Sewing on Binding

Well, here I am writing my blog again.  It's been awhile but I feel like I have a new inspiration now.  I know my family will not be real thrilled to read this especially when they realize that I'm writing about sewing.  Sorry!  One aspect of sewing that has gotten me frazzled is sewing binding on.  In the past when I've done binding I've used the single layer method and hand-sewn the back.  When I started making the table runner and small blankets, I finally looked it up in my book and saw how I was supposed to be doing it.  Mind you, it looked pretty good but that hand sewing was time consuming.  Anyway, the tips I've found useful during those first attempts are still in force.  They are

1. using the double layer of binding.  With this I use a wider strip, fold in half  with wrong sides together and press, and sew the raw edges to the piece I'm sewing.
2. using a certain technique for starting and ending the binding.  When I begin preparing my binding, I fold to the inside about a 1/4 inch and press.  As I lay my binding out to sew, I pin but don't sew for the first inch or so.  Then as I come all around and begin to finish, I lay the end of the binding out over the beginning, cut it overlapping slightly and tuck the end of the tail inside the beginning.  At that point I sew the last stretch of binding and piece to finish off.  This works like a charm.

So everything was going pretty smooth until I started  sewing something that wanted me to sew the binding all on the machine.  I didn't have a clue and it showed with my first attempt.  The instructions were very poor to say the least.  Then one day I was watching a Sewing with Nancy show where she was showing how to use different presser feet  -  a binding foot in particular.  I watched the technique and put it to use in my next project which was a wine bag.  Wow, it was great!  Doing all the binding on the machine was a dream come true.  There's still some room to tweak it but I'm getting there.  So this is how I did it.

1. Use the techniques shown in the first part of this blog to prepare your binding.  That will get the binding sewn on to the front of your piece.
2. One of my problems has also been getting the width of my binding just right.  This time I used 2 1/2 in. wide bias strip, folded in half.  I can't seem to get it over to the back and have enough room to catch it all in back there.  This time I trimmed the seam allowance to half and I had more than enough.  I might even cut back slightly on the binding width next time. 
3. At this point you must pin your binding onto the back from the front where you'll be sewing.  Just make sure your pin ends below the binding on the front but still catches it on the back.
4. Sew in the ditch just below your binding in the front all the way around and voila, it should be done.  You also won't see the sewing in the front. 

That really speeds things up when I can sew all this on the machine.  I was doing it on curves with bias binding which is a little trickier so regular straight lines would be a breeze.  Thanks for letting me get this off my chest and sorry again for those who don't sew.

New Beginnings

Well, here I am again after a long summer.  Sorry that I just didn't feel much like blogging but I'm starting to feel rejuvenated with the start of school.  This has always felt like a new beginning for me with the kids, preschool and work so it doesn't surprise me I'm back in the saddle again.  This summer has been full of ups and downs for me and it all started after my last blog, I realized.  It's been full of family times, hospital visits, sewing, dr. visits, sewing, trips to the cabin, sewing, dr. visits and lots of prescription changes.  Doesn't sound like much fun but it actually was.  Anyway, my inspiration for the blog this morning came as I sat at the computer playing my usual morning games.  I heard the girls next door talking in their driveway, about 8:15 am.  Not knowing exactly when school was going to start, my first thought was today.  As I looked out I saw there were 3 of them, dressed in shorts and with no bookbags, so I knew it wasn't the first day.  The other little girl was a new neighbor down the street and my only conclusion was that this was a trial run.  That made me smile!  I could just imagine Shelly looking out from her house to see how the girls were going to do and it seemed to be fine.  They didn't stay out there too long before they were back in doing whatever they wanted to do for the last couple days of summer.  I'm sure my kids would have balked if I had put them through that routine before it was actually time.  Of course, knowing these girls it could have been their decision.  Anyway, I plan on writing more blogs and whenever I see something that makes me smile, that will be my inspiration. 

Fashion Style

I've been feeling for awhile that I'm well behind the times fashion wise and I've written blogs about it before.  This revelation came after a casual wedding we attended a couple years ago.  I was determined to get with the times, so to speak, but I've come to realize I just might not be that far behind.  With my daughter's wedding approaching I needed to dress the part and found the perfect dress for me a couple months ago.  I knew what I wanted but the first attempt left me very frustrated.  Everything looked like a prom gown, not a mother-of-the-bride dress.  I didn't want sleeveless or tight-fitting so when I saw my dress during a shopping trip to Altoona, I grabbed it.  It was also on sale!!!  I shortened the sleeves, bought a necklace to help cover my scar, bought the shoes and purse and proceeded to buy the undergarments.  We had different names for them back then such as girdle and nylons but it's still the same basic idea.  I went to Macy's for the spanx (or the generic version) and the employee was very helpful and knew my concerns before I even said anything.  In fact, she was the one who suggested the hose and how I might be interested in the thigh highs they have out now.  I began wearing these nylons as a teen with a girdle or garter belt but now they have a rubberized top to hold them up.  So, there you have it  -  dressed for the wedding without sacrificing what I want.  There are others on TV with the same feelings about clothes as me, such as Carolyn on QVC.  One day she mentioned how plus size girls do not like sleeveless dresses.  Hey, I guess I'm not alone out there.  I love the maxi dresses which are a must-have according to Lisa Robertson but they almost all come sleeveless.  So I found one of those cute bolero sweaters to wear.  I'm very happy with my choices and know that I'll be comfortable in them and that's really all that matters.

Critter in the Trap

Last year I commented on the critters eating our garden produce and the attempts at eliminating our problem.  Whenever possible my hubby sets up his Have-a-Heart trap and catches the critter, then relocates it to a better habitat.  In the past he has caught bunnies, groundhogs, rats, a possum and a skunk.  Unfortunately, the skunk met his demise that time because someone would have been sprayed.  Well, this morning it was a raccoon, which I didn't even know we had around here, at least this close to houses.  He made a strong attempt at escaping but to no avail.  He was taken to the gamelands to, hopefully, live out his days.  We tried getting a picture but you couldn't see him through the cage.  We have thought that we have a fighting chance to have a nice garden here but I wonder sometimes with these animals coming so close.  We've already resigned ourselves to not having a garden at the cabin.  We would be intruding on their territory as it is so there's no point in compounding the problem.  We still think we have a groundhog that's stalking the place so for now the trap will remain in place with some choice tidbits to lure him in.  I'll keep you posted.

