk and knocking my iPad on to the floor.

Even DiNozzo was upset by the storm as well.  But he compensated for his manhood by wanting to go outside and standiing in the middle of the yard, in the pouring rain and looking upwards to the heavens,

Hence, I was tending to the looney bin instead of sewing bunnies.

What to do this morning?

I have moved up so many quilts at least one level, but I guess I need to actually finish one for March.  Well, it is only the 10th after all.

I need to work on the Zen Lady today.  That is what I will do.  Zen while the storm rages outside.  We really have not had any weather, other really overcast skies and broken sunshine.  Today the pavement is wet, so it must have been a shower last night.  And the wind is picking up at times. 
 
Shreveport in the extreme northwest corner of Louisiana had some really bad weather yesterday.  Lake Charles in the extreme southwest corner of the boot endured tornadoes yesterday.  We are predicted to be the same today and tomorrow.



I can see the wind picking up, the bird feeder is swaying.  Like a wild ride at the State Fair for the Birds!





And what you see here was my lunch yesterday.  Avocado, cheese, egg and a tomato with some salt and peppah.

Bake.  yes, bake it.

I like my yolk a bit runny but not raw......so maybe 15 minutes at 400. 

A M A Z I N G !!!!!    Did I say amazing loud enough.......

BRRRRR! Inside Quilting Today!

The rain held off yesterday all day and that allowed the canals to drain a bit.  Mind you, the water is still very high.  And with the overcast sky with 100% humidity, nothing is even drying.  We have ponding in our yard when it generally drains exceptionally well due to the efforts of my hydrologist wannabee husband.

The temp right now on my covered and protected back porch is 34.  We did get a chance to take the wild hellions for a walk to the end of the street but it sprinkled on us the entire time.  Now they are anything but like in this picture, bouncing off the walls and needing exercise!

Out of self preservation we took the boys and Chloe to get their nails trimmed.  For short trips, DiNozzo is fine.  If it is much longer than the vet or Petsmart, he tosses his cookies.

I am going to get the borders on Maylee's Quilt in a bit.  I can't wait to see it to that stage.  And it will go to the Guild next week with me for a really wonderfully exciting show and tell.

AND I GET THE ELLIES!

glen