SAHR

It's the first of the month, so you get to see assorted quilting blogs.  I am doing several things that are monthly right now.  This is step 2 of the Stay At Home Robin from Kate's Quilting and Other Fiber Arts Blog

Step 2 was to add a 4x6 inch piece onto the left or right of our original 6x6 inch piece.  Well, I have known that I was not completely satisfied with my original square, but I've been waiting for step 2 to figure out what I wanted to do with it.  I think I worked it out quite well.  I took my original square apart and realigned the "stem" pieces and then I cut it down to be the 4x6 inch piece.  I did some little triangles to make the 6x6 piece.  This did a couple of things that I really liked.  First of all, my original "stained glass" design is a little more exact.  I haven't really dealt much with tiny pieces like that before.  Secondly, it moved the "stained glass" piece away from what will be the edge of the quilt.  I think I like its placement much better now.  I like the prairie prints in my triangles and I have a few left over that may find their way into the quilt someplace else down the line. Who knows?

Now it's back to the waiting game, which is so hard when I'm excited about the project where it is right now.

A Rose By Any Other Name....

When I took my first quilting class, I learned about precision cutting and lining up the little points exactly.  There are fabulous traditional quilters out there who can do that.  I just cannot.  I suppose it's a matter of patience more than anything else.  I want to see the pattern come to life, and quite frankly, most people don't notice whether the corners are lined up exactly point to point.

Thanks to Block Lotto, I recently discovered the creative fun of "liberated" quilting.  Some call it "rule-breaking" quilting. In this type of quilting there is no exact pattern, but rather an idea of how you are going to sew your pieces together.  It's fun, but also challenging.  It's not so easy to throw pieces together.I don't want to end up with a mish-mash, but rather a well-balanced design.  I am definitely enjoying the process though.

These are two of my "roses" for the August Block Lotto. As those of you who know me, you'll figure I'm not perfectly satisfied with them.  In fact, I have reworked these blocks a couple of times, but I think they are okay.  I definitely will attempt some more.  I think I get a better idea of how to arrange the pieces to make it work with each rose I do.

And just so you know that I haven't completely gone off to the wild side of quilting, I'm also working on a very traditional sampler as a welcome wall hanging.  There's room in this world, and my life,  for all kinds of ideas.

New Camera

I got a new camera.  Actually I've been wanting a new camera for awhile as my old one wasn't very good.  But the frugal person that I am was not about to put out any money for a camera when I already had a camera that worked (even if it didn't work great).  Lucky for me, I guess, my camera died and I absolutely could not go for long without a camera. I don't see pictures as extravagances, but rather as necessities.  So off to the store I went.  Since I don't really know anything about cameras and I have a limited budget, I took Paige along to help me.  She was very tactful explaining how she was looking for something "not too complicated" with a large viewing screen.  Thanks, Paige.  She is right that I'm not very savvy about technical stuff and even though I am somewhat capable, I am very impatient.  I want a camera for fun to snap all those cute pictures everywhere I look.  We won't go into the advantages of the larger viewing screen.  I get it and certainly don't need any age references to go along with either of those criteria.

Arriving  home with my cute new red camera, I start getting it all set up only to discover I need to go back to the store to get a memory card if I want to take more than 4 picutes, which of course I do.  Finally, it's ready, so I go around snapping pictures of things that make me smile.  I've got several of the dogs to see how fast the pictures took.  I experimented with the different settings to see which would allow the fish in the water to show up better.  I think I now have my basic easy settings that will be good for most of what I do.

The pictures make me smile. This one I posted shows I've got not one but two orchids blooming right now.  A miracle for sure!

So I love my camera, but I have a techy question.  It's taking a long time to upload the picture.  I know that has to do with the file size.  And I know the file size effects the quality of the picture and how many pictures my memory card can hold.  So, what numbers do I want for my image?  If anyone has an answer I can understand, that would be great.  Otherwise, I'll just keep snapping pictures the way it is for now.  Little kids are coming over for lunch....Oh.....photo op!!!!!