Buying Fabric

Here are 10 GOOD REASON TO BUY FABRIC

1. It insulates the cupboard where it is kept

2. I'm participating in a contest.... The one who dies with the most fabric wins.

3. It keeps the economy moving- it is my duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops

4. It is less expensive and more fun then psychiatric care.

5. It keeps without refrigeration, you don't have to cook it to enjoy it, and you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose or walk it

6. Because you are worth it.

7. Like dust.... Its good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house, like ironing boards, the laundry baskets, the spare bed

8. Its not immoral, illegal or fattening. it calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes me feel good.

9. Because it was on sale.

10. BUY it now, before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping expeditions

Well, it may not look as good as it should but at least I got it moved.  I just got my e-mail from the quilt shop with this list and thought I'd post it on my blog.  I guess it's all about justifying the need to buy fabric.  My problem can be that I sometimes over think how much I'll actually need and end up buying more than I could ever use.  I do have a collection of scrap patterns for this specific purpose.  I like the one about it not being immoral, illegal or fattening.  I could do a lot worse in other words.  Of course, when it's on sale and I've had to travel a ways to get there, it's a sin not to buy something (my hubby told me that).  I still think my favorite is #10!!!  Keep in mind I enjoy going places with my hubby, he's very generous and patient but sometimes I feel like he'd rather be someplace else.  Crazy, I know, because who wouldn't get as much of a thrill out of a fabric store as me. 

We're Smokin'

My hubby finally got his new electric smoker up and running the other day.  He's a guy who really researches a new purchase and wants to be fully prepared.  I was going to get a whole chicken out the night before and have it ready for the smoker but I forgot.  So the day we decided to cook I took out a couple packs of pork chops we thought would be a small project to smoke.  When all was said and done we decided to go "whole hog" so to speak and fill the smoker with similar sized pieces.  We had 6 pork chops, 4 lengths of cajun sausage, 4 split chicken breasts and 4 chicken thighs.  They cooked up really well in an afternoon and taste delicious.  I think our favorites are the sausage and chicken which stayed moist with a nice smokey flavor.  I just put salt and pepper on the chops and I was disappointed in their taste which was kind of bland.  They weren't as dry as I had expected though.  I was amazed at the chicken breasts and how moist they were.  I used some in a salad last night and the smoke flavor was definitely apparent.  So all in all I'd say our first attempt was a success.  Now we're looking forward to smoking bigger and better things.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I finally got my oven fixed last week but just turned it on to bake cookies on Tues.  It was probably going to be the coolest day of the week so I planned on making sugar cookies with some frozen dough and a fresh batch of chocolate chippers.  I was excited to say the least and followed the recipe exactly which was the first time in a while.  The first sheet of chocolate chip cookies came out too brown so I started cutting back on the time.  And so it went until I eventually brought the temperature down 25 degrees.  Does this sound familiar???  So now it's too hot!!!  I feel like I am back to square one with this thing.  At least I'm not standing over an oven that won't cook and that I have to waste time on.  Everything moved really quick and I was done by lunch.  I am thankful I tried it out on chocolate chippers which are easy enough to make more of and we're eating the browner ones.  It is just exasperating to pay over $300 to do the same thing I did before but only in reverse.  Oh, well!

Better Late Than Never

Why does it take me so long to try something new out?  I'm talking about this Side Cutter sewing machine presser foot that I bought with my Necchi sewing machine years ago.  I remember watching the guy demonstrate it and thought what a great idea so I wouldn't have to buy a serger.   But then I never used it until yesterday.  I wanted to make scarves for the bridesmaids and figured it was time to try it out.  It works fairly well on a nice long straight seam but the problem is on the corners.  The cutter goes kind of crazy and it's been eating up the material.  Thank goodness I started with a bigger piece of material.  What this does exactly is cut the edge of the material,  roll the seam over and  work a zig-zag stitch over it.  It's perfect for the scarves.  I still have to touch up the spots where the cutter went wild though.  I think I would still like to get a rolled seam presser foot and then I wouldn't need to have the cutter.  I'm sorry to say my presser feet with both machines are underutilized.  I'll have to do something about that. 

What's Up With The Birds?

What a mess we have here because of these birds.  What's up with them?  Last year right after we stained the deck we noticed a lot of bird poop around the pool.  I bought a bag of plastic snakes and that seemed to do the trick.  This year we noticed the same thing happening on the deck at the cabin, especially the front porch where it looked as if they were roosting on the railing.  We've also had problems with the nests, at home and the cabin, and as much as we hate to do it, some had to be removed.  My hubby even went so far as buying a big plastic owl to put on the deck to keep them away but he has to keep moving it so it continues to be effective.  So the last straw was this morning as I went out to get the paper and there was bird poop on the edge of the paper and therefore on my hand.  Yuk!!!Over the weekend I saw what looked like a swarm of birds with the end of our driveway as a target that dumped their mess.  No, I didn't actually see them in the act, but you get the picture.  Is the weather affecting them too?  Are they mad at us about something and is this an act of revenge?  Maybe it's too much of a good thing that acts like a laxative?  Don't get me wrong  -  I love the birds but no one wants to wade through poop on a deck, driveway or their morning paper.

Another Bathroom Dilemma

I've written about bathroom etiquette before but this one is a little different.  This involves the seat itself.  I like Sheetz because you can always find seat liners in there.  This to me is the best way to put that barrier between you and whatever anyone else that sat before may have left.  If no seat liners are available I usually put down paper even though I realize that can be messy.  At times I will hover but I do not prefer that option.  Lately I've been encountering a new solution that I emphatically refuse  -  using toilet paper and a dispenser of disinfectant to clean my own toilet seat.  Now mind you I did this job for 13 years and have no problem with cleaning toilets but when I did it I used a johnny mop so I didn't have to put my hands on the seat.  Most people I worked with used gloves when they cleaned the bathrooms.  So these people are asking us to use our bare hands to clean the seat!!!!  Then there's the problem with most disinfectants requiring the surface stay wet for at least 5-15 minutes to assure killing the germs.  Do they expect us to wait and then dry it off so we can go?  Who's idea was this anyway and was it meant to keep from throwing away the paper liners  or lighten the load of the employees who are supposed to clean the restrooms.  And we all know most of these restrooms are not really cleaned all that well and  we are taking our chance with them anyway.  I personally think I do my part, mainly because I've  worked in that field, to maintain a bathroom when I use it by picking up any toilet paper that falls on the floor, flushing the toilet, sometimes even wiping excess water from the counter and above all making sure that my paper towel makes it in the wastebasket.  But cleaning my own toilet seat is more than I will do, thank you very much.  Remember I'm retired!

Homemade Pillows

Now that we have a newly painted living room I needed some fresh new pillows to go with it.  I started making these pillows before the decision to paint and finished them up yesterday as I put the room back together.  I can't believe I still have jean squares hanging around but what better to do with them than make pillows.  We are hard on our couch pillows so I needed something I could wash and that would wear like all get out.  I put a bunch of fabric together and made more rag stuff.  This time I used the jeans, flannel, plaid homespun and an old red and white checked tablecloth  -  what a combination!  The tablecloth was one of my favorites and someone left an ink stain on it so I retired it from the table but couldn't part with it.  I've since made some curtains for the kitchen with it.  I think I've successfully used it up now.  Anyway, back to the pillows  -  they are bigger than before and have an opening in  the back so I can remove and wash them.  I made the pillow form by using some bandana scarves that I've had for years and stuffing from one of the old pillows plus extra batting.  The other pillow was fiberfil that I had leftover, too.  I got rid of a lot of stuff with these pillows and I think they'll last a while, too.   Believe it or not I still have a few squares of jeans  left.  They seem to be multiplying or something.  At the cabin I'm making one last rag quilt out of the jeans, flannel and homespun but I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it. How's that for repurposing?

Painting - Again

Yes, that's right, I'm painting again.  After doing the bathroom I had no intention of painting again.  I thought I probably deserved a break and would hire a professional to do it the next time.  Then my hubby was fixing a spot near the ceiling and we were discussing what to use to cover it up.  I knew I had bought enough paint to do the living room before I started painting the bedroom then I broke my knee and it never got done.  I just figured before we decided to move to the cabin, I would have someone come in and do the ceiling and walls in the living room.  We debated whether to just touch up the spot with the paint I had, which was just a little different from the original or heaven help us, repaint the walls.  We were definitely not up to the ceiling and I thought as long as I had some help from him, we could do it.  In my younger days doing this all myself would never have been a problem but now the thought of that step stool makes my knees wobble.  I did too much myself yesterday and almost had another incident with the stool so today I handed the high jobs to the hubby and we got the hallway done.  There's a lot of work that goes into painting even before you open the can of paint and that can be hard on anyone with a bum knee.  Now only one wall, with little prepping, and an archway that we can finish by tomorrow.  But for today a little time off to do other things and let our bodies recoup.  And I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm thinking about using the rest of the paint in the family room.

Revelation about Housewives

Yea, here it comes, my revelation about the housewives.  I've been watching these shows and I do mean all the housewives since the second season.  The only one I didn't watch was the first OC and I rented that one on Netflix so I could catch up.  I've been a loyal fan all these years and it even spread to other Bravo shows such as Flipping Out and Project Runway but I've come to a crossroad.  It's kind of like a friend that you're not best friends with but after a few years you know what to expect from that person and it's just not fun anymore.  It's the same old same old.  I first realized it with Bethenny and how this season is all about fighting with Jason.  It can be uncomfortable to say the least.  Sometimes it's about the girls branching out and doing other things such as NeNe on Glee, Theresa on Celebrity Apprentice and Kim on her spin-off.  They are only half there sometimes.  I think it's taking its toll.  Marriages are falling apart and lives are being disrupted by all this.  It doesn't have to be this way but that's what reality tv comes down to.  I still watch these shows but I'm getting involved in other shows and Bravo just doesn't seem as important as it once was.  I still like to talk about these shows so I'm thinking about going to some forums and see what others think.  I realized that I wasn't the only one who disliked the Biggest Loser this year, based on the forums I saw. 

Apprentice Predictions

Time for my predictions as to who will be the finalists on Celebrity Apprentice.  I will try not to pick just the ones that I like but who will pass the interviews to be finalists.  This is very interesting because we have seen these people throughout the season and they are interviewed for a short period of time.  Watching Apprentice for years, I kind of know what or who Trump is looking for.  He wants someone who can be creative, tough but still have a certain charisma or ability to get along with people.  It's funny but sometimes he isn't at all like that, ha, ha.  My favorite on the show has to be Clay Aiken  -  I never would have thought it but it's true.  He's all that above and can be very truthful about people and I think Trump will appreciate that.  Is he enough of a leader  -  time will tell.  I also like Arsenio Hall except for his meltdown a few weeks ago.  That was not his most impressive showing.  Aubrey O'Day is certainly creative but I think Trump and his kids know that she is sneaky and underhanded in her dealings.  I'm not sure that will all come out in the interviews because she has a strong personality that might win them over.  Then there's Lisa Lampenelli  -  a loose cannon if I ever saw one.  Her blow-ups show that when things don't go her way she resorts to foul language and temper tantrums.  I see her not even making it to the interviews but definitely not past those.  I'm very surprised that Theresa has made it this far.  She's managed to stay under the radar and even win a few challenges but like Dayana, she doesn't have the knowledge, backbone, or intelligence to make it to the finale.  At least she was much better than NeNe and I give her a lot of credit for hanging in there like she has.  Good Job, Theresa!  So my picks are Clay, Arsenio and Aubrey but I'm not sure who they will choose, Arsenio or Aubrey.  To make the show more interesting, Aubrey would be the likely candidate but I'm not sure.  Anyway, it's been a good season with lots of drama.  The ultimate factor in the decision might be who comes back to help them.  Keep watching. 