Experimental Quilting

Here's the result of my fist "Liberated" quilt.  Some people call them rule-breaking quilts.  It is a great creative outlet in that there is no set pattern to follow.  There are some guidelines which give me enough help to feel confident to experiment even more.  You will notice there are some traditional nine patch squares, but the bulk of the sections are a little wonky.  I loved moving the elements around trying for a balance of the colors and shapes.  I don't think it came out too bad.  Then, to top it off, I experimented with some non-structured machine quilting on the top.  There are swirls and x's and I tried a freehand leaf pattern twice and there's even a butterfly stitched into one space.  This quilt is far from perfect, but it was great for my creative spirit.  I want to thank Sophie from over at

Block Lotto

for giving me my first taste of this freestyle block. I also want to thank Kate North for inspiring me with the wonderful Round Robin quilts she has been involved with the past year.  I've got ideas swimming in my head now, and I am excited again about quilting.  Wait until you see the pink flamingo fabric I picked up the other day.  WOW.  Such possibilities!

This Moment during this Heat Wave

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, join in over at Soule Mama

Dot

I can't imagine living my life without pets.  I have often been accused of living in a zoo, as the number of creatures sharing my household is usually at least double the number of humans, but I make no apologies for any of them.  I love them all, and they each add something to the household.

Today, we said goodbye to Dot, so I would like to indulge myself for a few minutes to remember the loving contribution she has made to my family over the years.  We first saw her as a tiny kitten some 17 years ago.  My oldest daughter brought her home.  We in no way needed an additional pet, but that's what I have said almost every time one has crossed our threshold.  She was a muted calico kitty that actually matched the sofa we had then.  My girls named her Dot, not because she had dots of color on her, but rather after the softball star Dot Richardson.

Starting life as Paige's kitty, she became Leann's kitty when Paige went to school, and then when Leann went to school, she became "officially" my kitty.  Dot was one of those elusive creatures who was very independent.  When she chose to sit with you it was very special. Her long hair was very soft and she would gently purr and generally just made you smile. She liked to play with water and would come into the bathroom when she saw you enter and meow at you until you turned the faucet on for her.  She calmly put up with the dogs, but was no where to be found when an unknown person entered the house.

All in all, she was a sweet, loving cat who enriched our lives for many many years.  She lived  a carefree, gentle life up until the last month when kidney failure caused her to rapidly go downhill. We will miss her.

What's For Lunch?

The challenge of lunch at work has been something that I have struggled with for some time.  I used to just get a bagel everyday.  That was fairly frugal and not very fattening.  It was also not very nutritional and got really boring before long.  Next I tried taking my lunch, but I leave early in the morning when I work days and do not allow myself time to "pack" a lunch, so I have resorted to grabbing a yogurt and granola bar on my way out the door.  That's proven to be a little bit healthier, and not too expensive.  It still gets boring, and on the days I work at night, it is definitely not filling enough.

Enter the laptop lunch box system.
I noticed it in a book that a co-worker had and had never heard of it before, although apparently it's been around for awhile.  I went to check it out on the Internet.  It's an interesting system, in that there are several small containers that fit neatly like a puzzle into a larger container, which then fits snuggly into an insulated bag with an ice pack and water bottle.  The system renewed my excitement for trying to make better lunches and I was thrilled with all the color choices too. It's promoted as "greener" and encouraging healthier lunches for school. Another plus of the laptop lunch system is that it comes with a book of suggested lunch stuff.  There's even a weekly newsletter with ideas and pictures of  lunches, all neatly packed in the little boxes.

The only drawback for me is the price.  That's when I have to weigh the options. Would investing in this type of "system" give me the assistance or motivation I need to actually prepare the kind of lunches I want to take?  I would still have to prepare the pieces in advance, so I could just grab stuff and go in the morning.  I understand how these would be popular with the school lunch crowd as it all matches and comes in great colors.   But, would plain old plastic mix and match containers work as well for me?

For now, I think I'll go fill all the little containers I can find with an assortment of lunch stuff and put them in one of the crisper drawers of the refrigerator.  We'll see how it goes and whether color coordinating is needed.