A Different Kind of Season

I'm talking about the TV seasons, even though the weather seasons are certainly different, also.  I have been following the Biggest Loser all season and it has been very unique this time.  They brought in couples as in the past but right off the bat they separated them, which upset some.  Then the second week, Kim got to project what her team would lose based on a challenge she won.  Everyone knows that losses plummet the second week but evidently she missed the memo, so her team lost.  I would have sent her home right then and there but she stayed and is now a finalist.  Through the weeks I've come to dislike Conda and Jeremy, a sister-brother team.  Conda was a real whiner from the start, Jeremy seemed to be there because of his sister, they formed an alliance that roared its ugly head numerous times, and neither were very nice to another team that re-entered the competition.  Their bond was a little strange I thought  -  just saying, not making any assumptions.  Anyway, last week was the mutiny where 2 of the guys decided to quit because they didn't like the fact that the eliminated contestants were given a second chance to get back into the show.  They signed the contract so they knew and I say good riddance.  Boo-Hoo!!!  Anyway Jeremy won back his place in the final three  -  I'm not excited about any of them but that's the way it goes.  Now for the real clincher  -  they come back next week for the finale and get weighed in.  Didn't they just all do that this week?  I always enjoyed watching the show after they had been home 2-3 months to see how far they had come.  This should be no surprise at all, except if they starve themselves which is a distinct possibility.  How else could they lose enough to make a real difference?  So because of all this I am very disappointed in the show.

A Tube of Biscuits

The simple things in life, right?  I have learned over almost 39 years of marriage that my best friend can be a tube of biscuits.  Oh, I can make them from scratch and have a very good recipe but what I've realized about myself is that I need a lot of positive feedback to keep making things from scratch.  I used to buy the 4 tubes to a pkg. back when they were a dollar and make regular biscuits, especially when I had hot dogs and beans, mini pizzas, sloppy joe mini sandwiches and an all time favorite, deep fried donut holes.  Of course that was before I sent my deep fryer to the Goodwill, an act I still feel slightly guilty about knowing how bad it is.  We've progressed to the Grands biscuits and made more things that are baked, but they still tend to be a staple of mine.  This week I made something that always strikes a positive note with my hubby  -  cinnamon rolls in muffin tins.  I've made real cinnamon rolls from scratch, too, and also the frozen ones and tube ones, but these still are great.  Sometimes I feel sad he can't appreciate the scratch recipes that I've made but then the simplicity of these win out every time.   

Trying to Get Back in the Saddle

What I mean is that I'm trying to get back to writing this blog.  Sorry I've been preoccupied.  It's just that I've been busy doing things and haven't wanted to write about them, at least not yet.  One thing i did last week was work on the scrapbook for my daughter's wedding.  I can really get into this sort of thing and am consumed by it.  Things also tend to snowball with this.  I got the pictures copied, from me and the future mil, then set aside last week to do it.  I made a trip to Hobby Lobby (if I knew how to pin this place I would) and stocked up on paper, etc.  In the process I found family tree papers that I thought would be great in the book.  Then I had to look through stuff to find the info and eventually got a 14 day free trial on Ancestry.com.  Now you know where this is going  -  hours looking through census records, newspaper articles, the whole shebang.  Unfortunately, I didn't find much more than others had already found for me.  So I think I can safely end my subscription before my 14 days are up.  I still have some options that I will look into, such as talking to an aunt who's the only one left on my dad's side.  Other than that I'll take a couple more pictures at the upcoming shower and it'll be done. 
Now, this is what I didn't do last week  -  work on my BOM quilt.  This is the first time since I started that I haven't jumped right in to get all that done.  This is a tough one, too, along with being very frustrating for me.  There's 8 blocks but 4 parts to each block.  I have no problem getting each section done except for being totally bored with the same pattern over and over, but it's sewing the units together.  My teacher has pointed out how I'm not being as precise as I should be for the first part.  Then I go to put them together and I'm off, not a lot, but enough to notice.  My other concern is my use of prints and how those are not matching up like I would like them to.  With that comment I'm met with "You shouldn't have been using those anyway".  Dah, if I knew what it would look like I wouldn't have!!!  Anyway, I don't want to get started on that.  So I haven't done anymore blocks or cut out my fabric for next month, but I have looked a few things up online to see what my problem might be.  I've decided it's the paper that's making it hard for me to match things up and someone suggested using paper clips instead of pins.  I'll try that.  I really hate to be so negative this early in the game but I have lost all interest in doing this.  I refuse to beat myself up since I have so many other things to get done right now.

Quilting Update

Thought it was time to give a quilting update for anyone interested.  This week is my BOM class  -  it was moved up 2 weeks because of other things going on in the quilt shop later.  I was not entirely happy with my blocks from last month and hope I'm not totally humiliated in class this week.  This month's block might be even harder.  Anyway, I was off the quilting bandwagon for awhile and working on other things but now I'm back.  I started a new quilt and I'm excited to share.  Years and years ago, when I took a class with a neighbor, I learned how to do the cathedral window block.  I just loved the jewel-like pointed windows on that off-white background and when I retired I vowed to do one of my own.  This is usually a hand stitched quilt done in small pieces and then sewn together to make a quilt but with no batting.  Recently some creative people have developed a machine stitched version and that's what I'm doing.  My magazines only showed 2 versions, one in flannel and the other a table runner but both multi, and I emphasize the word multi, color and print.  Way too much for me because you can't even see the cathedral window itself.  So I scaled it down to 4 colors and made them bigger to make a throw.  Changing the size gets me every time because I always forget the seam allowances, somewhere, but as long as I have enough for a 12 " circle I'm good.  Last night I made the front of the block to get the dimensions of each piece and it looks nice.  I'll keep you posted on the progress and my class.  Wish me luck!

Still Looking

For the last couple of days, my hubby and I have been looking through the 1940 Census pages for our grandparents and others we know.  It's been fascinating to say the least, remembering names and places.  For me though success is not coming easy.  I have yet to find any names in my family but I'm still looking.  I think a phone call to an elderly aunt might be what's needed to verify the address.  It took my hubby a couple of attempts to locate his even though they lived right across the street.  Looking through this stuff can be very time consuming and confusing.  They have divided towns into ed's and the trick is to get the right one. Another thing that is hard is finding a house where there is no house number as in my case.  I don't recall us ever having one since we all had post office boxes.  I'm sure now they do because of delivery services.  Another thing I found interesting was where some people lived when they were getting started and then how they moved on up, so to speak.  There was an area called Crescentdale where I grew up that was kind of like the worst place to live.  Now I realize that back then it must have been nice, affordable housing, kind of like the projects, where people saved some money and then bought a house.  It's strange to see how so many people fit into one house when now we seem to need so much room.  If you get a chance to look, go to census.gov and look up some houses yourself.

New Purse

Well, the other day I finally made that new purse I was vowing to sew for quite a while now.  My goal was to make it by the end of the month so that's what I did.  What a difference from the first one!  That one I made in a morning with so few pieces.  I did need a bigger one and had this in mind  -  a bow purse.  That's just a bow in the front of the bag  as decoration.  First there were a lot more pieces including separate handles and a side panel.  Of course, I tweaked the pattern to suit myself as I always do.  This one also has side outside pockets which will be nice for the cell phone and sunglasses.  I also put magnets in the top to keep it closed better.  I never had to worry about that with the other one because it was so small.  Now what surprised me when I moved all my stuff to the new purse was how quickly it filled up, despite being so much bigger.  I guess a girl never has enough room in her purse!

The Down Side

There definitely is a down side to this mystery quilt I'm into right now.  Our teacher told us the first class not to use stripes but checks were OK.  That was our practice class before we bought our material but by the first class (block 1) I saw the repercussions of my choice.  I had my fabric lined up by gradation and then realized we were sewing them from side to side.  That meant when I purposely didn't put my 2 checks together by sewing them like this they ended up next to each other.  Oh well, I got used to it.  Then this last class (block 2) I had to extend one of my strips to a point and sure enough it was my small check!  It was hard enough to match up the seams but to also make it so the checks matched was worse.  The first time I tried to sew the 2 parts of block 1, I tore it out twice and sewed three times.  The second block went a little better.  I guess I was right when I thought this choice would come back to bite me  -  it did!

Lovin' the New Dryer

We got a new dryer on Tues. and it's working very well.  Of course, things never go as planned, including this purchase.  They called from the store that morning saying the salesman had put the wrong amount in for our debit card and we still owed $20.  She caught me off guard and I didn't even have the receipt in front of me so I asked to call her back after I looked it over.  Sure enough he had put in $20 less than we owed.  So I called her back and she put it on the card again.  Then at about noon or so the delivery truck pulled in.  I heard them moving the old dryer out and then they were gone.  I went to check things out and I said to my hubby "that didn't take long".  Then he told me the problem  -  the cord they brought wasn't long enough.  So we had to go out and buy a 6 ft. cord to finish the installation.  The funny part was that we were charged $20 for the cord and they had to refund us the money (same amount she put on the card that morning).  Strange coincidence, huh?  The only other thing was this strange buzzing noise coming from the basement that had me searching all over.  Here it was the automatic signal from the dryer about 10-15 min. before it stops.  There is no signal knob so I can't adjust or stop it.  I just won't be able to put a load in right before we go to bed.  Other than that I'm pleased with my purchase and no more burn marks!

Magazine Overload

Since I retired my thing has been magazines  -  lots of them.  I've written before about the problems with subscriptions I had with several of them but now I get very few of regular house/home/food magazines.  I can handle those ones by reading and then tearing out a recipe, website to check or craft idea.  After that I throw them away.  The ones I tend to hang onto are the craft magazines and especially now are the quilting magazines.  When I first retired I did this kind of purge with my magazines but it's time again.  I have two tote bags full of magazines that have to be sorted through.  So every day I go through a bunch of them and pick out patterns that I might want to try sometime.  I'm really trying to be tough on myself and only keep the ones that are special but who knows.  I got a magazine subscription for Christmas which I'm keeping and also with that I get access to 2 yrs. of back issues online.  That outta keep me going for awhile.

New Appliance

Well, we finally bit the bullet and bought a new dryer.  This has been a long time coming and I fought it as long as I could.  Even when our youngest was still home, the dryer has been acting up and leaving burn marks on our clothes.  I would get yelled at like this was somehow my fault.  At first the burn marks would come clean in the next wash but then they wouldn't.  I didn't even realize they were burn marks  in the beginning, just dirt of some kind.  Then, when I started quilting and washing my material first it became a problem and it wouldn't come out.  I looked it up online and found others had the same issue and I came away with some solutions.  My hubby got inside there and cleaned everything out good and I started using the permanent press cycle which used lower heat.  That worked for awhile except I had to run each load (small in fact) a second time to finish drying.  Then a couple weeks ago it started again and now all over my hubby's underwear.  The last thing I wanted to do was spend money on something we would only use until we move to the cabin but I had no choice.  I also didn't realize how overpriced they were with features I would never use.  I wanted something very simple and lower than $400.  Well, that didn't actually happen, it has more knobs than I'd like and is pricier, too, but what could we do.  As we left the store, the salesman said to enjoy the new dryer but the purchase of a new appliance has never instilled much enthusiasm in me.  I told my hubby that if it came with a little man inside that would jump out and do the laundry for me, then I'd get real excited.

Observation

When I first started this blog, it seemed pretty easy to find things to write about.  As I was out shopping or reading the paper, things would pop into my head and I'd feel motivated to write.  Lately it hasn't been that easy or at least not much as motivated me in that direction.  Now I'm reverting to the good old days when shopping brought up concerns and issues that drove my to blog.  This week my hubby and I went to Erie County Farms and I noticed something as we shopped.  For one thing the customers that particular day were different than ones we normally see  - they were mostly white senior citizens.  My hubby noticed it too.  Mind you I have no problem with the usual clientele, it's just I knew something was different.  Because of this fact, the store was much less busy, especially the deli counter.  This is where my hubby's eating habits differ from the typical senior.  He can eat sandwiches every day, any time of the day.   How I explained this to my hubby was that older folks probably eat more leftovers for lunch and don't eat sandwiches, especially if they are not working.  We have gone in there some days when there were tons of people waiting for lunchmeat and then get behind a person who fills half their cart with it.  I can't imagine anyone eating that much so they must freeze it.  Anyway, that was one observation and another was the people in there that day were buying the chicken like crazy.  It was very interesting to observe this and speculate on what a group of people are eating and it's also blog-worthy.

Our Very Own Bear

Well, here it is  -  our very own bear!  This is the purchase I mentioned yesterday.  Last week we went to the chainsaw festival in Ridgway and we found this to buy.  I knew I wanted a bear when we first decided to go but never thought we'd have such a selection to pick from.  This seems to be the most popular item to carve.  I didn't expect the prices though.  I think it makes a very nice addition to our front porch.  It was a fascinating display to watch, what with all the chainsaws and other tools that they use.  Some of the detail was amazing as was the size of some of the carvings.  I never realized they had permanent carvings right in town along the main street.  I'd love to have the elk!

First Quilt

Well, as promised, here's my first quilt of this year.  I'm calling it a modified garden twist.  It's a twin size quilt with floral squares from the fabric book from my sil and a lot of pinks and greens.  I also have a pillow sham almost done for it.  Now I have to decide how to have it quilted.  To tell you the truth, I'm so preoccupied with the BOM class of mine that quilting this is taking a back burner.  After I get the block 2 done this month, I will post a picture of both the blocks and show you how that is progressing.  Even after block 1, I have no idea how this will look.  I kind of thought it would be a starburst pattern but if they were put together like that there would only be three and I don't know how that would work.  Anyway, that's what I've been up to and tomorrow I'll fill you in on a recent purchase.  It's exciting!

Another Three Things

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while but we've been busy.  Here's three things that I've been busy with.

1. I've been trying to get my exercise in first thing in the morning.  I found I was spending too much time on the computer first thing but when I tried having breakfast then waiting until mid-morning to exercise, it didn't happen.  Right now I'm into a new dvd, Leslie Sansone's 5 really big miles from the walk slim program.  It's with a totally new group of walkers, new music and new moves.  Each mile is different in the length of time spent, use of the resistance band and use of boosters or jogging instead of walking.  I try and do 2 miles which is a good workout for me.
2. I've been sewing up a storm since the beginning of the year.  I finished the one quilt (no picture yet) and am almost done with the pillow sham for it.  I hope I remember this ruffle I'm putting on this thing so I never do that again  -  what a job!  Then I had my first real class last week for my bom.  It took 2 hours for most of us to complete the one block.  Now I have to finish 11 more.  It's not that it's hard or time consuming (I have it down to 1 hr.) but very monotonous.  I've been doing at least 2 a day to keep me on track.  That's not the only homework I have though.  We got a list of material to cut out that's the length of my arm (the list, that is).  I still wasn't sure about my next color so I bought more and now I feel better about it.  I still don't know what block 2 will look like though.  One more thing I need to do before the next class is make a new bag to store all my stuff in.  They have a class on this one but not until later in the year and it's $30 to attend.  I'm sure I can whip one up myself???
3. The last thing I've been doing to making cookie dough and freezing it for the wedding cookies.  I have a long list of ones I'd like to try and some need to be sampled first.  I thought it might be better to freeze the dough instead of some of the cookies  -  I think they keep better. 

Well, that's what I've been up to along with making trips to Mechanicsburg, Mentor and Cleveland.  Thank goodness the weather has been holding up for me.

Good Things

Taken from Martha herself, "That's a good thing!".  I have 3 good things I'd like to share with you today having to do with food that I either ate or saw on tv.

1. The other day I was in the Akron area with my daughter and we stopped at the West End Bakery for lunch.  Their specialty was Curried Chicken Salad on a pita bread and ooh was it good.  I don't use curry all that much but now I have to rethink that.  It seemed the recipe would be similar to a basic chicken salad but with the addition of curry.  By the way, their cupcakes are delicious, too.
2. My hubby and I went out to dinner the other night at the Edinboro Hotel to sample their steak night.  We've eaten there before but I guess I've never had the baked potato and boy was I in for a surprise.  This potato was a salt crusted baked potato, and as I found out through an internet search, widely used in steak houses.  It's a very simple idea that I'm definitely going to try.  All you do is prick your potato all over, coat it with olive oil, roll it in either sea salt or kosher salt to partially cover it, and then bake on foil-lined pan until done.  I think the salt adds to the flavor, improves the skin texture and makes the potato fluffier.  Anyway it was very good, in fact, probably the best baked potato I've ever had.
3. This idea is right out of the Martha Stewart Show  -  how to separate a head of garlic and peel the cloves.  You won't believe this!  She used 2 metal bowls of different sizes, put the whole head of garlic in the bigger one and press the smaller bowl down into it very firmly.  That separates the head into all the cloves.  Then you flip the smaller bowl over so it rests on top of the bigger one (kind of like a lid) and shake like crazy.  When you open it all the cloves are peeled!  I was amazed, as was she when she showed it.

 Well, those are the three good things that I'm excited about.  Try them out.

Class Time

OK, I'm back and ready to start writing some more blogs.  I still have to take a picture of my first quilt of the year and show all of you, then I will talk about what I've learned from it.  I had one class in Jan. for my mystery quilt of the month paper pieced quilt (in the future it will be BOM class).  I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple teachers that I knew in my class.  The first class was practice for the paper piecing and included a heart square.  I have yet to finish it but I will before the next class.  I was a little too busy with other things since then but I now have a ton of homework to do.  We were assigned the first group of colors to buy and cut in the required size pieces for our first block.  I thought I already had this one but after getting the list of amounts for each color, I realized I needed to do more shopping.  So on the way back from Mechanicsburg I stopped at my favorite LQS' in Belleville.  Boy did I find the material and they are so nice and helpful there.  So I think I'm all set as far as fabric  -  now to the cutting.  I'm assuming that each month I will have a fair amount of homework to do so my idea that I would spend just 2 hrs. of class time was a little silly on my part.  I do have some other projects to work on such as my idea for a memory quilt.  Just like I knitted an afghan using leftovers from previous projects, I'd like to make stars with scraps of material from the quilts or project I make.  Looking back at all of these is really fun for me  -  can't wait to start!

More to Learn

Yes, there's a lot more for me to learn about quilting or maybe there always will be if I'm doing different things all the time.  I started this new quilt the first of the month and all went very well, or so I thought, the first week.  In fact, I was starting to get a little cocky and thinking I'd be done with this in a couple weeks.  Then the reality set in as I laid everything out to look at.  Evidently I was not as precise as I should have been in fussy cutting all my florals.  Once I set them on corner, some were not facing the top of the quilt like I had intended.  I also sewed some together too soon so a bunch had to be taken apart.  I also thought I had plenty of squares but once I started moving some around I realized that some wouldn't work on the edges.  Really, it was just a slight setback but it's a lot of small pieces to put together and I feel I'm losing some motivation.  I'm giving myself a goal each day to complete a certain part so I can think and reflect on each step.  I realize this is not an easy first project by any stretch of the imagination and in that sense I think I'm still doing pretty well.  I have my first class this week and I'm sure I'll learn something there that maybe I can bring home with me.  Then I'll be wondering what my next project will be.

Business Tactics

There are a few things that are really bothering me lately about the business world.  One of them happens to be the change in our utilities (electricity to be exact) and choosing a different provider.  We have been getting the mailings for quite awhile, look at them and toss them, signaling we have made our choose.  Despite that we still get the phone calls explaining the deal to us.  Recently I received a call from a man who, after I said we didn't want to change, proceeded to raise his voice as he explained it and eventually asked me in a very derogatory tone why I didn't like to save money.  I retaliated and said I didn't like his tone and hung up on him.  I could tell by his voice that he thought I was some old senile lady with a hearing problem.  Yesterday, we also got a letter from a third party company wanting us to sign up for a membership to have outside electrical line work done for free.  This did not come directly from Penelec but had their name on it as they had their approval.  I call it deceptive advertising and also targeted to the elderly.  We're also fighting a battle with Verizon because of a charge that showed up on a bill a couple months ago for tech support that we didn't buy.  The first month my hubby called, got it straightened out and I paid the bill less that charge.  The second month the charge was still there so he called and I did the same.  Now this month the charge is gone but they showed an outstanding balance from the last bill.  Are these companies this desperate that they will try and bill you or talk us into something to make a buck  -  I suppose so.  In all fairness I need to talk about two things that happened just this year that restored my faith in the American people.  Over Christmas we gave both the mail lady and the paper carrier some money and candy for Christmas.  I recently received a thank you card from the mail lady that was stamped and sent US Postal.  What a gal!  Talk about honesty  -  she could have very easily slipped it in with the rest of the mail and no one would have said anything.  Another thing that just happened was about our lawn care service.  We discontinued it a couple years ago because of the water line going in but now we decided to get it again and sent in the prepay amount.  They call yesterday and said they were sending it back because supposedly we prepaid in 2009 for the 2010 season when we stopped so there was a credit.  He wasn't even going to worry about the difference in the amount and the fact that we were now getting 6 treatments instead of the usual 4.  I suppose in reality they got interest on that and it all works out but I can't even find my record of it and can't remember to boot.  Also, what a guy!  I hope this reflects how I do recognize exemplary behavior but don't cross me.

New Quilt Project

I'm ready to start a new quilt.  I'm excited but still a little apprehensive.  I realized this week that I never really follow a pattern strictly.  I always manage to tweak it a little depending on the size, material or pattern.  I'm a great one for combining a couple different patterns, be it quilts, afghans, hats, pillowcases, purses or scarves.  That's what becomes frustrating for me when I have nothing concrete to follow.  I suppose I'll never change so I may as well revel in the fact that projects are truly mine.  Anyway, I talked before about this quilt, I'll call Garden Twist, and where I got my floral squares.  Soon after I retired I went shopping with a friend and bought 2 shades of green for the strips that intertwine (that was over a year ago).  Since then I've made a bunch of fall table runners and some of that green fit in perfectly.  I originally guessed as to how much to buy so now I'm faced with not enough, I think.  I went to JoAnn's with a long list of fabrics to buy for it and believe it or not, found the 2 shades of green so I could buy more of that.  I also lucked out with the outside border, which I wanted something in pink and green.  I found some on clearance that was exactly what I wanted.  Now the hard part  -  2 fillers in different pink geometric prints.  I needed something that wouldn't fight with those big florals but would still look nice.  I ended up buying a small pink check and a pink with white polka dots.  I'm still not sure about the pinks  -  time will tell on that subject.  So today my project is to determine what width I want my green strips, cut all my strips and sew the green squares to each corner of the florals.  Remember I'm making this up as I go even though I have two patterns I'm looking at but neither is exactly what I want.  Sometimes I think I'm the only one going through these kind of decisions but when I was at JoAnn's I realized we're all the same.  There was a mother-daughter team in there trying to decide what colors of pink and green to put in the little girl's room.  At least I had only myself to argue with!  Another lady and I kept passing each other, smiling and without saying a word, acknowledging our indecision.  Wish me luck.

Equipment Issues

Just read my dil's post and saw her beautiful pizza that she made.  Dawn, it looks great and I'm sure tasted the same!  So what is my problem with my pizzas?  I think I have equipment issues out the wazoo, not to discredit my dil on her superb achievement.  First it was my sewing machine and now my stove that I'm realizing might be the problem.  The other day I decided to finish up some bread flour I had in the freezer and make a loaf of french bread.  I used to make this all the time in the breadmaker on Saturdays when the girls and I had soup day.  It was delicious.  I've been  in a real slump lately with the recipes for dough that I've been trying.  There's a lot of them out there that are really soft and that just isn't working for me.  So anyway, I made up the same recipe I used to but in the mixer and the dough was great.  Then I put it in the oven to bake and, nothing, it didn't even brown.  The inside texture was doughy and it was awful.  Like I said I've been having trouble with my pizzas and even talked to my dil about my crust not even browning on the stone.  She mentioned how she uses her stone but doesn't even preheat it and from the looks of it comes out picture-perfect.  I was really disgusted with my dough, especially after bragging about it to my hubby.  I decided, long overdue I know, to put an oven thermometer in to check the temp.  It was low and kind of unpredictable so I adjusted it according to the book so I would be 35 degrees higher.  Last night I made a batch of biscuits and checked the temp first.  It was still off so I turned the oven 25 degrees higher that it was supposed to go.  The biscuits cooked in the lowest amount of time  - browned and all.  I have to say though I'm still leery of baking another loaf of bread or pizza for fear of it not turning out.  But I think I really do need one of those stones like my dil!

Craft Update

The new year is bringing some new projects to the house that I'm excited about.  I had a few things over my head in the fall that I had to finish before I could focus on anything else.  The two quilts I made for my niece and nephew are finally done but not without some major issues.  Remember me writing about the sewing machine breaking down in November  -  well, I was trying to finish the second one up that week.  Both of those were months in the making and should have been a snap, but they weren't.  Part of it was the technique, which was not what it was cracked up to be, and the other was my machine.  Anyway those are done and I was ready to move on.  I was feeling pretty guilty about not having something homemade for the grandkids so I made them pillow cases.  Those turned out really nice due in part to the rolling technique I found to encase the cuff.  I also made some infinity scarves for myself that solves a couple problems for me  -  one is how to cover my scar and the other is adding some pizazz.  This was a very easy project and one I think I'll get a lot of use out of.  So when Christmas was over, I signed up for a Mystery Block of the Month class at my LQS!  This is very exciting for me despite the fact that it will take over 10 months to complete.  I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs of quilt making, at least in regard to this paper pieced project.  Of course, that still leaves me with some time to explore other projects and I've already begun.  Years ago my sil gave me some wallpaper and upholstery books from Padden's that they were giving away.  The wallpaper went really fast, what with preschool and girl scouts, and I managed to use some of the material on canning jar lids, etc.  But I still had all this nice floral material that I didn't even know if I could wash.  I had it cut out of the books a long time ago but it wasn't until last fall when I actually washed and dried it.  It came out really well so my mission was to find a quilt to use them in.  I found 2 that would work with the florals and I'm in the process of combining the best techniques of both to make one I like.  I'll keep you posted on that one and my experience in the class.

No Passing on the Right

How many times have you been driving on the interstate and due to someone in the left lane, saw another driver, or possibly yourself, passing in the right lane?  This is one of the first lessons I learned in my driver's ed training but it seems no one follows it anymore.  I, myself, have been in the situation where I'm passing a car and have every intention of getting over in the right lane as soon as I clear the passed car, when someone passes me in the right lane.  So far no accident but these people are surely in a big hurry.  Now, on the other hand, I have been passed, by truckers for the most part but not always, who misjudge the road and find that they cannot get ahead of me.  I know this seems unlikely, given my observance of the speed limit (yes, I am a rule-follower), but this leaves me in a quandary as to what to do.  Do I slow down and let him pass or just keep going the same speed and end up passing him on the right?  I have also, as another option here, been in a situation where a vehicle continues to stay in the left lane despite numerous chances to get over, leaving other cars no alternative but to pass on the right.  Why am I writing about this now?  When we were returning from the cabin on Sunday, we saw a truck with the following message on the respective back tire flaps  -  (left) passing, (right) suicide.  As I said before, I see more truckers causing problems like this than cars.  Of course, there's never a cop around when this happens!

New Year, New Me

I guess we always say those kind of things at the beginning of a new year, that's nothing new.  I have no real resolutions, per se, this year because I know how all that goes.  Last year I talked about using adjectives to put into resolutions and then my surgery came up.  If I had known about all that I could have made one that said just to be alive.  I'm being melodramatic, of course, but last year was one of recuperation.  I still don't feel fully recovered but that's mainly my fault.  I still get out of breath when I walk up the stairs and that is what bothers me the most.  Also my weight has fluctuated so much this year.  It amazes me that my weight was low when I was feeling the worst and as soon as I was feeling better, it went up and up.  They told me to weigh myself every day when I left the hospital so I wasn't experiencing sudden gain from water retention.  Now I don't even want to look at that scale.  My dil mentioned in her blog about non-scale successes and I'm going to focus on those this year, such as zippering my pants and not being out of breath going up the stairs.  As usual I'm collecting recipes and I have a few I'd like to try to soothe my sweet tooth but in a healthier way.  Of course I still have these containers of fudge, candy and cookies that I was not able to pawn off on anyone over Christmas.  I considered not making anything over the holidays but that is just not an option for me and if you had seen how well it all went over, you'd understand.  So here I am planning my year  -  signed up for a quilting class that will take me to Oct., deciding what classes to take at the 2 upcoming quilt shows in Cleveland, helping my daughter with her wedding plans, having the grandkids here for another week this summer, and who knows what after that, maybe a trip.  Today I have a list that's a mile long of things that need done so I better get to it.  Happy New Year to all!